Featherweight Wheels

I've been looking at this for a while but wondering if there would be a market for us at the college mass producing direct attachment wheels for FWs? With the recent announcement from Robot Wars there might be demand for it. The wheels would be similar to the old Robochallenge Blue Wheels, whereby the screw directly onto a drill motor/Saturn gearbox etc.

I've been trialing some red ones and have added nut inserts, slightly grippier than the RC wheels but same idea. Is there anything anyone would find particularly useful to be added to them or any suggestions? Is there demand?

Feedback much appreciated as I know timescales are short so I'd love to get started on them soon if there is demand for them.

I'd buy a few pairs, the featherweight stuff is how people get into it so you'll have loads of interest.

I'd buy some - not happy with my home grown versions yet. I'd be happy with either threaded wheels or just a hex hole that I could put my own nuts in.

I was looking at the possibility of milling the appropriate hex shape into any wheel. It seems doable with a reasonably modest rig, but not sure if I want to invest in a milling machine just yet.

PS Flat Damon is 125-150mm wheels

Defo! 75/80mm and 100mm wheels would be perfect

Here are the wheels!

80mm elastic rubber, very grippy. Slightly more grippy than the old school robochallenge wheels from what I remember for those who remember them. These screw directly on to a drill/saturn/REC motor (pictured) as they have nuts pressed into the centre of the hub. See photos for other dimensions. Price is dependant on demand. Currently at my small batch size (10 wheels) they're looking at £20 a pair posted out to you, but if there is interest (50+ wheels) I can reduce this to around £15 per pair, which I feel is a far better price point. Before anyone complains, at current prices, £20 a pair at your doorstep makes me around £2 for about half an hours work without taking non-consumables into account (hydraulic press etc) which is why I really want to reduce the costs and provide them at a more reasonable rate. So on that note, if anyone wants any if they could post below or PM me (if you have done this already I've taken note) hopefully if we get enough interest I can produce them on mass for a decent price!

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/...pssk6fpssr.jpg

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/...psrkexjuhb.jpg

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2zoe6ixd.jpg

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/...pslv8c4lcb.jpg

If you made some that would fit Saturn's you'd probably have most feathers covered wheel wise.

looks cool,

I don't have a way of producing a keyed centre to make them work for saturns otherwise I would do that.

Hopefully you'll keep these going for a while. When finances finally get resolved, I might use these for my featherweight plan. If they have a lot of grip, they'll be perfect for the current plan!

Having spoken to a machinist at work, we are now able to produce 80mm wheels for Saturn motors!

These wheels will fit the 12mm shaft and will have the 3mm key to attach them to it. Costs will be similar if not identical to the wheels with nut inserts. As with last time, if there is interest here I would appreciate knowing if it is worth us undertaking or not.

We are also able to offer machining of any custom parts, be it wheels, hubs, mounts or any other armour components made to order. Our machinist is happy to make custom fit hubs to any wheels size you may need if a suitable wheel can be found and demand is there.

Count me in for some Saturn wheels, 100mm dia would be preferable but I should be fine just adding some bike tyre to up the diameter of the 80mm ones.

Do you have any wheels in stock for Saturn gearbox?

Not yet, I'm still waiting to see if its worthwhile making them before I do. If there is it'll be August/September before I start production.

We'd definitely be interested in a few of the drill motor compatible wheels, would make new projects much easier to start at a uni house without things like a drill press!

Are you planning on making a new batch of these for drills anytime soon?

I'm currently looking into it, I have had quite a few requests.

Do they interface with the GR-EP-45 from Gimson? Looking for a pair of wheels to mount

It is worth noting that Gimson do also sell a wheel hub that fits the GR-EP-45 perfectly, so you can select a wheel with a flat face and simply drill 4x holes into them and mount that onto the wheel hub like you would a car wheel. Works fine for my Featherweight, which also uses the same motors.

These wheels won't work with that motor anyway by the looks of things, the shaft is 10mm diameter with a keyway, the wheel's internal diameter is 12mm diameter but then again, AntTazz did mention did say that they might be able to machine to fit so worth enquiring?

you could use THIS like Ocracoke suggested, or really anything that has the same keyway.

Thanks for the info. Are the wheels still available to buy in this thread? Can do dm.

I have delayed making them until the Saturn/Neptune gearboxes are being sold again, until there's a big influx of demand the cost wouldn't be justifyable