pic: Mecanum Wheel Project - Rev. D

[Madison]

I've had the first iteration of these wheels finished for about a month now and have been able to play with them and let some others see and play with them to get an idea for how well they work and how durable they are.

With that, it seems that the individual roller bind against their axle when the wheel is rotating between 'sets,' if you will, and I'm curious if anyone who's worked with these sorts of wheels before has encountered this phenomenon and how they were able to correct it.

It seems that there's simply too much friction between the cast urethane rollers and the ABS hubs when they rub against one another, so I'm planning to add a nylon washer between the roller and hub to see if that alleviates the problem.

I'm also considering molding the axle directly into the hub rather than using a separate, nylon tube with the intent of adding rigidity to the axle such that it can't flex far enough to allow the roller to rub against its supporting tab.

Any ideas from you folks who've had some hands-on experience with this sort of mecanum wheel design before?