Custom wheel making

[sgreco]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

Cannot agree more with this entire post.

We made custom wheels for a long time, and when we started looking at COTS options and the time difference between implementing them- it was a no brainer to go COTS.

They make for a fun project, and there are a ton of cool things you can do with them in terms of making them (machining, molding, printing, etc). For us, the effort is just better spent in other places.

-Brando

I agree entirely as well, but if you have the resources readily available, it can be cheaper to make your own wheels.

In 2008, 2079 needed leather treaded wheels (torque miscalculation required that our swerve drive have very little friction on the wheels). We found a lot of suitable off-the-shelf wheels that were very expensive compared to the cost of raw material, and relatively minimal machine time to create a simple wheel. We were able to create some very cheap custom wheels for our intake in 2009.

I suppose it does depend on what you use the wheels for, which ones are available for purchase that suit your needs, and how you are going to fabricate them.

[AdamHeard]

I think a great model to apply in situations is WW2056D (What would 2056 do).

Across the board on their designs, they seem to much prefer to buy existing solutions from a variety of COTS sources even though they do have fabrication options.

This lets them finish sooner, and with less work.

We're trying to apply the WW2056D model versus the machine it all because you are capable of machining it all model.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

We're a team that used to make custom wheels every season, and we likely won't ever again.

Just too many solid COTS options, unless you have every part of your robot perfect, it's really a wasted resource to make custom wheels.

Sure are cool though.

We started with this idea, but found that our COTS wheels (Colsons) were too small, and no COTS wheels would fit our design after the face. So, we went custom.

By the time we manually machined, knurled, broached, and pressed hubs on the Colsons, we just about could have made our own wheels to the perfect size. And, we can do it in-house, and while we can still get aluminum for $1.69/lb, we might as well.

If there was a COTS wheel that was the same size, weight, and bore that we'd make anyway, I wouldn't bother making them. But I've yet to see something good with a 7/16" hex bore.

I agree though, that you should definitely attempt to buy over building, if the off the shelf options fit your needs. You're not just buying wheels, you're buying time.

[Holtzman]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

I think a great model to apply in situations is WW2056D (What would 2056 do).

For us, custom wheels are filed firmly in the ANGTFT category.

[mman1506]

Are team custom made these wheels in 07.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/20329


They are made from aluminium tubes with a aluminium disc welded in the centre. A live axle hub is welded to the disc. It was then sand blasted to give it a nice finish. The tread is riveted to the tube. In this case time was the majority of the cost.