We keep losing the tr5ead on our Andy Mark plaction wheels, and we were wondering if riveting the tread to the wheel would constitute as metal-to-carpet contact…
I tried searching the Q&A, and CD, but I did not find an answer to this question.
I would post a question to the Q&A, but the only person who knows the username and password for our team is not here, and busy…
As long as the rivets don’t contact the carpet, you should be OK. Make sure they’re sunk deep.
A good question… we’re using IFI (VEXPro) traction wheels, which use a similar method of attaching roughtop tread to the wheel. The particular rule regarding metal-to-carpet contact has not changed in years, and IFI wheels have passed inspection many, many times in the past.
If the interpretation of this rule were going to change for this year (seeing as how the rule hasn’t) then we should have been informed prior to today.
That said… I’ve sent the kids back to “do a better job” of riveting the tread on more than once already. Part of keeping this method legal, is making sure that a bad rivet doesn’t damage the carpet.
Jason
okay, thanks.
we were just curious, because this is the first year that we have used wheels with detatchable tread.
I did some testing with different sized rivets, and figured out what worked…
thanks again! 
I believe that we’ve used staples.
the ones we got came with staples on them, but the staples kept tearing out.
I’m contemplating using AM plaction or performance wheels for an off-season drive train… Have the rivets been successful at holding the treads on? What size wheel are you using? Do you have any plaction vs. performance comparisons to make? Thanks for the time!
We actually used both Plaction and Performance wheels (6") on our robot this year. We used rivets to hold the tread on both types of wheels, and never had an issue with the tread coming out. I would suggest using more than just 4 rivets at the very ends of the tread. Maybe 2-4 in the middle of the length of tread. With regard to Plaction -v- Performance, we used Performance for the wheels that were taking the brunt of the force coming off the bump to ensure that the Plaction wouldn’t break, but we never had issues with either. However, on thing to consider is that the Performance wheels are just slightly larger (circumference) than the Plaction wheels, so if you are using some of each, make sure you account for that (especially if you want to make a 6 wheel-rock drive train.)
-Seth
http://www.andymark.biz/plactionwheel.html
It says right on the page where you can buy them that the best way to get them to stay is to use rivets. We used two at each end of the “belt”.
~:||:~
Like that.
We also riveted the treads on after they had fallen off in a match, but be careful where on the wheel your rivets are placed. Our team ended up cracking a big piece of the wheel off in one match after it was weakened because the rivet whole was drilled through the split in the plastic causing a crack.
If you’re putting a pop rivet into plastic try putting a small washer on the tail of the rivet for it to grip with, I’ve found that this really helps when riveting into materials that don’t handle bearing stresses well, like plastic or carbon fiber.