![]() We’d love to hear about – and write about – all kinds of unusual and lesser-known caster applications. Got a great example of Wheels Revealed? Send us an email. But it’s also very clear that those wheels and casters are what’s necessary to keep robots rolling into the future. With all the amazing things that robots can do, it’s easy to take their wheels and casters for granted. In that case, the robotic cart used a specially constructed 6 x 1-1/4 stainless steel caster, equipped with our Envirothane wheels. ![]() The devices have a number of drive wheels for propulsion and four Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) casters with an auto align function.Īlgood was proud to have built the casters that are being used in Canada’s first fully computerized hospital. Seeing as the AGV is, at its core, a robot, its really its electronic. A great example is robotic, computer guided chassis with top mounted carts used in hospitals to delivery food and linens to various locations. The reason this is a good thing is related with the dimensioning of the motor. Some are used to guide or stabilize the robot and in those cases, rigid or swivel casters are the best choice. Not all wheels on robots are connected to motors or drive trains. Essentially they combine the speed at which the robot will travel, with the weight it will carry and the incline, if any, it will traverse. There are complicated formulas that can be used to calculate the ideal wheel size for a robot. Robots traveling on rugged or outdoor surfaces, will require varying degrees of tread. If the robot is travelling on wood, concrete or ceramic floors, tread material with a lot of grip is the answer. In those cases, the criteria for wheel choice would be more about the surface and the environment. ![]() The other steering method uses a drive train, similar to what you would find in cars. Algood’s ProTech and Prothane are good choices. Polyurethane wheels have the right combination of hardness and resilience. It’s actually the method that is used to steer tanks and many tractors.Īll that back and forth needed to steer the robot creates a lot of wear and tear, necessitating a tread material that is durable but will grip the surface. They are now considered to play a key role in the. By having one wheel propelled forward while the other is reversed, robots can be turned. Automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) are unmanned transport vehicles widely used in the industry to substitute manned industrial trucks and conveyors. That’s when each wheel is attached to it’s own motor. A speed of 600 mm/s is recommended for traversing steps, and routine driving over steps should be avoided. The type of wheel to be used on a robot has a lot to do with the way it will be steered. In this issue of Wheels Revealed, we look at robots, wheels and casters. Despite the many applications, shapes and sizes, what almost all robots – even the famous R2D2 – have in common is that they have to move. Even house cleaning is being reinvented by floor-cleaning robots. Since 2006, a fleet of over one hundred AGVs was part of a lean cost reduction initiative at Toyota Motor Manufacturing. Robotics seems to be at the forefront of every field these days – medicine, education and manufacturing to name a few.
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