Hi all, we are doing our very first swerve drive this year with SDS MK2 modules we bought before covid and have been testing using the 4" VersaWheel DT’s. We have found that this wheel option degrades heavily and from other teams’ anecdotes, it seems that these wheels can last 2-3 matches at a worst case scenario.
The 4” Versawheel non-DT from Vex is the only stocked COTS wheel option we can find for the MK2’s which we’d like to avoid. One thing we are considering is buying MK3 to MK4 wheel upgrade kits from SDS. I believe the parts and hardware for the bevel gears portion of the MK2 and MK3 are identical which leads me to believe that this upgrade kit would work for the MK2 as well. Are there any other wheel options for MK2’s available right now? Thanks!
Do you have access to a 3D printer that can do nylon-CF such as a Bambu Labs X1C or a Markforged? I have a design for 3D printed swerve wheels that I was working on that I could modify for the MK2 and send you.
From their web listing it says it’s in stock but it doesn’t allow you to check out more than 1 billet wheel. Which I’m assuming means they’re oos. I tried emailing SDS but it led to no response. We do have access to X1C’s and could print some. Have you printed the wheel and mounted tread to it? Or is it a TPU based one?
We’d love to test out your hub design! Also, did you SLS print your TPU tread? We’re exploring that too but seems like FDM is lackluster when it comes to that.
I just finished making a 3D printable wheel design for the MK2, but Solidworks is currently having a meltdown making the tread model to go with it. I should have it done in a few minutes.
Solidworks just melting that one core in particular as per usual:
Edit 2: Forgot to add, I sized the holes for heat-set inserts such as these. I did not include tread mounting holes but I can make a version with them tomorrow if you would rather bolt on tread.
So far we have just mounted a set of press-fit TPU treads on 4 billet SDS wheels and put a 2 full batteries worth of hard driving on them with our practice/programming chassis. After all that, each of the treads had slipped about 30-45 degrees on the wheels, but that shouldn’t be an issue on the printed wheels. We tested driving against a wall and the grip was enough that they didn’t break traction. We haven’t driven enough to see any wear but they did pull up a bit of dust from the carpet and turn grey between the spikes of the treads.
I’ve only used the PA-HT from Bambu, PA6 likely requires much more care to make sure it is dry before printing with.
For the wheel I start with the strength preset and turn on supports set to “snug”, and change the infill to gyroid or cubic (cubic has a higher potential to warp but is stiffer).
For the tread I start with the strength preset with support turned off, set walls to 2 and set infill to gyroid at 60%.
The holes are a little too shallow for the heat-set inserts to install flush, so I am going to adjust them. The tread spikes could also be slightly thicker at the base so I’m going to adjust that too.
