Where do teams get the rollers that they use on intakes and conveyor systems. They look like hard plastic, but all I could find is the Versa Roller from Vex, which is a foam.
I’ve also heard about dead axles and it seems like those make the process simpler, but I can’t see how to mount them.
Do any companies sell a kit that is used for larger diameter rollers?
Is it possible to 3D print an adapter between a bearing and a pvc tube to mount it?
A couple of different places sell similar items.
Dead axle setups have multiple ways to be mounted. You can use a hex shaft or round bar as a shaft, then the tube has a bearing in it that allows it to rotate around the shaft.
The tubing itself is polycarbonate tubing. It’s commonly found on McMaster
For the rollers, MCM sells polycarb tubes. 1/16in wall or 1/8in wall works fine.
For deadaxle rollers, you have a few options. 1678 and 254 have some pretty good rollers that work well, i personally prefer the one at parts.frccad.com made by @AndrewCard 
You just have to print 2 endcaps, and use standard 1/2 or 3/8 hex with the associated bearings. You can mount them through the tapped hole in the axle. The benefit of a deadaxle means it can double as a standoff between plates.
You can also use PVC pipe as the roller, but you would have to adjust the cap to accommodate the different ID.
If you want them COTS, TTB recently released some.
Let me know if there is anything else you need to know, i <3 deadaxle rollers.
Just found the ones made by @AndrewCard! Looks awesome!
Any chance we could allow the pullies to go to smaller tooth counts? They are currently limited at 24 as the minimum.
I believe it is set to that to ensure you can fit a standard 1.125OD 1/2in hex bearing, as any smaller either breaks it or leaves so little material around the bearing that it becomes really sketchy.
VEX has come out with a new roller system that makes deadshaft intake rollers super easy. The hubs attach to bare tube by tightening 3 #8-32 screws, and VEX also sells brand new polycarbonate tubes that have silicone pre-stretched around them to increase the grip on game elements.
You can see examples of using these hubs in a dead shaft application in the “details” tab at the bottom of the page.
These tubes are 2" diameter which is great for intakes.
https://www.vexrobotics.com/intake-components.html
But in live axle setups without the bearing in the rollers you can go much smaller. My take on most of these configurable assemblies is keep the options wider, which puts the onus on the user a bit more to prevent breaking stuff. To each their own though.
That’s fair, a big driving point behind Andrew’s development it looked like was to make it so it could not break.
Ive changed it to go down to 16 which is the smallest size that the mkcad configurable htd pulley works for
For this deadaxle style, how is the axle attached to sideplates? It seems like the hex shaft would be rotating while trying to tighten the screw.
You just bolt the shaft on both sideplates, it shouldn’t rotate if your hex is tapped. If its rotating then u can clamp it with a vice or something:
Onshape (link)
The roller itself rotates because of the bearing
Thanks! We have examples in OnShape of the different ways you can configure the rollers as well.
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