Grippy Mecanums

[MichaelBick]

Originally Posted by Kevin Ray

You are right. They are not Omni's. We've used both. Though they don't roll easily, they do roll. Try pushing a macanum bot sideways when it is not powered. What I was trying to explain to SuperNerd256 is that a macanum bot in most orientations would roll off the tilted bridge with no power applied to prevent it. And, while we are at it, given identical gearboxes and friction coefficients of wheels, macanums would lose in a head to head with conventional wheels. This is possibly what SuperNerd256 was referencing.

You could implement some type of brake, electronic or physical. Either way, traction is only half the problem most teams have with mechanums. When strafing, you have less than 100% power and speed off a traction drive(I believe close to 60%). Therefor, in many situations a traction drive can get to the same place as a mechanum in equal or less time, even if there is a turn involved.