Poor man's omnis (idea)

We have been having trouble turning, so a student of our suggested until we get normal omnis for our robot, we use PMOs "poor man's omnis", basically the plaction wheel without any tread. We have a 4WD wide configuration, and would have the PMOs in the front right and back left wheels of our robot with the front left and back right treaded.

What are your thoughts on this? Is it safe to do (will it break the plactions)? Do we loose anything significant by doing this instead of omnis?

Thanks, and enjoy your last 5 days!

[JamesCH95]

A simple idea is to wrap the wheel in zip-ties parallel to the axis of rotation. The zip-ties allow the wheel to slide side-to-side while maintaining some forward/backward traction. It's an old-school trick.

Originally Posted by JamesCH95

A simple idea is to wrap the wheel in zip-ties parallel to the axis of rotation. The zip-ties allow the wheel to slide side-to-side while maintaining some forward/backward traction. It's an old-school trick.

Really? That's so cool! Thanks!

[DampRobot]

The main reason omnis make it easier to turn is that they have a lower coefficient of friction across the wheel than along the wheel. This means that anything that makes slipping side to side easier than forward and back could be considered a "poor man's omni."

[Taylor]

We had originally planned to use the slick wheels from 2010. We found that they worked very well on carpet, but on the plastic bridge, the robot became uncontrollable. Slick wheels != PMOs.
I'd presume the same for Lunacy wheels.

[jwfoss]

Originally Posted by SuperNerd256

What are your thoughts on this? Is it safe to do (will it break the plactions)? Do we loose anything significant by doing this instead of omnis?

I wouldn't suggest running plactions on the ground without tread, there is a large chance that you will break off the edges that would clamp the tread. Another option would be to rivet the tread on upside down with treaded side on the wheel and the smoothish side outwards. I have seem teams do this in a pinch to reduce scrub when turning.

[Phyrxes]

For purposes of driving on carpet you can also cut a strip of "slick" plastic of your choice and rivet it on top of the tread on the plactions, or in place of the tread if the strip is thick enough.

Though I totally suggest NOT doing this if you want to be able to drive on the bridge.