shooter wheel tread types

[wireties]

Originally Posted by martin417

We tried several. Roughtop destroys the ball, duct tape over foam protects the foam but is a bit slick, sticky tape comes apart.

We are using a single wheel against a stationary backing. We are monitoring the speed using an encoder and controlling it using a simple feedback loop.

Thanks for the info!

[jspatz1]

As mentioned, a high friction tread such as roughtop or wedgetop will simply shred the ball skin at high speeds. It is natural to think in terms of high traction material, but in reality the ball itself is already a high traction material, and more is not needed on the shooting wheel. We found a relatively smooth, hard surface gives the right amount of slip to avoid damage, while still accelerating the ball. We just left the hard, smooth rubber tread that came on the utility wheel we use.

[Jeffy]

You can get away with softer versions of rough top tread sold by mcmaster without damaging the balls for a shooter. Applications where the ball and tread need to slip, like an shooter loader, will shred the balls if you use rough top.

Banebot wheels are common, easy to interface, and have excellent grip. Why are you looking for a new type of wheel tread? What are you hoping to gain? I'm not sure you will get very far using different treads on the wheels.

[Jon Stratis]

I'll second the call for BaneBot wheels... we're using two on top and two on bottom, and it's extremely reliable (based on our test shooting from the key)!

[Brandon Holley]

We molded our own urethane around an aluminum hub. By doing this we were able to pick the material that was just "soft" enough to work well for us. Here's a pic:




We placed the "125s" on the wheel by adding features to the 3D printed mold. We were also able to put a subtle curve into the wheel, to help match the radius of the ball and "center" the ball on the shooter as its spinning.


So far it has worked phenomenally. Balls are unharmed, and it appears to have just the right amount of grip.

-Brando

[wireties]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

We molded our own urethane around an aluminum hub. By doing this we were able to pick the material that was just "soft" enough to work well for us.

Beyond awesome! ... but hard for us to duplicate in 10 days or so.

[sdcantrell56]

Go with colson wheels. Hard to beat them

[JohnSchneider]

Originally Posted by wireties

Beyond awesome! ... but hard for us to duplicate in 10 days or so.

Make sure to let us know if you find something that works better

We adjusted the hood of the shooter and got better results...we are taller though...but have been having great success with the KOP wheels from 2009.

[wireties]

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

Make sure to let us know if you find something that works better

We adjusted the hood of the shooter and got better results...we are taller though...but have been having great success with the KOP wheels from 2009.

Better = farther? What launch angle are you guys using? Maybe a reduced LA and bank shooting is smarter?

Ours shoots 20' easily with a 60 degree LA - reliability testing starts tomorrow (now that encoder came in and works). But it should go further (according to the math) so I'm thinking it might be slipping on the wheel. The reduced distance may be lift and/or air resistance and/or friction with the hood - oh well, good problems to have I reckon.

[JohnSchneider]

Originally Posted by wireties

Better = farther? What launch angle are you guys using? Maybe a reduced LA and bank shooting is smarter?

Ours shoots 20' easily with a 60 degree LA - reliability testing starts tomorrow (now that encoder came in and works). But it should go further (according to the math) so I'm thinking it might be slipping on the wheel. The reduced distance may be lift and/or air resistance and/or friction with the hood - oh well, good problems to have I reckon.

When we ran it without the 2 fisher prices we were launching stupidly high, so we backed up the other shooter hood,, and made our Launch angle lower. Works better. I dont really think the lack of the 2FP mattered though...

Maybe you can tell us what we're doing wrong this weekend.

And better = up to your interpretation!

Looking forward to some practice this weekend!

[wireties]

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

When we ran it without the 2 fisher prices we were launching stupidly high, so we backed up the other shooter hood,, and made our Launch angle lower. Works better. I dont really think the lack of the 2FP mattered though...

Maybe you can tell us what we're doing wrong this weekend.

And better = up to your interpretation!

Looking forward to some practice this weekend!

I was not implying farther is better, just asking if that is what you meant. We should get a lot of practice this weekend. Our practice bot is not calibrated yet but the mechanics are firing on all cylinders.

This weekend should be fun!

[wireties]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

I'll second the call for BaneBot wheels... we're using two on top and two on bottom, and it's extremely reliable (based on our test shooting from the key)!

Thanks - the banebots wheels look nice but we are stuck with 8" wheels at this point.

[wireties]

Originally Posted by Jeffy

You can get away with softer versions of rough top tread sold by mcmaster without damaging the balls for a shooter. Applications where the ball and tread need to slip, like an shooter loader, will shred the balls if you use rough top.

Banebot wheels are common, easy to interface, and have excellent grip. Why are you looking for a new type of wheel tread? What are you hoping to gain? I'm not sure you will get very far using different treads on the wheels.

Agreed - our shooter works pretty well. We are fine tuning.

We think the ball should go further (given the wheel speed and if our equations are correct). We were thinking it might be slipping on the wheels (2 8" AM FIRST wheels mounted 2" apart) a little. If we can eliminate that slippage (if it exists), it might go further and/or be a little more repeatable.

TIA