Alternative wheel for the B-Robot (OpenSCAD)

thingiverse

<h3>Welcome to My Project</h3> I've built a B-Robot as designed by jjrobots, available on Thingiverse at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2306541. I was generally satisfied with most of the parts (although I redesigned many pieces in OpenSCAD as I wanted to make modifications) but faced challenges with the wheels - it's quite difficult to accurately print a D-profiled hole that will fit neatly onto a stepper motor's shaft. Due to this, I decided to redesign the wheel in OpenSCAD, incorporating a nut and set-screw to secure the hub onto the shaft. Now it's possible to print the wheel, clear the hole with a 5mm drill bit, insert a square M3 nut, and lock it all together with a suitable M3 screw. This has proven to be very effective and secure. I've also included a small hemispherical hub cover (which I used) and a more complex one (which I didn't use as I preferred the look of the first one). <h3>Printing Your Own Wheel</h3> First, print the test hub to see if you can insert your M3 nut - I used square nuts because they are more secure and won't rotate. If the hub works for you, then you can print 2 wheels, clear all the holes, print 2 hubs, and glue them into the outer hole in the hub. I didn't use support when printing as it was very difficult to remove the waste from the M3 nut and screw holes. <h3>Modifying and Generating Your Own STL Files</h3> I've tried to make it easy to vary sizes by adjusting the variables near the top of the code. Make the changes, compile, and export the STL file. If you want to do this, you'll need the following library: Chamfers library (by 'SebiTimeWaster') available on Thingiverse at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1305888 - note that the file will need renaming to "chamfer.scad". Select the part you wish to compile and generate by commenting or uncommenting the appropriate lines at the end of the code - do just one piece at a time! <h3>Future Development Plans</h3> I intend to develop the basic wheel with the aim of fitting wider rims and TPU tyres, but I'm not quite there yet. Perhaps someone would like to create a remix in the meantime?