What are Mecanum Wheels? | Robot Parts Dictionary
Do you know what mecanum wheels are? When we are buying robotic kits or robot toys, many of them with functions of driving and turning directions like cars have a part called "mecanum wheels". What mecanum wheels exactly are? What differences do they have with other wheels? Find your answer in the following robot parts dictionary!
What are mecanum wheels?
In an easy way, mecanum wheels are omnidirectional wheels that support 360° rotation and side drifting.
What are mecanum wheels used for?
Mecanum wheels are always used for land-based vehicles to move in any direction we want.
Why do mecanum wheels call this name?
Because mecanum wheels are invented by an engineer called Bengt Erland Ilon at a Swedish company named Mecanum AB. So the mecanum wheels can also be called Ilon wheels or Swedish wheels.
What are mecanum wheels made of?
Mecanum wheels are usually made of rubberized external rollers.
What do mecanum wheels look like?
Mecanum wheels look like a swirl and quicksand that can inhale everything. In the drawing script, mecanum wheels have rollers with axis of rotation at 45° to the wheel plane and at 45° to the axle line.
How do mecanum wheels move?
Mecanum wheels have an independent powertrain. Explaining in a technical way, mecanum wheels spinning generates a propelling force perpendicular to the roller axle. The propelling force can be vectored into a longitudinal and a transverse component to cars and further generates a thrust roughly parallel to the corresponding frame diagonal. That's how mecanum wheels move.
And each of the wheels with a different speed and direction generates linear motions and rotations of cars, which is how cars with mecanum wheels rotate and change speed. The addition and cancellation of macanum wheels' forces allow vehicle motion in any direction and rotation.
What are the Differences between mecanum wheels and normal wheels?
1. Mecanum wheels can move in narrow spaces as normal wheels take a longer radius to turn around.
2. Mechanum wheels are more wear-resistant than normal wheels. Because normal wheels will drag across the ground to rotate with a strong friction. Mechanum wheels rotate in place with minimal friction and torque so that the wheels can be more wear-resistant.
What are daily life uses of mecanum wheels?
1. Omnidirectional Forklift Truck
Omnidirectional forklift trucks could maneuver in narrow spaces, such as transporting items around ships and moving on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
2. Robot Toys
Omnidirectional forklift trucks could maneuver in narrow spaces, such as transporting items around ships and moving on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
mBot Mega is an omnidirectional robot toy with mecanum wheels. As a remote control car that supports 360° rotation and side drifting, mBot Mega allows kids to code it and achieve robot dancing, obstacle detection, line following, and gesture recognition, for endless fun. With 30-minute assemblies, kids can own this black mechanical robot car with mecanum wheels for all directional movement.
Much more than the empowerment of mecanum wheels, mBot Mega includes a line tracking sensor, RGB LED, impact switch, IR proximity sensor, and a powerful MegaPi mainboard, which is compatible with Raspberry Pi and has a strong motor-driving ability that can support various robotics and Arduino projects. To sum up, mBot Mega is the perfect robotic kit for beginners to learn to code and have fun in building and learning!
Are mecanum wheels cool?
Sure! Who can resist a charming omnidirectional vehicle with swirl-like wheels? Mecanum wheels have the coolest appearaance and useful moving and rotation functions.
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