Help with finding 6 inch pneumatic wheels with a plastic hub

We have been looking all over to try and find 6’’ wheels but every wheel we come across has a steel hub. We would like to find one with a plastic hub to keep our robot weight down.

The only plastic hubs we have come across are for 8 inch wheels and we would really like to keep our wheels down to 6 inches.

If anyone know somewhere where we can get a 6 inch wheel with the plastic hub we would very much appreciate it.

For what it’s worth, the steel rims of the 6" wheels are super thin and not particularly heavy at all.

We’ve estimated that each wheel would be about 1 pound heavier which adds up.

Call these guys up and see what they have to offer: http://www.skywaywheels.com/usfirst.htm

It appears they have what you are looking for.
http://www.skywaywheels.com/products_004.htm

http://www.castercity.com/eshop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=SF6x1-1/4G&ReturnTo=../specific-app-casters/light-duty-pneumatic-casters.htm

These are some of the skinniest and lightest 6" pneumatic wheels that we have found. Skinny enough to fit into a swerve drive module if needed. Not sure what tread wear and traction would be like though.

I did forget to mention that we were looking for something with a 2 inch tread width as well to prevent being pushed sideways.

Is it essential that you use pneumatic wheels?

I would highly suggest Colson Performa caster wheels especially because of this new product http://wcproducts.net/wcp-00052/ + http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/BPDWC17.html

Or I would suggest you look into Skyway bead-lok wheels. These wheels are used by teams such as 25 and 2016 has used them as well. http://www.skywaywheels.com/products_002.htm

We’re looking to get controllable pressure (so we can do the fake dropped center for turning) and the cushioning effects of pneumatics, in addition to the additional traction. This is why we have not looked at Colson or the Bead-Lok line, or at semi-pneumatic wheels.

Thanks everyone for their input so far, though!

If it helps any with your sizing plans,
the 8" pneumatic wheels we have from AndyMark actually measure 7.5".

Just checked these out online and found some issues.

  1. how would you attach a hub?
  2. More importantly, according to the site the wheels are

NOT to be used above 3 mph. For manual use ONLY.

Regardless of the wheel type we are planning to pull the bearings and press in a hub for hex shaft direct drive.

The 3 mph is only 4 fps so that will be a problem. Thanks for the catch!

There is no way the wheel would be that much heavier. The wheel minus the bearing insert weighs right around 1 lb with the steel rims. Plastic is less dense but would require much more material to get a workable stiffness from the part. Safe yourself the hassle and go with the Mcmaster 6" wheels