Do you remember when I made a bicycle with an omni-wheel on the front? A while later I moved on and tried to make a bike with two omni-wheels. As soon as I’d assembled that version I realised it would have been better to have made Mecanum wheels, which have the little wheels slanted all around them.
source.image: James Bruton
These are typically used on the four corners of a robot so it can move in any direction, but I want to put them all in a line, so the bike still balances sideways, but can screw itself along. The self-balancing worked as intended and the unique drive system makes this vehicle capable of maneuvering in ways that nothing else can. Watch the video from James Bruton for more info:
It is rideable like a bicycle or motorcycle and has a drivetrain built around electric motors. But it has four mecanum wheels directly underneath the rider The most of the parts are made by using 3D-printed parts. But it also has a welded steel frame for strength. The mecanum wheels were all made specifically for this project.
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The mecanum wheel is a form of tireless wheel, with a series of rubberized external rollers obliquely attached to the whole circumference of its rim. These rollers typically each have an axis of rotation at 45° to the wheel plane and at 45° to the axle line. Each Mecanum wheel is an independent non-steering drive wheel with its own powertrain, and when spinning generates a propelling force perpendicular to the roller axle, which can be vectored into a longitudinal and a transverse component in relation to the vehicle.
