Wheels

[TrojanTechs]

we are a rookie team and are alittle clueless but do they give a piece to attach the wheels to the base in the kit they give you. if not how do you do it for a four wheel drive or a two wheel drive and what pieces should we get to make the drive train happen.

[Alex.Norton]

They give you a set of half inch bearings that fit in the wheels themselves. The sprocket gets bolted to the wheel and then an axle gets hard mounted to the frame. The wheel spins freely on the axle and is driven by the sproket. This aragement is called a dead axle because the axle does not spin.

[TubaMorg]

Just to add to what Alex said, the axels you will have to go to the store and get. Try 1/2" Grade 8 bolts.

[TrojanTechs]

Thank you Soooo much for you help, it is really appreciated

[Alex.Norton]

I think they set a set of half inch aluminum rods in the kit this year in the igus bag. I'm not complete sure cause I don't have a kit in front of me right now but I would check there before heading off the the store.

[D_Price]

They did send them with the kit...

[TubaMorg]

There sure are some 1/2" rods in the kit, but for a rookie team it is easier to mount the wheels with 1/2" bolts so that their axels don't slip out. Just noticed you were from Boulder, Alex. My town! Go Buffs!

[TrojanTechs]

Ok have the 1/2 axels but now we are wondering what would be the best way to mount the axel to the chassis

[Alex.Norton]

Thats a very hard question and it depends on your resouces. If you have a lathe then it will work best to cut them down to the right length to fit the chassis. Then you should bore and tap a hole in the ends for a 1/4-20 bolt and simply bolt it on through the holes in the kitbot chassis. This will not only look the best it will also get the axle allined much straighter that another mehtod.

However if you don't have a lathe then your best bet, as stated above, is to go your local hardware store and buy some 1/2 inch bolts and bore out the holes that are on the kit bot to a 1/2 inch and simply mount the wheel on the bolt. If your going to do this I would strongly suggest a drill press to drill the hole, not a hand drill and I would get a bolt that doesn't have threads for the entire length since the bearing will be riding on it. This method is more that adequate for almost any team out there and will give you a strong robust drivetrain, but if you do have a lathe I would say go for the first one because it will be stronger and look better.