pic: Dual omni-wheel

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by rangersteve

Wow. That looks really good and tough. Have you weighed it?

Hi, Mr. Wallace, this is steve (team 931, design, tall). We need to get moving on the project.

I posted this description with the picture (repeating here for convenience):

Rollers are 3/4" diameter 60A polyurethane mounted on 3/16" inner diameter bronze bearings which roll on dowel pins. Effective diameter over the rollers is 4.8 inch. Weight as shown including aluminum hub, roller bearing, and 30 tooth schedule 40 steel sprocket is 1.75 lb. We plan to build a holonomic drivetrain using four of these wheels and demonstrate it at St. Louis Regional Fall training camp in November.

Yeah, Steve, we need to get moving. I have a few more parts made, some gears and pinions, shafts, bushings,... but the chassis rails and other structural elements are still in work. PM or email me so we can arrange time to meet.

[JVN]

I was recently in St. Louis for a conference, and got the chance to see (and drive) this omni-drive prototype. I was REALLY impressed. It handled incredibly. If the 2006 game requires omni-directional motion, this design could be an awesome competitior on the field.

The design & construction techniques were also very cool. A lot of work and attention to detail went into this machine. I hope I see it on the field sometime soon.

Kudos!
-JV

[mechanicalbrain]

Has anyone considered a second set of omni wheels (or a ball) in the center of the robot so the weight is evenly distributed. They need not be powered. The other thing I'm curious about is the use of different surfaces. I see some mention of using different materials and I have seen some work done on roller surfaces (the grenade wheels come to mind though I don't think that was for traction) but has anyone really experimented with different surfaces?