This years wheels

[chinckley]

Originally Posted by AndyB

No, Andymark only supplies 6" wheels. You can see what they have at www.andymark.biz

Are there any limitations on wheels used?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by chinckley

Are there any limitations on wheels used?

No. COTS wheels typically don't cost anywhere near the $400 needed to make them illegal.

[Raul]

Originally Posted by chinckley

Are there any limitations on wheels used?

Only limitation is that no metal or velcro-like material contact the carpet.

[psyco_klown]

i dont like the andymark wheels this year that came in the kit. they were all hard compared to last year which were soft and they actually sink in the middle like a u shape. we would have to put them on a lathe to fix them. anyone else have those problems.

Originally Posted by psyco_klown

i dont like the andymark wheels this year that came in the kit. they were all hard compared to last year which were soft and they actually sink in the middle like a u shape. we would have to put them on a lathe to fix them. anyone else have those problems.

Once you put the robot's weight on the wheel, it spreads out to a larger contact patch. By lathing it down, you're actually decreasing the effectiveness of your wheels... Also, teams using the AM kit wheels should probably get some advice from the longboarding world on how to break in 'Thane wheels. You can make a hard wheel extremely slippery, or incredibly soft and grippy, all depending on how you wear it in.

If my team didn't have a decent budget, the AM wheels would be an instantly used item, as they are awesome for their price.

[Gdeaver]

Skyway can provide 8" wheels like the ones first use to put in the kit. You will have to make adapters to use skyway wheels. In my opinion the rubber is much better on skyway. The andymark wheels are sloppy But you don't have to make hub adapters.

[chinckley]

Originally Posted by Gdeaver

Skyway can provide 8" wheels like the ones first use to put in the kit. You will have to make adapters to use skyway wheels. In my opinion the rubber is much better on skyway. The andymark wheels are sloppy But you don't have to make hub adapters.

Thank you so much.

Carolyn Hinckley

[windell747]

Hi, so the only rules that govern what wheels we can use is the price, that they are COTS and that they do no damage the field?

If we buy new 8" Skyway wheels and modify them is this still legal?

Thanks
Windell
#2477

[Teched3]

Yes you can modify them. Use them as is if you want, but I would recommend getting them with the precision bearings to match your axle diameter. The stamped bearings will fail. Prices are very reasonable. You will need to make adapters to drive them and space chain if you use chain. I believe Innovation First made hub adapters that still might be available that make it an easier mount if you use chain and sprockets. They were in the KOP when Skyway wheels were offerred.

PS -- AndyMark still has stock (last time I looked) of last year's wheels available, which ae softer. Hoevr some of them faled at he bearing and/or spoke areas, and were beefed up for this year's version. We modified them by filling in the hub space with epoxy/fiberglass to take the hard side hits that caused the bearing to break out of the hub rim.

[elvin23]

i been posting for a lil while and i got a bad rep from the post i edited

[Andy L]

IFI has high traction wheels that you can get in 8"

http://www.ifirobotics.com/robot-traction-wheels.shtml

getting four of these runs pretty costly at $335.36 for a set of four wheels, bearings, 22 tooth sprockets and tread.

these are expensive but are very, very nice and work well

[windell747]

Does anyone know where I can purchase the skyway wheels? I took a look at the skyway site and it doesn't seem that they have the 8" with precision bearings.

Please correct me if Im wrong. Thanks!

[Gdeaver]

Contact Skyway and tell them you are a First Team looking for 8" wheel chair wheels they supplied to first. They should be able to help you from there. If you are using the KOP frame then 3/8" grade 8 bolts work good for axles. Tell skyway you want bearing for the axle diameter you are going to use. They sell good bearing with the wheels for a reasonable price. IFI doesn't have the wheel sprocket adapters listed any more. They were expensive. Last year we got a piece of 3/4" LDPE from Mcmaster. Used a 3" hole saw and I believe a 1" to make the donuts. Put them on the wheel hub and mark the spokes in the six points. Use a thick saw blade to make the slots. Get aluminum sprockets from IFI or AndyMark. Center them on the donuts and drill the mounting holes. Use 10-24 socket head bolts with NYlock nuts. Thats what we did last year.

[Jonathan Norris]

Originally Posted by psyco_klown

i dont like the andymark wheels this year that came in the kit. they were all hard compared to last year which were soft and they actually sink in the middle like a u shape. we would have to put them on a lathe to fix them. anyone else have those problems.

I believe last year we were supplied with Andy Mark wheels as well, its been two years since we had Skyway wheels now. The AM wheels with the mounting holes for sprockets are a big improvement over the skyway wheels from the past.