VersaWheel vs Traction wheels

[Gdeaver]

Colson does offer wider wheels up to 2" in 4" d. I like Colson wheels for traction wear and price. However it takes a bit of work to mount a sprocket on them.

[nathannfm]

Originally Posted by Gdeaver

it takes a bit of work to mount a sprocket on them.

Not any more
http://www.robotmarketplace.com/prod...WCP-00052.html

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by AllenGregoryIV

We used VersaWheels this season and really liked them. Like other teams have said they do ware but when they are new they hard to beat. The idea that they lack lateral traction is a bit more complicated I think than people are making it out. A new set of VersaWheels that still have their corners when pushed sideways (for instance in a t-bone collision) dig into the carpets like cleats. It's pretty hard to move them.

It will be interesting next season when VEXpro releases the tires for their traction wheels.

The Lateral Traction of Versa Wheels probably isn't as simple as I described it in my previous post. I also observed the 'cleating' effect that you're describing, especially when being pushed from the side while not in motion or moving all that quickly. That being said, once the robot is in motion and turning, this cleating effect seems to go away almost entirely. I guess a more appropriate way to describe this would be 'scrub' or turning resistance.

Thinking about it more, the effective scrub could have a lot of do with the forces on the robot, in our case, our CoF was lower than most (with the arm down) meaning that while turning the robot stayed relatively flat but while being t-boned, there was a noticeable tipping towards one side (side being pushed would be lifted). I suspect that this tipping is a major player in the lateral characteristics of the wheel, if it stays flat it's going to have more of a tendency to 'slice' through the carpet, but if it tips you'll get a cleating effect.

[ttldomination]

Originally Posted by Gdeaver

Colson does offer wider wheels up to 2" in 4" d. I like Colson wheels for traction wear and price. However it takes a bit of work to mount a sprocket on them.

Originally Posted by nathannfm

Not any more
http://www.robotmarketplace.com/prod...WCP-00052.html

I'm curious, are colson wheels really that much better than traction wheels?

I've been using traction wheels for the better part of a decade with zero complaints. Yet, the colson wheel is often praised as the superior wheel.

- Sunny G.

[Nemo]

Does anybody have CoF data for AndyMark HiGrip wheels compared to Versawheels? We're planning to try 4" AndyMark wheels for our fall practice drive. If nobody has that data, maybe we can buy a set of each type and do some testing.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

I'm curious, are colson wheels really that much better than traction wheels?

I've been using traction wheels for the better part of a decade with zero complaints. Yet, the colson wheel is often praised as the superior wheel.

- Sunny G.

Like many things in robotics, it's not necessarily what's better, but what's better for your team / situation / strategy.

In terms of purely static CoF on carpet, roughtop wins there. If you don't mind changing tread and want the most traction possible, go for it. It's worth noting that your effective CoF can change depending on what wheel you use - for example, try measuring the CoF of a Plaction wheel vs an AM Performance.

Colsons have some specific advantages. First, in terms of FRC they basically don't wear. Maybe with 200 matches and hours of practice, with small wheels, you might have to change them once. We've used the wheels for multiple years without having to change them. Secondly, the traction is pretty good across a variety of surfaces. While roughtop might be 1.2-1.3 CoF on carpet, Colsons are pretty close at 1.1-1.2. Off carpet, Colsons maintain their high traction while roughtop can suffer a bit. This was most evident on the key and bridge in 2012. Colsons also seem to get "stickier" throughout a match as they heat up, but this is hard to quantify.

Basically, Colsons are almost as good in pure carpet games without requiring maintenance of any kind. It's a team / driver preference thing, really.

[Ravage457]

Intresting, thank you ever one, does anyone have a link for the blue nitrile thread?

[ttldomination]

Originally Posted by Ravage457

Intresting, thank you ever one, does anyone have a link for the blue nitrile thread?

I believe it's part number 5994K851 on McMaster Carr. Order the 3" width and cut it down to size (both width and length).

- Sunny G.

[Ravage457]

Im gonna bring this up in our team, Thank you

[BBray_T1296]

Has anyone looked into Banebot Wheels as drive wheels? you would have to stack them up to get a useful width (3x0.4" or 2x0.8" I'm thinking) If they DO have decent grip, they are fairly cheap and super easy to mount if you use the hex variants.

Plus you can get them in a variety of colors (including Orange!)

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296

Has anyone looked into Banebot Wheels as drive wheels? you would have to stack them up to get a useful width (3x0.4" or 2x0.8" I'm thinking) If they DO have decent grip, they are fairly cheap and super easy to mount if you use the hex variants.

Plus you can get them in a variety of colors (including Orange!)

They wear far, far too quickly.

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

They wear far, far too quickly.

I'd also be worried about breaking them on a 120lbs robot. I've broken AndyMark wheels that are designed for this type of beating and I can't imagine the banebots wheels being able to stand up to many FRC matches as drive wheels.

[BBray_T1296]

Alright, thanks for the info! we were talking about testing new drivetrain configurations and this came up. We have some spares we got last year, so we will probably try it anyways, but we probably will not buy more. The idea, at least, was to have 8-10 wheel tank drive (2.875" diameter) with each composed of 3x0.4" units for a total of 24-30 BaneBot Wheels. I liked the idea of the 0.8" thickness but was not sure how much more/less sturdy they were than 2x0.4" side by side.

If they wear out too quickly, (to us, versa-wheels don't wear out prohibitively quickly) though, they probably won't be an option

I also see that the different colors represent different tread hardnesses (Green soft, Orange medium, Blue hard).

When you said

They wear far, far too quickly.

What color were you using?

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296

Alright, thanks for the info! we were talking about testing new drivetrain configurations and this came up. We have some spares we got last year, so we will probably try it anyways, but we probably will not buy more. The idea, at least, was to have 8-10 wheel tank drive (2.875" diameter) with each composed of 3x0.4" units for a total of 24-30 BaneBot Wheels. I liked the idea of the 0.8" thickness but was not sure how much more/less sturdy they were than 2x0.4" side by side.

If they wear out too quickly, (to us, versa-wheels don't wear out prohibitively quickly) though, they probably won't be an option

Why not just use 3" colsons? I'm just wondering what advantage you are trying to get by using BB on the drivetrain?

[BBray_T1296]

No idea, just something different, really.

We want to try something that isn't well documented as part of our offseason. Colson's work very well, and are proven. Has anyone tried a drivetrain from Banebots? Noone we know of