6/8 Wheel Extra Features

[Hawiian Cadder]

Originally Posted by JesseK

Exercise caution in future years and apply the material for the year rather than using the "we always do it this way" way of thought. I'd be concerned that the outer axles would bend if it came off the bridge or bump incorrectly. Did you do any simulation or calculations to figure out the tensile stresses your axle could hold?

On a flat or predictable field like 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, & 2011 this isn't a concern.

Our drive was setup so that there was about 1/4 of an inch between the wheels and the bearing blocks. This allowed for the lighter axles, bending was never an issue, one match we even drove off the 24 inch drop made by an unbalanced bridge with no damage to the axles. Keeping the axles short was critical to maintain a robust system.

Edit:
We did test the axles on an our off-season WCD, they were flawless and bending was minimal. We beefed up the axle wall thickness a bit for competition to ensure they would never break.