Wheels to fit drill motors?

[daveimi]

Wondered if anyone had found another source of 3/8unf wheels yet now that RoboChallenge have shut up shop? Or are folks just gonna make they're own etc?

[plargen]

i think most people just make their own or go for bane bot wheels, Ellis's method is probably the best, i haven't got a blowtorch/ pillar drill so i just drill the wheel out to 13.5mm and hammer the 3/8 unf pipe connectors in (well i think that's what they are) and if there a bit wobbly i use my soldering iorn to heat them up a bit and a long 3/8 unf bolt to adjust them

[RogueTwoRobots]

Ellis's method definitely work well but as with Peter I don't have a blowtorch so I just bore my wheels out to 12.7mm (an odd size I know, it's the diameter of my countersink bit which seems to be a perfect size), place a UNF nut on a 100W soldering iron for a few minutes then point the iron downwards - holding on to the nut with a pair of long-nosed pliers - and let the nut sink into the wheel using just the weight of the iron.

It can be trickier this way to get it concentric and wobble-free though so once it's semi-cool I screw it on to a drill shaft and check for balance and make any adjustments by eye. Then once it's set I use the flat face of the soldering iron to go around the boss and melt the plastic into the edges of the nut just to make it as strong as possible. Leaves your soldering iron a bit messy but it's a separate one I use purely for wheel inserts.

This is the same method I use on the Scot-Bots kit wheels (Banebots) and we haven't had any failures yet, touch wood!

[maddox10]

I just make wheels and hubs to fit the bill.

[harry hills]

Dave, I've got some old 100mm blue wheels if you're interested.

[Max]

We need someone to make up a load of 3/4" hex hubs with a 3/8" UNF thread in them, this could then be slotted into any of the banebots wheels so it could be scewed onto a drill motor and be held in with place a large penny washer and the reverse screw. People could then use whichever size, width and shore wheel they wanted.

[daveimi]

Yeah I have a fresh pair of blue wheels left I've just put on Feather number 2 but it just got me to thinking "well if robochallenge have shut up shop where's everyone planning on getting their wheels??" lol.

I've seen the Banebots stuff but couldn't see a 3/8 hub in the listings, I think Max is right in that if someone were to start machining up 3/8 hubs they'd make a killing. Everyone at this weight is using drills even in Oz and the States so it just seemed weird no one else was making wheels lol.

I noticed in Halfords today that some of the bmx nuts were 3/8 unf. I suppose I could get the stuff together to melt the nuts into the wheels but no doubt they would be wobbly as hell The other thought I'd had was that the feather right of passage for most is grab some drills/mounts and robochallenge wheels and get building. What are these folks gonna do lol. We need to start a movement and pester someone in the know to get some 3/8 hubs on the go!!

Harry will take all your wheels if your selling! My stuff is all invertible so will now be on the lookout for wheels!

Having said all of the above I've just this weekend bough two drills, sorted the clutches and made my own mountings all by myself. Maybe I need to stop being scared of it and just get out there and have a go at making some wheels!

[Max]

Maybe these will fit in the hex hole:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150665415347?redirect=mobile

It says in the description it is made from a 3/4" hexagon but I don't know if that means it will fit a 3/4" hex hole? It probably would need sawing in half or chopping the ends off but it should screw onto a drill motor shaft.

[harry hills]

The ones I got from Gimsons fitted 1/2" hex if anybody is interested.

[Max]

You mean just the regular 3/8" UNF nut you get with the mounting kit?

[harry hills]

There were ones I got with an order last year, they weren't just a plain nut. I'll get a picture or something for you tomorrow, explain what I mean.

[RogueTwoRobots]

The slightly confusing thing about Banebots wheel hex hubs are that there are two sizes you have to select; the bore size and the hex size. For example, the nearest size hex hub that will fit on a GR-02 shaft (12mm) is the one with a 1/2" bore (12.7mm). But if it has a 1/2" bore, the hex size is 3/4", so you need to buy a corresponding Banebots wheel with a 3/4" hex cutout. A common mistake is to buy a 1/2" hub and a 1/2" hex wheel.

Using the 1/2" bore hub on a GR-02 means you need to shim up the extra 0.7mm to stop wheel wobble. Pretty sure there are some pictures in Gary's Boner thread as he used a thin piece of copper to fill out the gap.

And Max, those UNF hex hubs look ideal! Since they're a 3/4" hex, they should fit one of these for example: http://www.technobotsonline.com/bane...-shore-50.html
The only thing you'd need to do is find a way to stop the wheel from moving laterally along the hub, but a grub screw or collet could easily sort that out. Might get a few to try out with the Scot-Bots kits as it's potentially more solid than a melted plastic nut and allows for easier changeovers.

[Porker]

Are those hex-hubs reverse-threaded?

[Ellis]

They don't need to be, the 3/8" thread on drills (larger outer thread) is regular right-hand, it's the inner thread which is a left-hand.

[maddox10]

M5 left to be exact.