One of the things we’ve loved about the Make: Robot Build is the innovative ways in which people have approached the CD media build material. We’ve mentioned this already, but I think this is so sweet, the way Steve Joiner used a CD spindle to create a cutting jig and then cut a series of CDs down to create some really nice wheels, with wide rubber bands for tires.
BTW: The 7th Robot Build newsletter has gone out to subscribers. We’re now in the final phase of the contest, final building and project submission. If you have a bot for the contest and it’s ready to go, please submit it ASAP. The deadline is May 7th, but we can use the time, if your bot is ready, to begin the evaluation.
And don’t forget: Everybody that submits a build gets a free Maker’s Notebook!
See all the details about the contest on the Make: Robot Build landing page.
You can find the contest entry form here.
6 thoughts on “Make: Robot Build, making wheels from “coasters””
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A few washers, rubber washers and a nut on a bench grinder 9/16″ arbor would be simpler to cut out wheels like a lathe. No need to remove the stone wheel even. A sharp cutting tool against a block cuts the excess disc off. Not to knock your ingenuity, I just see simple ways of doing things with stuff on hand.
I don’t have a bench grinder, so I made do with what I did have: CD spindle, rotary tool, and a small router bit. Also, with the bench grinder (at least as I understand what you’ve described), I’m not sure it would be as easy to make all the wheels exactly the same size.
Thanks for the writeup. See those outer rings left over from cutting the wheels? Well, I’m using those in the chassis for version 2 of the coasterbot. I had meant to have some pics posted by now, but things always take longer than you plan.