pic: AndyMark booth

[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

Thanks, Ben.

We will have these new products on our AndyMark.biz website within a week or two:

1. 6" diameter billet aluminum "Performance Wheel" (6" dia. x 1" wide tread, 0.8 lbs each, 1/2" hex bore, and w/ 6 #10-32 sprocket mounting holes, $59)

2. 6" and 8" diameter aluminum omni-wheels (same profile and rollers as the polycarbonate omni-wheels, $47 for 6" and $55 for 8")

3. 8" steel framed, "Coolie Dualie" omni wheel, $55

4. New and improved AM Planetary gearbox, with new bearings, improved planet gears, and a cap that adapts to more motors, $98

5. 25 series aluminum plate sprockets, prices to be determined.

Currently, we don't have plans for a 6" Mecanum Wheel. If the demand for the 8" set is high enough, maybe this will be something we will develop for next year.

Andy B.

I spent alot of time with Andy at ramp riot and thought that I would share my initial reviews of his new products.

1)performance wheel - very high quality machining. It comes with a .5" hex bore for live axle use, but also comes with the 1.875" bolt hole pattern for dead axle use(you will need to re-bore the center for this on your own). Overall they look great, and AM has definitely optimized for strength and weight. They use the wedge or waffle top belts, and attach through holes for rivets. If you want a live axle option these will work great right out of the box. I am a little concerned about teams without a lathe being able to use these on a dead axle, even though that option exists. I guarantee you will see these on winning robots this year.

2)Aluminum omni wheel - 3 laser cut plates of aluminum making up these wheels, similar construction to the original "trick wheel" but with the same rollers as the plastic ones last year. These are very similar in weight to the plastic omni's we saw last year, which really makes them a step up. Any teams concerned about breaking the plastic wheels should go with these. The one thing that should be noted about these, is that only 1 bearing goes through them. This means that you will need to put a bearing in the sprocket to get full wheel support. Overall that is not a major dilemma as all of their aluminum sprockets are pre-bored for a press fit of a 3/8 bearing. I know I will be buying at least 4 of these in the near future.

3) "Coolie Daile" - When i first saw these I was really confused but now that i understand them they have great potential. They use a "bent tab" construction out of a single stamped piece of metal (similar to the Mecanum wheels). With this bent tab, they are able to put 2 rows of the standard AM roller in for a smoother ride then the other omni wheels. Just like their other wheel products they have a hole for a 3/8 bearing and the 1.875 bolt hole pattern. Similar to the new aluminum omni wheels these require you to put a bearing in your sprocket as well.

4)AM planetary gearbox - a single gearbox for the, FP, GLOBE, CIM, and muchabi, all in one....wow. There is an extra bearing stacked inside to accommodate larger cantilevered load. Wait for the specs on these for gear reductions and torque. If I would compare these to the bane bots, just on manufacturing quality alone, bane bots is a ford crown Vic while these are a Porshe. They will both get you there but one will do it with style.


5) aluminum sprockets - lots of sizes and a good way to cut weight in those final hours. If prices are reasonable this should be a no brainer for most teams.