Mecanum Wheels

[DLuders]

@ VASH321: I had saved Zblj's various Lego Mecanum Wheel LDD designs on my computer (even though they no longer appear on his original Vector Racer topic or on his Brickshelf gallery). I recognized the wheels at the video 0:27 point as being his Mecanum Wheels #3 design. I posted his Lego Digital Designer (LDD) .lxf file and PDF Parts List on SkyDrive for you to download. I used Superkalle's excellent LDD Manager to create the Parts List (in Excel), which I then converted to PDF for ease of use.

Edited May 26, 2012 by DLuders

[Zerobricks]

@ VASH321: I had saved Zblj's various Lego Mecanum Wheel LDD designs on my computer (even though they no longer appear on his original Vector Racer topic or on his Brickshelf gallery. I recognized the wheels at the video 0:27 point as being his Mecanum Wheels #3 design. I posted his Lego Digital Designer (LDD) .lxf file and PDF Parts List on SkyDrive for you to download. I used Superkalle's excellent LDD Manager to create the Parts List (in Excel), which I then converted to PDF for ease of use.

Hmm Lxf works fine for me. The vector racer uesed only 6 guide wheels per whel, while the sidewinder uses 10.

[DLuders]

@ ZBLJ: You're correct -- your LDD .lxf file with all three of your Lego Mecanum Wheel designs appear on your original topic post. Your Mecanum Wheel Design #3 appears on the extreme right of your LDD screenshot picture:

@ VASH321: I had to adjust the PDF Parts List to account for ZBLJ's warning: "Dont forget, the first (smallest wheels) dont have rims, and the third wheels use 4 Y shaped pieces, which werent in LDD, so I had to use 2 studs long half beams arround a half bush." Here is the adjusted Parts List for his Lego Mecanum Wheel #3:

Mecanum Wheel Number 3:

32013 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 (24 ea.)

3705 Technic, Axle 4L (12 ea.)

3706 Technic, Axle 6L (1 ea.)

3713 Technic Bush (12 ea.)

41677 Technic, Liftarm 1 x 2 Thin (12 ea.) [per Zblj's post]

4185 Technic Wedge Belt Wheel (Pulley) (4 ea.)

42610 Wheel 11 x 8 mm with Center Groove (12 ea.)

4265c Technic Bush 1/2 Smooth (16 ea.) (12 ea.) [per Zblj's post below]

43093 Technic, Axle Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise (24 ea.)

44809 Technic, Pin Connector Perpendicular 2 x 2 Bent (24 ea.)

50945 Tire 14mm D. x 6mm Solid Smooth (12 ea.)

x202 Technic, Pin Long without Friction Ridges Lengthwise (12 ea.)

44374 Technic, Liftarm Rotor 3 Blade Thin (4 ea.) [added per Zblj's post]

Edited May 26, 2012 by DLuders

[VASH321]

@DLuders: thanks for all the trouble I already build wheel 2 and 3 ;)

@Zblj: so the Sidewinder uses another wheel with 10 rather than 12 rollers?

are there detailed pictures? does it perform better than your 12 roller design?

[Zerobricks]

the 12 rollers is smoother, problem is I dont have the proper wheels

[esrtiece]

Because ramacco wanted to build them, i have made a MlCad file of the improved design of ZBLJ Mecanum wheels. So i share them. They are super to play with.

mecanum.zip

[Ramacco]

I'm considering to buy the parts to build 4 of those. Via skype Esrtiece told me that number 3 are the best ones. Still not sure because the 2x2 bent pin connectors are rather expensive.. Thanks ZBLJ and Esrtiece for charing. Thanks Esrtiece for the good advice ;)

[DLuders]

[bUMP]

Isogawa Yoshihito posted three pictures of a Mecanum Wheel Car, and this

on his webpage. There is enough detail that you could probably build one yourself!

Edited August 8, 2012 by DLuders

[fex00]

If it would interest any of you, I have just submitted this project on Cuusoo which is for a lego manufactured mecanum wheel, possibly as an expansion kit to the upcoming ev3.

[timslegos]

I wish i had more of those tires, looks like it would be a fun build.

tim

[aeh5040]

That's a great idea, and nicely executed.

However, I suspect this construction would not be strong enough. The axles running through the special tires would have alot of bending force on them. And I suspect the radial axles might have a tendency to pop out as well.

Can you find a way (within the demanding constraints that you point out) to support the tires at both ends?

[fex00]

@aeh5040

You are not wrong, when I make the 2nd generation I will have them supported at both ends. For a model made entirely out of a single ev3 kit, it should suffice, but that's not really good enough...

[DLuders]

Nexus Robot now offers a "60mm Aluminum LEGO compatible Mecanum Wheel" (the larger pictures of which are a bit too big to post here) -- "The 60mm aluminum mecanum wheel is the smallest size mecanum wheel in all of our mecanum wheels. it is a LEGO compatible mecanum wheel, it comes with an NXT compatible hub and an axle centre hub for the arduino motors and wheels. You can also use universal hubs to connect the wheels and motor. It will give you more choice, each wheel is comprised of 8 rubber rollers, these axles and rollers are sandwiched between two aluminum plates, use these mecanum wheels on your robot, it can be able to forward/backward movement, but also side to side. Using rollers set on 45 degree rotational axis parallel to the mai rotational axis of the wheel, all of you need to do is to add your drive motors, controller boards and batteries.

Specifications:

Diameter: 60mm

Width: 31mm

Number of rollers: 8

Number of plates: 2

Body Material: Aluminum Alloy

Roller Material: Ruber

Length of roller: 30mm

Net weight: 86g

Load Capacity: 3kg

Download PDF Files:

60mm Aluminum Mecanum Wheel

Nexus Robot also offers a "

58mm Plastic Omni Wheel for LEGO NXT and Servo Motor" -- "This is a latest design of 58mm LEGO compatible Omni directional robot wheel. It's useful as they roll freely. The 58mm plastic omni wheel is a robust, durable and double-row wheel that provides easy 360° movement with rotational and sideways maneuverability. It comes with an NXT- compatible hub and an Axle Centre hub for the Arduino motors. If you use this omni wheel on your robot, it can be able to [go] forward/backwards and rotate without changing its orientation.

Specifications:

Body&Roller Color: Black

Wheel Diameter: 58mm

Roller Diameter: 13mm

Body Material: Nylon

Roller Material: TPR

Load capacity: 3KG

Net weight: 60g

Download PDF Files:

58mm -LEGO-compatible-Omni-Wheel

Edited April 28, 2013 by DLuders

[Someonenamedjon]

The first one looks very sleek!

[dimitridekyvere]

Hi everyone,

I have made a mecanum EV3 robot named "M3CANUM DOG".

Mecanum Dog is an omnidirectional Lego Mindstorms EV3 Educational robot. It uses special mecanum wheels that allow it to drive in any direction, even sideways! This movie shows some of the different driving options, mathematical functions and how to program the motor control program in LEGO's LabVIEW code EV3-G.

M3CANUM DOG is built using one LEGO Education EV3 Core Set (45544), 2 extra EV3 Large Servo Motors (45502) and 4 LEGO Compatible Mecanum Wheels (3th party)..

Please like and leave a reply.

Thanks,

Dimi

[Technyk32231]

Very cool!

[Jim]

Very cool indeed!!

Saw the video online this week. Where did you get the Mecanum Wheels?

[DrJB]

Very cool indeed!!

Saw the video online this week. Where did you get the Mecanum Wheels?

They're on eBay ... a set of 4, for $100 (includes free shipping from China)

[dimitridekyvere]

It are NEXUS LEGO Compatible mecanum wheels. http://www.nexusrobot.com/product.php?id_product=122 there are several resellers: http://www.nexusrobot.com/cms.php?id_cms=6

Dimi

[astakos]

hi,

I am a new member and would like to participate in this discussion by showing my omniwheel vehicle..

I apologize for the low video quality ..

[Technyk32231]

Those are cool. However, I think the Vex robotics mecanum wheels are cooler.

http://www.vexrobotics.com/vex/products/accessories/motion/276-1447.html

[DrJB]

I did build all three tires in the original LXF file, and here is 'my' verdict:

Smallest: Ok, but shape not stable

Medium: very stable, smooth small wheels, though a bit rough when installed on a vehicle (of course)

Largest: Does not work, due to neighboring small tires touching/rubbing. I was hoping it to provide a smoother ride than the medium size, but, again, rubber interference.

Winner: Medium Size.

Those are cool. However, I think the Vex robotics mecanum wheels are cooler.

http://www.vexroboti...n/276-1447.html

I like those as well, though the webpage does not say if they're lego compatible. In fact, they appear not as they do not have a replaceable spindle.

[Technyk32231]

I did build all three tires in the original LXF file, and here is 'my' verdict:

Smallest: Ok, but shape not stable

Medium: very stable, smooth small wheels, though a bit rough when installed on a vehicle (of course)

Largest: Does not work, due to neighboring small tires touching/rubbing. I was hoping it to provide a smoother ride than the medium size, but, again, rubber interference.

Winner: Medium Size.

I like those as well, though the webpage does not say if they're lego compatible. In fact, they appear not as they do not have a replaceable spindle.

I don't think they are, and I'll check if they have a replaceable spindle. I have some on a robot right now.

[DrJB]

Found a cheaper/stronger alternative than using the original designs ...

The original wheels use these parts: 44809 Those are however rather pricey ... especially that you need 24 per wheel ...

The alternative is to replace each with 6553 + 60483 . This gives not only a sturdier build, but also increases a bit the diameter of the wheel, and as such, the friction issue I mentioned in post #72 is avoided.

Edited February 18, 2014 by DrJB

[1963maniac]

I just found these mecanum wheels again. I saw  Yoshihito Isogawa's. At :28 you can see how they are made. These appear to be simple enough and work well. I will try them. But, I will have to order some parts.

In the mean time here is a BI for this wheel by Yoshihito Isogawa: https://bricksafe.com/files/1963maniac/Mecanum Wheel Isogawa.pdf  This is now an updated file!!

Edited July 15, 2020 by 1963maniac