Swerve Concept

[Bryce Paputa]

Originally Posted by Greg Woelki

This one?

Well keep in mind that, while more wheels will keep the tread pattern fromthe wearing down as quickly, doubling the number of wheels will give only a very minor improvement in traction since, while it is simplified, friction very closely equals N*mu. Having a wheel on each side will significantly increase the torque required for pivoting and it will probably take a minimum of a quarter of a second or so to rotate a module 180 degrees.

On a deformable surface like carpet, the n mu approximation isn't a valid assumption, he'd pretty much need to test it himself with his wheel setup in order to figure out how friction would be effected. With a rough top tread I would think you would get more friction, but probably not with a smooth vex wheel, but this is just a guess. The increase in turning torque is correct though and if more surface area was beneficial I'd just have a single thicker wheel to take advantage of the low torque required to turn near the axis of rotation.

Also, getting the holes on the two 1/8th inch pieces of aluminium to line up is going to be very challenging, I would recommend making it out of a single piece of extrusion or two flat plates with standoffs.