Roller for Conveyor, and Cable Carrier?

Technical Technical Discussion
1

Hi,

What kind of rollers do you suggest for a polycord conveyor (I’ve searched the forum and couldn’t find a concrete answer). A link would be very appreciated.

Also, as far as cable carriers, what do you use as a cheap way to secure your wires safely (the ones that go all over the robot)

Thanks

2

Regarding securing and organizing wiring:

If you want good wire routing, there are a few good ways to go.
You can have your wires all enclosed in something, like an Energy Chain, braided cable sleeving, heat shrink tubing, or a spiral wrap.
You can also use cable clamps, adhesive mounts or velcro.

Whichever route you take, you are almost certain to use zip-ties. Lots, and lots of zip-ties.

3

Rollers: Many teams are using ~1" pvc pipes.

Wiring: Zipties!!!

4

We machined some on a lathe out of 2" Delrin. About $17 per foot from McMaster, not too bad.

5

Not bad for a team who has a mid-range budget. Don’t know about other places but where I am 2" PVC runs less than $1/ft. If you are on a really limited budget call a commercial plumbing outfit and ask if they will donate in exchange for a sticker on your bot… :smiley:

6

we are using 1" plastic pvc with endcaps that have bolts through them to mount it.

7

1.5" polycarb tube with 1/8" wall thickness

8

1/16th wall AL round tubing with 1.25" OD has a ~1.12" ID, and 1.00" OD has a ~.87" ID. Perfect for common bearing sizes, and in the larger case, for AndyMark hubs too. Just clean up the ends of the tubing (or the hubs) on the lathe, press your bearings/hubs in, and you’re good to go. Not too bad at ~.25 lbs per foot (more if you run the shaft all the way through the roller, but you can get away with just having a nub at either end).

For the “polycord” itself, we are just using 1" wide orange urethane flat belting from McMaster so we don’t need to worry about grooves in our rollers. In fact, we actually just add a few layers of electrical tape the build up the diameter of the roller where we want the belt centered, and the belt stays put and doesn’t wander.

9

We ordered a ton of the McMastercarr pulleys, and then drilled them out to shaft size.

10

We used 1.5" sch 80 PVC and used a lathe to turn 1/8" groves into it. SCH 40 PVC can will be to thin after turning groves in it and could easily crack through.