Wouldn’t it’s good to 3D print a complete customized tire for small robots? It certain would, so [Angus] of [Maker’s Muse] determined to analyze whether or not nifty new filaments like increasing TPU supply something new on this space. He did extra than simply print out a wide range of easy tires; he examined every with a motorized platform hooked up to a load cell, driving on a dusty sheet of MDF to simulate the common store flooring, or ant weight fight robotic enviornment.
Why trouble making your individual wheels? As [Angus] factors out, when one is designing their very own robots from scratch, it’s really fairly troublesome to search out one thing off the shelf that’s simply the appropriate dimension. And even when one does discover a wheel that’s excellent, there’s nonetheless the matter of becoming it to the shaft. Issues can be a lot simpler if one may merely 3D print each wheel and tire in a fabric that performs nicely.
Right here’s what he discovered: Siraya Tech’s TPU air filament (about 70A on the Shore hardness scale) carried out one of the best. That is TPU plus a heat-activated additive that foams up throughout extrusion, leading to a versatile print that appears and feels extra like foam than common TPU. It makes a promising tire that performs in addition to it seems to be. One other increasing filament, PEBA air (additionally from Siraya Tech) didn’t look or carry out as nicely, however was roughly in the identical ballpark.
Each carried out higher than the basic DIY choices of 3D-printed plain TPU, or laser-cut EVA foam. It’s definitely quite a bit much less work than casting customized tires.
What about including a tread sample? [Angus] gave it a attempt. Maybe unsurprisingly, a knobby tire has worse traction in comparison with a easy tire on easy MDF. However typically treads are applicable, and as [Angus] factors out, if one is 3D printing tires then including treads comes at basically zero price. That’s a strong potential.
Even in case you are not excited by customized wheels, that foaming TPU filament seems to be fairly nifty. See for your self within the video, embedded slightly below. If you end up discovering a very good use for it, you should definitely drop us a tip!
