aluminum, brass, acrylic, steel, wood, cardboard, delrin, msic hardware
2016

I taught a class called Reinventing the Wheel at ITP. The class will dive deep into one of the simplest machines. The humble wheel has been with us for millennium, but is ripe for reinvention. We will investigate and create wheeled mechanisms, toys, kinetic sculptures, and robots. Our objects will roll, spin, and slide. We will cover fabrication, mechatronics, design, and engineering techniques. This class will be prototype and fabrication heavy with multiple projects and a final.

Some interesting prototypes came out of my research and preparations for the class.

Making Wooden Wheels With a Drill Press

Using just two drill bits and a drill press, you can make simple wooden wheels.

Off-the-Shelf Wheelsets

Pretty beefy wheels and axles for some toy cars. Everything to make these are off the shelf.

18-8 Stainless Steel Female Threaded Round Standoffs - 1/4" OD 5/8" Lg. 10-32
Tight-Tolerance Shoulder Screws - 1/4" Shoulder Dia. - Head Dia.: 3/8", Head Ht: 3/16"
High-Temperature Silicone O-Ring - 3/16 Fractional Width, Dash Number 322
Prime-Line Products D 1503 Steel Ball Bearing Sliding Door Roller, 1-1/2-Inch, 2-Pack

Nested Axels

Two axels sharing the same axis, allowing for two wheels to spin at different speeds or directions on the same axis.

CNCd Laminated Plywood Wheels

Repeated CNC'd plywood shape, glued in alternating layers, and turned on the lathe.

"Programmable" Cams

Each cam can be individually positioned, or programmed, on the axel.

Telescoping Sphere

The idea is to have a wheel that can roll like a ball when collapsed, and move like a roller when expanded.

Velcro Friction Wheels

Using velcro between friction wheels, allows for more "slop" in your functioning mechanism.

Milled Windwheel

Milled sheet aluminum, with bent fins.

Off-the-Shelf Axel Mounts

Off-the-shelf solutions to mounting wheels and axels to chassis. U bracket for free spinning 1/4" axels small space plastic clamps for fixed 1/4" axels.