VersaWheel vs Traction wheels

[BBray_T1296]

Has anyone looked into Banebot Wheels as drive wheels? you would have to stack them up to get a useful width (3x0.4" or 2x0.8" I'm thinking) If they DO have decent grip, they are fairly cheap and super easy to mount if you use the hex variants.

Plus you can get them in a variety of colors (including Orange!)

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296

Has anyone looked into Banebot Wheels as drive wheels? you would have to stack them up to get a useful width (3x0.4" or 2x0.8" I'm thinking) If they DO have decent grip, they are fairly cheap and super easy to mount if you use the hex variants.

Plus you can get them in a variety of colors (including Orange!)

They wear far, far too quickly.

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

They wear far, far too quickly.

I'd also be worried about breaking them on a 120lbs robot. I've broken AndyMark wheels that are designed for this type of beating and I can't imagine the banebots wheels being able to stand up to many FRC matches as drive wheels.

[BBray_T1296]

Alright, thanks for the info! we were talking about testing new drivetrain configurations and this came up. We have some spares we got last year, so we will probably try it anyways, but we probably will not buy more. The idea, at least, was to have 8-10 wheel tank drive (2.875" diameter) with each composed of 3x0.4" units for a total of 24-30 BaneBot Wheels. I liked the idea of the 0.8" thickness but was not sure how much more/less sturdy they were than 2x0.4" side by side.

If they wear out too quickly, (to us, versa-wheels don't wear out prohibitively quickly) though, they probably won't be an option

I also see that the different colors represent different tread hardnesses (Green soft, Orange medium, Blue hard).

When you said

They wear far, far too quickly.

What color were you using?

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296

Alright, thanks for the info! we were talking about testing new drivetrain configurations and this came up. We have some spares we got last year, so we will probably try it anyways, but we probably will not buy more. The idea, at least, was to have 8-10 wheel tank drive (2.875" diameter) with each composed of 3x0.4" units for a total of 24-30 BaneBot Wheels. I liked the idea of the 0.8" thickness but was not sure how much more/less sturdy they were than 2x0.4" side by side.

If they wear out too quickly, (to us, versa-wheels don't wear out prohibitively quickly) though, they probably won't be an option

Why not just use 3" colsons? I'm just wondering what advantage you are trying to get by using BB on the drivetrain?

[BBray_T1296]

No idea, just something different, really.

We want to try something that isn't well documented as part of our offseason. Colson's work very well, and are proven. Has anyone tried a drivetrain from Banebots? Noone we know of

[ErvinI]

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296

No idea, just something different, really.

We want to try something that isn't well documented as part of our offseason. Colson's work very well, and are proven. Has anyone tried a drivetrain from Banebots? Noone we know of

1274 had a drivetrain that incorporated BaneBots this year at Buckeye (I think it was them...), although they had the smallest robot I've ever seen. Couldn't see it up close to check the wear, however I'd expect that their results might not be the same as your results because there wasn't that much force from friction coming from the weight of their robot. Not sure how they would do in a pushing match either, as they literally just bounced back when hit.

I would try to get in touch with someone on their team, if possible.

[smistthegreat]

3609 used BB wheels this year, as you can see from this picture.
Looks like blue in the middle and orange on the outsides. I wasn't able to see any of their matches in person but there are videos on TBA from Granite State, which they won. http://www.thebluealliance.com/team/3609

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296

No idea, just something different, really.

We want to try something that isn't well documented as part of our offseason. Colson's work very well, and are proven. Has anyone tried a drivetrain from Banebots? Noone we know of

1503 built one in 2008. 1625 tried them in a swerve module in the 2009 off season.

Wheels wear way too quickly. You'll be changing them every match.

[BBray_T1296]

Erm, yeah...

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296

No idea, just something different, really.

We want to try something that isn't well documented as part of our offseason. Colson's work very well, and are proven. Has anyone tried a drivetrain from Banebots? Noone we know of

We've used all colors for various applications. I'm familiar with how they wear, as well with how soft they are. I'm also pretty experienced with how different tread wears in FRC driving.

I can say with great confidence banebots wheels are horribly suited for an FRC drivetrain. There are just so, so, so many better COTS options.

[BBray_T1296]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

We've used all colors for various applications. I'm familiar with how they wear, as well with how soft they are. I'm also pretty experienced with how different tread wears in FRC driving.

I can say with great confidence banebots wheels are horribly suited for an FRC drivetrain. There are just so, so, so many better COTS options.

Alright thanks everyone for the input. We will NOT be trying banebot wheels. We will try colsons (with their nifty hub), versa wheels, and traction wheels to find what best suits us. We are more focused on implementing more exciting use for the drivetrain.