Polaris wheel with ceramic bearings

thingiverse

My trusty Polaris 180-280 model seems to hold up remarkably well, lasting about one year before requiring new bearings. Given that it's used consistently for 12 months in my location, I'm impressed by its durability. The cost of bearings has decreased over time, but I decided to give ceramic bearings from Banggood.com a try. To make the bearings work seamlessly, I needed to modify the supporting mounts for the wheels and idler wheel to accommodate a 6mm x 40mm bolt and a single 6 x 35mm stainless steel bolt. Each large wheel requires a bolt, washer, bearing (606), spacer cut to size, bearing (606), and another washer. In contrast, the Idler wheel only needs a washer on the outside, as its new mount features an offset design. I also fabricated a turbine wheel bearing that takes a single 608 bearing. This bearing is mounted with the bearing facing the spacer on the shaft, allowing the 8mm pinion to run smoothly within it. I believe running these bearings with excessive play will rapidly wear out the gears on the big wheels, so I'm hopeful this modification will prove more durable. As for printing materials, I've had excellent results using ABS, and my parts have remained problem-free in the pool for several years. I continue to refine this design, and who knows – maybe one day I'll successfully build a complete unit.