[Zaggo] developed a printable mecanum wheel. These are designed to allow a wheeled vehicle to move in any direction. He uses parts printed with a Makerbot along with commonly available bearings, bolts, washers, and nuts. Download the STL files need for printing and watch the assembly video after the break. We’ve also included a clip of an unrelated robot project using mecanum wheels so you can see what [Zaggo] will have once he fabricates the rest of the of the wheels.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgrPIcKbykw]
[Zaggo’s] assembly process.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmPbLRDwuGY]
This robot is unrelated to the project. We’ve posted it as example of mecanum wheels in use.
So that’s what they’re called!
Simply amazing.
Okay, now this is just cool.
One word: Moonwalk!
Ideally he should get some bearings or find a way to minimize friction. Mecanum wheels are pretty inefficient.
my bad, looks like he has some.
Reminds me of the wheels on the Honda u3x.
My FIRST robotics team had these on our robot my senior year. I was the driver; it was FUN. ;) my favorite part about them is that the forward bias of mecanum wheels makes them great for driving forward efficiently but you still had the freedom to pretend you were drifting around corners lol
also (more on topic), this has quadrupled my interest in makerbot/reprap type projects. i can’t wait til i have time/resources for that…. (hah, time)
I really need to get a 3D printer. Cheap, useful parts, made right in my home workshop, would be amazing.
I’ve been thinking about building one for a while, but, parts for the printer itself are still expensive.
@ kristian, St. George’s First team?
I was on that team – freshman year.
Are mecanum wheels patented or something like that?
Not sure why you would make them. They are cheap and readily available.
My FIRST team used mecanums this year. They were very effective and we loved how they allowed movement in any direction. We have 2 demo videos on the website. Check them out.
@ Hackius, yes they are, but the patent is owned by the U.S. Navy and as long as you are not producing them commercially, they pretty much are not interested in you.
Looks cool and lord knows making these wheels is a quite a task. However, and not to take away from what’s been done, the rollers on mecanum wheels take a lot of lateral stress. I have my doubts that the printable material is tough enough to take it. Perhaps if the weight is kept to an absolute minimum (chasis, battery, motors, electronics < 1 kilo), you might get by for a while.
@cliff, Andy Mark sells them but you could change the wheels on your car for the same price.
http://www.andymark.biz/am-0637.html
http://www.google.com/search?q=omni+wheel&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
@ amodedoma Well, that’s one of the things I try to find out with this project :)