We’re trying to avoid Andy Mark because of the crazy amount of extra money we would have to pay ($ is poopy and shipping).
Do any of you have any good places to order our know good stores to go to for 8 inch pneumatic wheels?
you can get the wheel fairly easily, Home depot probably has them. It’s the hub you would have to source, unless your ok with the heavier hubs.
Quite an assortment of 200 mm x 50 mm pneumatic tires on Amazon too. As others have mentioned, the hub portion seems to be an Andy Mark item if you want the compatibility with the chassis kit. The 8" pneumatic wheel also seems popular for powered scooters so I found some medical scooter part online as well. Can speak for the Canadian factor but Home Depot and Harbor Freight have some options as well. Some are mount on castors but you might be able to salvage the wheels from them.
We’re looking at maybe 3D printing our hubs using PLA and the higher, 90% infill rate. How do you think they’d hold up?
that makes half your robot’s weight if you have a 6 WD :rolleyes:
8" is a bit small compared to what the hardware stores around here tend to stock. You’ll have an easier time finding 10"+, but that limits your wheel configuration to 4wd, or a really narrow 6wd, and both of those come with their own set of problems. Apart from home depot, princess auto also carries a selection of tires. if the right size is not available locally you can order from Mcmaster-Carr, they are in the US but shipping is really reasonable and fast. They carry a huge selection of tires, it’s not cheaper, but it’s always going to be in stock.
Although the Andymark wheels are expensive to get to us, and are not in stock atm, the fact that the hubs use the FRC standard bolt pattern means they can easily be attached to the belts and sprockets that vex and andymark have available. Converting other pneumatic wheels requires you to do one of following:
Make the standard 6 hole bolt pattern on the hub (which may already have a 4 bolt pattern on it)
or
modifying your sprockets/chains/gears to fit the existing pattern on the hub
Both options work, but if you do choose to do this know that it does take some time to fabricate. Care needs to be taken to keep them as concentric as possible unless you don’t mind a lumpy robot, definitely something that should be done on a mill if possible.
Princess Auto in Mississauga has a sale on 8 inch pneumatic tires if your interested 
Beat me to it… Princess Auto has some good deals. http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/7-x-1-1-2-in-semi-pneumatic-utility-wheel/A-p8039976e
You might also find dealers such as http://www.castertown.com/ who can help you out. (Look under “Hospital Equipment”)
This also reminds me that I’d heard that at Sunnyhill Children’s Hospital in Vancouver there is apparently a basement room filled with broken electric scooters and wheelchairs. If you find an electric wheelchair/scooter repair house, then you might find some really nice wheels and tires.
Jason