Vex vs Andymark Omni wheels

Technical Technical Discussion
1

Hey all :slight_smile:
Our team considering omni wheels for this year. We saw that andymark sales them for $100 ( http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-0432.htm ) while vex sales them for only $25 ( http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexpro/motion/wheels-and-hubs/omni-wheels.html ).

Does anyone know why the prices are so different? Do vex-wheels break or have any other problem?

Thanks ahead!
The Spikes #2212

2

The andymark wheels are sold in sets of four. The price is actually really close

3

It’s only one wheel. Take a look at the included hardware list.

4

AndyMark is Aluminum, VEX is Plastic. There are big differences in the load rating.

  • I read this to be 50lbs per wheel set since it is worded in terms of an entire robot which typically has 4 wheels on the ground.

Therefore it really depends on weight distribution - if the side which will carry 4 totes at once has the omni wheels, you’re probably better of with the AndyMark wheels.

5

This is not true.

The VEXpro omni wheels will handle this load with no problem.

6

I guess I don’t understand why the VEX Pro omni wheel load rating doesn’t have an outright number then? We’re trying to make this very decision, and the omni rollers not rolling isn’t an option with our planned setup.

7

Paul (or anyone else at VEX),
Do you have ratings for a single omni wheel? It says on the website that they are rated for usage on a 200 lbs robot. How many wheels would that be spread on?

For other teams, have you had failures with VEX Pro Omni wheels? If so, can you post pictures or descriptions of the failure and if you have any, a theory to what caused it?

8

This is a slightly unrelated question, but how would the 6" vex pro traction handle being directly under a full stack of totes (about 50-60 lbs per wheel)? Is this pushing the limits of what the wheel can hold?

9

We have used both in the past with no discernible differences. We will be using VEX this year.