Modifying KoP wheels

[rsegrest]

We are considering adding traction strips to our wheels (the ones they sell on IFI Robotics). Is it legal to attach the strip to the original KoP wheels? I looked through the rules and all I could find that related was <R06> and <R83> . The way I read that is that it's ok to modify the wheels. Any thoughts?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by rsegrest

We are considering adding traction strips to our wheels (the ones they sell on IFI Robotics). Is it legal to attach the strip to the original KoP wheels? I looked through the rules and all I could find that related was <R06> and <R83> . The way I read that is that it's ok to modify the wheels. Any thoughts?

Legal. It's also been done for years. Just make sure you don't have metal on carpet.

[GaryVoshol]

And once you've done it, they are no longer KoP wheels. They are now fabricated items, so they can't be used in future years.

[rsegrest]

COOL!! Okay, it's been done for years (REALLY good to kow)...how do they usually attach the tread? We were considering Gorilla Glue...seriously

[Alan Anderson]

Using Gorilla Glue to attach treads isn't unheard of. I've seen a lot of teams use rivets as well (taking care not to violate the "no metal traction devices against carpet" rule).

[thefro526]

you could just drill and pop-rivet them, they should be strong enough to hold them unless you have a lot to power

[Arefin Bari]

We, team 1345, have done it for the past three years and we had great success with it. We shave the rubber off and then rivet the tread on it. Here is what we used in 2006 and you see the wheels used in 2007. We are doing the same for this year. Good luck.

[eugenebrooks]

Originally Posted by rsegrest

COOL!! Okay, it's been done for years (REALLY good to kow)...how do they usually attach the tread? We were considering Gorilla Glue...seriously

Gorilla glue is not the best method. Here is what we do.
To prepare the wheel, we cut the rubber tread off using a
bandsaw, carefully not cutting into the black polycarb.
We then spin the wheel on a lathe, carefully cutting the rest
of the tread off, just barely getting into the black polycarb.

We then use the tread material from mcmaster, carefully
sanding the back with a belt sander to just barely remove
the first layer of nylon. The sanded tread is then cut into
strips the width of the wheel. The strips are then carefully
cut for length so that they will just butt around the wheel
with a little stretch. The black rubber of the tread, and the
black poly carb of the wheel are then cleaned with MEK.
The tread is then glued onto the wheel with slow cure
cyano glue, using a special clamp made of sheet metal that
is drawn together with a modified pair of wide jaw vice
grips. After everything is in place zip kicker is used to
cure the glue.

Treads glued on this way do not peel off. No rivets or
screws are required. The rubber on the back of the tread
will rip apart before the glue will let go.

Yes, its a custom wheel now and you can't use it for a second
year. It is cheap, however, and it works really well.

[rsegrest]

Thanks for all the advice guys! Speaking for all the rookie teams out there you guys are THE BEST!! Our team considers all of you to be as much mentor to us as our "official" team mentors.

THANK YOU!!