Where to purchase new wheels.

[RyanN]

As the build season fast approaches, we are trying to get a stock of parts to work with. This year, we're going to go with 2" x 6" wheels, and as the new captain of Team Fusion, I'm having trouble finding them. AndyMark used to have 2" x 6" wheels, but they were out of stock, and now they do not appear on their website. Also, we do not like the IFI wheels. We are looking for something lightweight as we are probably going to have a 4 motor drive train since we kept on tripping our breakers last year. So 2" x 6" wheels...

Also, on another note: looking for 22 and 52 tooth sprockets.

[colin340]

custom is the way to go just see if a local company will help you out
it really is the way to go

[Richard Wallace]

You might try Colson wheels. A quick search found this site, where model WC18 (6"dia x 2"W) sells for $7.50 each.

Colsons weigh a little more than AM or IFI traction wheels, and their CoF is a little less -- but the price is right and they are easy to drill, saw, machine, etc. to suit your needs.

The site above and similar sites that offer robot components will have other types of wheels, too.

[RyanN]

Originally Posted by colin340

custom is the way to go just see if a local company will help you out
it really is the way to go

We can make custom with our new CNC machine, but we are still trying to get everything figured out, and we don't want to design them, especially since we cannot build anything until January. If we were to mill them out, that would break the rules. I think the thing that Richard posted looks pretty neat, and I'll look at that. Trust me, if we had the patience and knowhow to CNC our own aluminum wheels, we would. We ordered the shiny aluminum ones from AndyMark, but found them to be too thin for our needs. They were so pretty though...

[colin340]

then make one to get all the kinks out you can design them you can not make them now and then compete we them

[Zyik]

GRR (973) uses pully parts for wheels. They work very well. Don't know if that helps you at all but it's something to look into.

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by RyanN

We can make custom with our new CNC machine, but we are still trying to get everything figured out, and we don't want to design them, especially since we cannot build anything until January. If we were to mill them out, that would break the rules. I think the thing that Richard posted looks pretty neat, and I'll look at that. Trust me, if we had the patience and knowhow to CNC our own aluminum wheels, we would. We ordered the shiny aluminum ones from AndyMark, but found them to be too thin for our needs. They were so pretty though...

Well, the off-season is a good time to practice with your CNC machine. If you practice making some wheels now, I'll bet you can make it so that you can create the CNC file pretty quickly once build starts, and after that it is mostly a matter of clamping down the stock and pressing "go" a few times. The same thing goes for programming... if you figure out how to code encoders, or improve your camera tracking in the off-season, there is nothing to prevent you from using that knowledge during build... heck... that is what you are SUPPOSED to do!

If you want a quick alternative, however, consider wooden wheels... I've seen some very effective wheels cut out of plywood (glue a couple sheets together to get two inches) with a conveyor-belt tire. Turn a couple of aluminum inserts to hold bearings, bolt on a sprocket, use a hole saw to cut out some "speed holes" and you're off to the races.

Most importantly, however, don't forget that whatever you are planning right now could change drastically when the challenge and KOP items are announced. For all we know there is going to be a layer of washed gravel spread across the carpet this year... or we're going to have to climb steps, or cross a section of low-friction polyethylene.... or there could be 6" x 2" wheels in the KoP!

Who knows.... but you can't go wrong by learning to program your CNC machine better.

Jason

[colin340]

Originally Posted by RyanN

As the build season fast approaches, we are trying to get a stock of parts to work with. This year, we're going to go with 2" x 6" wheels, and as the new captain of Team Fusion, I'm having trouble finding them. AndyMark used to have 2" x 6" wheels, but they were out of stock, and now they do not appear on their website. Also, we do not like the IFI wheels. We are looking for something lightweight as we are probably going to have a 4 motor drive train since we kept on tripping our breakers last year. So 2" x 6" wheels...

Also, on another note: looking for 22 and 52 tooth sprockets.

why 6in

i'm a fan of 4in wheels if done right you can climb any ramp

[RyanN]

Originally Posted by colin340

why 6in

i'm a fan of 4in wheels if done right you can climb any ramp

Mostly to avoid field obstacles such as ramps, bumps, and dislodged robot parts We're going from our 8" to 6" this year to try to get a bit more torque, and we want 2" to grasp the floor better.

I'll talk to our engineer tomorrow to see if we can make our own. I know he doesn't want to, but if we can't find decently weighted wheels, we may have to.

[MrForbes]

Originally Posted by RyanN

Also, we do not like the IFI wheels.

Why not? The 2006 IFI wheels were not too good, but the 2007 model is completely redesigned, and they work just fine.

And 1" wide wheels grip very well.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by squirrel

Why not? The 2006 IFI wheels were not too good, but the 2007 model is completely redesigned, and they work just fine.

And 1" wide wheels grip very well.

I agree the new IFI wheels are good.

Many previous threads have explored the observed principle that wheel traction depends strongly on material and texture, while it is mostly independent of contact patch area. So 2" wide wheels don't grip (much) better than 1" wide wheels if other parameters are equal.

However, double the width means half the load-per-contact-area and therefore half the wear, so wider wheels will keep their traction longer -- i.e., more matches between tread changes. And wider wheels will resist twisting more than narrow ones, so defenders will have to work harder to force you to change direction -- and your own motors may also have to work harder when you want to change direction.

[Gabe]

For wheels that are designed specifically with recreational robotics in mind, look at what the Robot Marketplace has to offer: http://www.robotmarketplace.com/mark...echanical.html

[RyanN]

Originally Posted by Gabe

For wheels that are designed specifically with recreational robotics in mind, look at what the Robot Marketplace has to offer: http://www.robotmarketplace.com/mark...echanical.html

I looked at Robot Marketplace yesterday, and didn't like any of their wheels. Either they were too heavy, or they weren't the right size. We're trying to reduce the weight of the wheels because we want to go with a 4 motor drive train.

[Otaku]

675 used a 4-motor system (each wheel, own motor) this year with 6x1in wheels. With the blue nitrile tread (motors/gearboxes were CIM's plugged in to the BaneBots 56mm 12:1 gearboxes) only one other bot could move us. And we stayed under 120lbs.

Oh, but we made our own wheels.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by RyanN

I looked at Robot Marketplace yesterday, and didn't like any of their wheels. Either they were too heavy, or they weren't the right size. We're trying to reduce the weight of the wheels because we want to go with a 4 motor drive train.

If you are trying to reduce the weight, I suggest:
1. Reduce the diameter. It is possible to climb nearly any ramp with as small as 3.5" wheels if done properly. There is no reason for large wheels unless there is a step or some other such obstacle requiring them. Large wheels require large (heavy) gear reductions.
2. Reduce the width
3. Machine your own.