This movement system works as long as each wheel has a perfectly equal coefficient of friction for each wheel. When dirt appears on the surface or the wheels wear out, the direction of movement is unexpected.
@@StrangerHappened when thinking about it. This only usefull for robots useally used in amozon cause they only move in predicted space. While employee only need someone skilled to work for them to drive regular one
I've seen these wheels being used on BattleBots. The robot that uses them is "Shatter" and the wheels are used to always stay squared up to their opponents during combat. It's a pretty cool design.
These wheels are commonly used in robotics like FRC, but they are slowly being replaced by swerve drive bases that corrects all the physical limitations of mecanum wheels.
There's so much wrong with the mecanum in practical terms though, namely maximum load bearing, extreme susceptibility to friction loss leading to accidents, and inefficient (or outright destructive) conversion of energy to motion. Maximum load bearing for a mecanum wheel based vehicle relies on the axels of the rollers and their mount points, so in practical terms, a forklift capable of lifting 1 ton with mecanum would require solid steel axels on all of the rollers and thick 2 part milled block steel locking rings for the inner diameter and mount points of the rollers. Under ideal conditions mecanum wheels for industrial applications would be incredibly expensive compared to just using a forklift friendly warehouse layout. Due to their significantly reduced contact area, mecanum wheels are much more susceptible to dusts and dirt causing slipage, even just one wheel slipping can turn a lateral movement into a rotational movement, in the forklift scenario described that leads to slamming into warehouse shelves with a product laiden fork, and on cars it's a fast track to an accident. Finally, the creation of two opposing angles of movement creates extra stresses on the frame and wastes rotational energy, leading to early breakdowns and wasted potential energy. Both a financially and ecologically unfriendly prospect, all to fit a single shelf of additional storage per 10,000ft of warehouse.
I believe in your last section, talking of rotational energy, you're referring solely to the wheels but there are a few different frames of reference for rotational energy in this system. Engines, bearings, motors, wheels, etc. and even the frame like you said. Potential (gas/battery) -> kinetic (ie, motor) -> rotational -> (motor/wheel) -> kinetic (movement) but it's nuanced with friction, sound, heat, etc. I think the greatest loss of that initial potential isn't to the rotational energy loss but because of the lack of contact of "tire" to the ground, assuming a high coefficient of friction the driver is only harassing a small percentage of what they could with a normal tire that is in full contact and normal to the ground. Long opinion haha
One of the best video productions you have done! Having spent 40+ years managing warehouse and freight operations, I can see how Mecanum wheeled forklifts could have made us so much more efficient.
We tested this type of forklift at my company ~15 years ago. The technician that was supporting the trial let me operate it. It was so intuitive to operate even an untrained engineer like myself was able to control it precisely within a few minuets of practice. I would have love for us to adopt this technology, however, I was later told that the forklift was unreliable (nothing to do with the Mecanum wheel system) and we chose to stick with our tried & true electric forklifts.
The unreliability is definitely in part due to the mecanum wheels. Poor surface contact at the wheel base leading to slippages that can cause rotation when you want lateral movement, wasted energy in all 4 directions of movement due to needing to cancel out forces, said wasted forces putting excessive strain on the frame, all combined with poor weight tolerances at the axels of the rollers themselves make it an expensive and wasteful platform.
Excuse my lack of knowledge in the area but I'm curious. Is this reliability also due to a weight limit? I would imagine a solid single part wheel would be more structurally sound that several smaller "wheels". Even if the forklift was far more agile and could probably accomplish the same tasks faster than a standard forklift, I think the wheels would wear out quicker. Is this something you ran into, or were the forklifts not in action long enough to discover this?
*But if the load is greater at the front than the back (due to the lifting), then chances are that the 2 front wheels will carry greater friction than the ones in the back resulting in slightly unexpected shifting of the vehicle, specially on uneven surfaces of slight differences of friction. It seems promising, but I wonder if this was practically tested in real life under these explained circumstances.*
@@chipfyn1 I haven't seen a forklift with those wheels yet, but coincidently just yesterday I saw a little wheel-drone in a tech store with just those wheels. They certainly didn't use CGI because no real vehicle would exist, but because it made explanation of the concept way better understanding. And for making an online video (where budget is very limited), how would you find out, where there is some company nearby, that has such a forklift? And even if you did, another question if they let you play around with it for some video.
Haters will point out how ineffective is it, but u gotta acknowledge the guy who made it, such a imaginative and brilliant engineer he is. They are so intelligent
How does pointing out legitimate concerns about their use make someone a hater? Every comment I've read lists legitimate design flaws with the current design, such as friction coefficients, load bearing concerns for forklift applications, high wear rate on the rollers, just to name a few? Is it truly considered "hating" when pointing out legitimate concerns in the hopes that said concerns will be taken into account, and help make these wheels better in the future?
@@SgtAwesome97 most people will expend theit creative energy poking holes in existing things rather than providing new solutions. It should be kind of obvious that these wheels arent going to replace regular wheels and have many drawbacks that only make them useful in certain niche cases In an exaggerated example, pointing out flaws in this wheel is like calling a fighter jet design stupid because it sacrifices a lot of performance at commercial speeds and cant carry many people or big payloads
Clever, but as you can see from the vector forces, there is a lot of forces cancelled, which mean not energy efficient. Also small contact patch means high weat or expensive materials. That is why some way smart ideas dont get to thrive. These videos will benefit if they present the limitations of anything new and the barriers to adoption. Furthermore, for the people that bring the example of no work being done when one pushes against a wall where the forces cane out please consider that in the example of pushing against a wall, work is not done with regards to wall being moved, yet one does waste muscle energy into thermal energy via pushing in vain. Same for example if a car or machinery that is stuck against a practically immovable object. They do not move the object, yet they burn fuel or electrical energy to thermal waste instead of useful work in moving said "immovable" object.
I totally agree that Lesics videos would benefit from a more balanced presentation. But you are wrong about the cancelled forces: Forces cancel out all the time in mechanical systems and that has nothing to do with energy. For instance, if a pen lies on a table, the gravitation force on the pen and the normal force from the tabletop cancels out. No work is performed, and no energy is expended.
@@mumiemonstret It's different. The pen and the table top forces do cancel that's why there's no movement, only equilibrium, no work. But in this mecanum car, a work must be done and two active forces in different directions combine so that the resultant force would move the car in the direction intended. Real active forces has to be cancelled out. This car is indeed inefficient but this car is built for mobility not efficiency, that's why don't expect this to become a viable transpo. But indeed this could be very valuable in tight spaces or warehouses.
@@MrKockabilly My guess is the cancelled force for mecanum wheels is akin to force cancellation when two wheels rotating in opposite directions push against each other. Energy is expended in the form of kinetic friction of the wheels rubbing against the ground.
That kind of wheel is found in aircraft cargo loaders. They often have to rotate ULDs 90 or 180 degrees. You can clearly see the wheels turning in opposite direction to achieve this.
These other comments are dumb. All of a sudden everyone has a mechanical engineering degree. Lifting planes on a tarmac but these commenters acting like it's a dandelion ready to bust apart at the first sign of dirt or a loose screw.
I think the best part isn’t that it can spin in its center, a tank or anything with treads can do that. What’s amazing is that it can move sideways or diagonally without changing which way the vehicle is facing
This is practical for low speed applications like warehouse forklifts and factory robots where you can use them on uniform floor areas and much controlled environments. Brilliant idea. 👏
Except the wear and tear costs and the fact that these wheels have problems bearing even moderate loads. Plus the fact their "new" and "innovative" means there very expensive. It just costs more to have them than what they can put out for product. Especially when their are systems for lifts that have sharp turn radii already with normal inexpensive tires. Is the concept cool and interesting? Yes. Is it practical and efficient? Not really. Plus you gotta factor in if someone is going sideways down a crane isle their taking up most if not all the clearance, thus opening up more problems for foot traffic and collision with hazards.
Its a good design but the wear and tear on the tyres is significantly larger than normal tyres. Hence it runs out of tyres quickly and also each tyre is operated by a separate driver/motor.
The forklifts are also used outside on unprepared loose ground. Mud, dust, snow, as many sources of debris that would ruin the bearings of each roller on such wheels, the replacement of which is likely to cost, not only in repairs but also immobilization of the forklifts for a while. On the paper lots of promises but in real life , more handicaps appear and make the concept less attractive. Except perhaps in very clean indoor applications with great condition concrete floors.
@@tonerotonero1375 i have no knowledge of forklifts though but Im sure there's some seperate forklifts that can do what you exactly said and this one on this video is specifically for warehouse use?? Idk...
A Fork Lift using these wheels was seen in the shuttle hanger scene in Star Trek (2009). These wheels have been around for a while now but are only used in specific applications.
Myth busters also used a fork lift with these wheels. I never understood how they worked. I was thinking that the small rollers were somehow powered. This video simplified the wheels but the drive system just got complex, each corner needs it own power. Then a fluid way for the operator to control it.
And of course, even regular wheels can have zero turning circle, if you have them driven separately (i.e. left wheels forward, right wheels backward, as I have seen on many excavators on wheels or even tracks). That's what I am wondering about - you don't need these for zero turning circle. The difference is the sideways motion - did you, as a forklift operator, ever felt the need of sideways motion? I suppose it would be nice to have in some cases (like, when trying to fit a box into a tight space), but did you as an operator ever need it, or could you after a while turn to the right spot on the first try without the need for additional maneuvering?
yeaah i agree these seem like theyed be hard to drive, i'd rather just grab the standup if i cant get the turn with the sit down as all forclifts are zero turns.
These wheels are being Used on airfield highloaders, being able to maneuver freight containers Into an airplane without needing to use muscle. Pretty cool Tech👍
Happy New Year to the Lesics Team! Now I know why so few people are inventors. It needs a lot of thinking, understanding, imagination, trials, and perseverance. I was so surprised to learn about Antikythera mechanism and the South-pointing chariot; it is amazing how some peoples' brains work. I have a feeling that Lesics team may have a few such brains :)
@@goodgoyim9459 You may be right. University education and degrees help build connections, get a job or funding to support the innovation and thus, give a head start to some extent. Best wishes for 2022.
@@theobserver9131 if it did work you would see a real thing not a computer generated movie about it. And sure it would maybe work in a storage, but then when we start to think about diffrent loads etc thoose things will break.
I've driven forklifts most of my life. Some can even turn a circle in their own length. If I used that much room to turn, my rear would've been out the door.
These videos are soo good.... I never miss them watching... Thanks u so much SIRRR! Very glad this channel exists. And pls make one video on working mechanism of analog watch...as i always wonder who it works. 😁
Clever idea, but surely, the relatively small contact area of each wheel, compared to a conventional wheel, means that the load-carrying capacity will be reduced (unless they're made from some expensive super-strength material). So it's not really practical for a forklift (which by it's nature must carry high loads), but I can see the idea being useful in something like an electric wheelchair.
I wonder if there is a way to both change the concavity of the wheels to increase or decrease the surface area and direction of force back and forth from a mecanum wheel to a conventional wheel as well as support the weight by using a mixture of mecanum wheels and conventional wheels to allow for larger carrying capacity or a different mechanism that supports weight independent of the wheels. I say I wonder because I can't imagine a light enough radially fitted piston system that could achieve this result assuming you have solved the problem of increased friction against differently aligned vectors if you were indeed using just the wheels to support the weight. Perhaps a hydraulic block is lowered from the center turning point that can rotate relative to the forklift but not the ground to support the additional weight that exceeds the carrying capacity of the wheels after they have retracted into mecanum wheels. My point being that it may be incorrect to assume that all the weight can only be supported by mecanum wheels that are in use
It looks like a bearing. You know bearing can carry so much weight. So I think it can work. They can make those things as small wheels with rubber around it and make them stronger to carry weight.
The functional limitation is that each roller in frictional contact in a 4 wheel vehicle bears 1/4 of the vehicles weight & in turn each small bearing on the 4 contact rollers 1/8th of the weight. That makes reliable engineering of weight carrying vehicles like fork lifts difficult, they sure work on wheel chairs however.
By that logic the contact point of the axle and the wheel bears 1/4 of the weight in any 4 wheeled vehicle and that must mean that reliable engineering of those is difficult, except we know that's not true we also know that those forklifts already exist and regularly handle serious loads without problems or more maintenance than a normal forklift besides in a typical mecanum wheel two rollers maintain contact with the ground at all times, not one, so each end of the little roller axle bears 1/16 of the weight compared to 1/4 for a normal wheel axle, so all your faulty logic does is actually prove that mecanum wheels are superior and it IS faulty logic because weight distribution does not work that way, there's no single point that gets 1/4 of the weight or any other asinine simple fraction and the stresses change all the time and don't result in nice even numbers like this also mecanum wheels DO NOT use bearings, they have steel axles with endpoints mounted in a metal frame!
@@nadarith1044 it is not the matter of 1/4 and 1/16 (which is only sometimes true which created even more stress) the problem is that those rollers are not attached to long steel shaft but some small part. And even if they exsist they will be able to lift less and requier more upkeep and cleaner work space.
@@greedier-7661 Dude the 'small part' is an inch thick steel axle that is as long as the wheel is wide, it's proportionally thicker for it's lenght than a 'long steel shaft' and it's endpoints are both closer together while also being supported on the endpoints and bearing weight on the middle, this means that any stresses that want to bend and break it will be countered better because of how it's being kept rigid and supported on both sides in contrast the long steel shaft is essentially bearing the weight on the endpoints and is supported closer to the middle which means that the endpoints will receive more stress due to basic lever principle, on top of that it's also proportionally getting a bigger fraction of the total weight and is proportionally thinner and longer therefore weaker, it's obvious it's going to experience stresses in excess of the rollers and be more prone to bending to boot yet the axles are reliable and durable, so the shorter, thicker, supported more rigidly rollers are obviously not going to be worse or less reliable also your 'if they exist' remark shows that you didn't absolutely no research and have no idea what you're talking about, they do exist and as much as i tried to find opinions about mecanum forklifts there is no mention of 'more maintenance' or 'weight limits', they're as capable as normal forklifts, the problem is that they're rare as mecanum wheels are essentially unheard of outside of robotics (and from what i see most of the problem is people with opinions that aren't engineers poisoning the well on the idea by spouting blatantly false statements about the wheels) speaking of robotics, you have things like small pallet sized robotic platforms that easily support 1 ton weights, up to massive autonomous airport robots that support enormous loads and are used to transport plane parts, the main limitation seems to be batteries as they're all mostly electric they all also operate outside, in a matter of fact mecanum wheels are excellent in off-roading and can handle very rough terrain, what they don't handle well is speed due to their reduced contact patch and how at high speeds their 'rolling' becomes 'repeated impacts' with how they're made speaking about your 'clean work space' statement one important part is that mecanum wheels also receive incredibly small wear and tear, the entire idea that they have a lot of friction is a gratitous misunderstanding of how they work, the entire idea is that any force that isn't converted into motion of the vehicle is just harmlessly expended by the freely spinning rollers, the mecanum wheels NEVER skid and don't even experience wear and tear when breaking as when unpowered the wheels automatically oppose themselves due to their configuration and bleed any force with the free spinning rollers
@@nadarith1044 Firslt I am not worried about shaft of the rollers but the endpoints becouse even if most of the force is focused in the middle, endpoints are being affected by diffrent force and if they were not the only thing being affected byt it but rollers kept some there would be friction affecting them. Regarding my lack of reaserch, you yourself admitted that you did not find anything about such stuff despite the fact that such thing would be in their manuals. Even cars have it wirtten how much can the bear. The small robots work in diffrent ways as they don t use 4 wheels / 4-8 rollers to hold their weight and there is often used a lot of them if they want to lift something realy heavy. If they did have very small wear and tear that means that they would have small friction which means that you would have to make works space not wet and straight as possible and it would skid. That what friction is for. And if all of that was false rollers (not whole mecanum wheels) would be used much often but i hardly even see them. Why are trucks not useing them. You would olny need to make them bigger. Tanks could use them. Oh and forklifters could use them even without the wheels just have them use your rollers.
The Mecanum wheel is a cool invention, but modern forklifts already have extremely tight turning radii. A bigger problem forklifts face is having human operators, which take up space that could instead be used to bring the payload in closer/over the vehicle. These wheels add an unnecessary level of complexity and reduce reliability, that wouldn't be better solved by implementing two-axis steering.
@@SUBARCTICPSYCHO and you didn't even need to ask him to identify all the images with bridges in them... You Captchas are getting pretty smart... even creating your own UA-cam accounts?😉
Looking at these force patterns have me wondering how often and how expensive it would be to replace all those bearings, rods, rollers, and eventually the whole wheel.
The rollers are the primary wear components. And IMO, Mecanum wheel systems is unsuitable to pretty much anything other than polish concrete or epoxy floors under modest loads.
@@stanimal8 unsuitable is an understatement even slightly uneven floors will make them very unfun to use hell even down right dangerous the moment one wheel lifts or even loses a little bit of grip you can go from moving in a direction you want to a direction you dont want. and there totally useless off road.
Same. Plus the video almost seemed like a sales pitch, talking about how much more efficiently a forklift could maneuver instead of turning circles. But looking at the force patterns, I was thinking, so this thing is working against itself all the time. Working at 50% efficiency constantly to achieve a single direction, cost effective wise, a regular forklift with a skilled operator probably runs circles around this.
Looks like a really good concept, although I imagine it would be quite a lot more expensive than traditional systems. No doubt it will get more efficient and less expensive in the future.
I think a one problem and cost factor is that you need 2 sets of differently manufactured wheels. With normal wheels you can just switch any wheel of matching size onto it. With these wheels you'll at least need 2 wheels for spare, in case either one breaks.
At this rate, the number of component involved in rubber-based vs mechanum is just too many. I’d rather invest in flexible joints rather mechanum wheels.
Brilliant! Re-inventing the wheel, not as an exercise in futility, but in a way that makes sense! Perfect for tight places! I think you would need a computer between the drive system and the driver, though. I love this kind of thing. Thanks!
You mean 4 wheel steering? Yes that seems to be a much simpler and lower maintenance solution. But if you imagine actually trying to steer something with 4 wheels independently steered it's not easy. Forklifts have to move forward and reverse very accurately, in a straight line, to pick up and deposit things like wood pallets. So maybe having steering on each wheel isn't worth it.
I took that as meaning a tricycle design. Two wheels on one axle acting as the pivot point and one single wheel that steers. Back when I worked in a warehouse most (if not all) of our P.I.T. had this design.
@@wterlep yes theres usually a tricycle layout on european forklifts that attach to the back of trucks however i think this layout might be a bit less stable and cant carry as much weight
@@DrewWithington I meant having one motor for each wheel so you could control them independently of eachother. Then you could make it steer like a tank or a car in tight spaces. but 4 wheel steering might work.
@@masterseeker360 true but the same applies for the mecanum wheels since the weight of each wheels is focused on only one of the small rollers at a time, so carrying hvy load will most likely break the small bearing of the rollers (hope you understand what I'm trying to say cuz it's hard for me to expalin it clearly)
Agreed, forklifts tend to have real wheel steering for this purpose. Large front wheels for carrying most of the weight and smaller back wheels for 180° turning motion give great maneuverability, not sure where they pulled this example from.
My words are less to thanks him who made this important education video, even who is the father of this macanum Wheels Really it's very phenomenal invention of science specially for transport (lifter ) I got stirred at this mechanism after watching the video Thanks Lesics
So genius and yet so simple to understand. Very creative approach, we humans can truly achieve amazing things, just right individuals and resources are required. Amazing !!
And when you rotate the joystick you can turn the robot, right? So you can drive it by pushing forwards and turn by tilting? Other joystick could easily be used to operate the fork itself with up,down,left,right with tilt 👍tough which one you set on rotate is probably personal opinion.
Being a professional fork lift driver for 25 years I would say wear would be a large factor on these wheels considering the weight exerted on them at times, great idea but probably too costly considering bearings and rubber wear.
The Marvic 3000 caliper post on the first grid sliding armature is a 3 digit setting where the post and the armature meet the angle of cross line was set at a maximum of one. Reset it at the 3 mark and that will eliminate any clogging issues next time you run it. - Dan Aykroyd
I've been around a lot of forklift operators. I've seen them crash into a lot of things and current forklifts are pretty intuitive and simple to operate. These things would be amazing in the hands of a skilled operator but I've not met a lot of those.
Interesting invention, though as a fork lift operator with many years of experience, the demonstration of an elevated load moving in a sideways direction violates a sacred rule not to transfer an elevated load in any direction other than one that is directly parallel to the long wheelbase of the machine. If the machine wheelbase was square, it would not present an issue in this regard.
The animation at 0:42 shows the traction force in the wrong direction. It should be 90° from what is shown. The roller is free to rotate in the direction the arrow is pointing so it cannot provide traction in that direction.
As a traction aid for poor surfaces I'd like to see a set of wheels where the rollers can be driven via a coaxle shaft with a motor for the wheels carrier frame, and another for the rollers themselves. with the ability to select the rollers ability to spin freely or to be held locked will permit the vehicle to deal with poor traction caused by sand, gravel or other loose materials.
Kinda pointless, going through sand or gravel would almost immediately kill the wheel by getting material inside the roller bearings and jamming it all up
When I first saw the forklift with the Mecanum wheels on Mythbusters, I was completely baffled by how it worked. Adam mentioned it but did not explain how it worked.
I am thinking the same the wheels would have a extremely short lifespan and the surface it uses would need to be near perfect so parking lots would be out of the question. Polished concrete would probably be the the ideal surface. As for the wear lets assume the rollers are a consumable perhaps they last a month. Just because they are shot doesn't mean the wheel would be shot. And the really cool feature is you would be able to change the rollers with the wheels still attached to the fork lift just do the ones facing up then turn the wheel and change the other half of them. The rollers which are a small tube would be easy to manufacture and should be rather cheap since wheels are the real engineering challenge. And if you replaced just rollers the wheels should last for dozens perhaps hundreds of roller cycles.
If you haven't already, can you make a video explaining how the transmission of those vehicles work which has both a manual and an automatic transmission in the same car
The forklift driver in the video appears to have a standard looking steering wheel. How does using this translate to the various possible forklift movements described? Another video showing the operators' movement control system would be useful.
@@SDRIFTERAbdlmounaim You can use one joystick to move the forklift. push in the direction you want to move and rotate the joystick to turn. You can combine this with other joystick to control the fork up/down, left/right and tilt forwards/backwards. On top of that you can just add buttons on the joysticks to handle things like clamps and other functions as needed. Or get an Ai to run the whole thing. Just automated the whole thing. Also this seems to work best on flat clean surface so no offroading?
These are probably really functional and very practial once in the vehicle. The problem is that the cost of engineering is for sure more expensive than the standard. Even in case of breaking, to repair it would be a pain. Still, i really love the concept and the video
The thing about the wheel is maximizing space in warehouses because normal forklifts rquire a lot of space, thats why amazon use small robots for example, even if its expensive for a big company could be definitly worth it if the space gained is really big.
@@amjan The force component that doesn"t "work" does not contribute to the power either, so no. And since the rollers roll, not slip, they don't wear fast either. Please stop guessing and assuming that this isn't a real product!
@@amjan I would not be surprise if the wheels wear faster, not because of the reaction loads, but mostly because of the tapered shape of the rollers causing the rollers to speed-up and slow down as the wheel roll while the vehicle in NOT moving at exactly 45 deg. Also the small contact patches on the rollers would likely wear faster due to higher contact stress AND these wheel systems have much lower capacity when compared to the rubber treaded steel wheels used on typical forklifts. I've only seen Mecanum wheel systems used on small lower capacity battery powered forklifts. We tested these type of forklift at my company ~15 years ago.
@@mumiemonstret Your grasp of simple mechanics (based completely on your "work" and thinking the rollers roll because they are called rollers even though they obviously do not roll or you would just have a block fitted with rolling rollers remaining static in the same position indefinitely) is why you believe this to be a real life practical application. Which it obviously is not.
I have to wonder though, about tire wear. I've worked in warehouses, and product quickly gets caked in rubber dust, which comes from the tires of forklifts. I don't pretend to know the lifespans of forklift tires, but I have to imagine, since less wheel surface area is meeting the ground, greater weights are being carried by the rubber that still actually touches the ground. Also, since in many of these maneuvers, the direction of movement isn't in line with the roll of the tire, that the added friction will cause even faster wear. On top of that, there will be lots of bearings for each roller. Bearings that will at times ne carrying the whole load for that tire, while at the same time taking forces from drag as the rollers are not moving in the same direction as the tire. I'd have to imagine that the wear, repair costs, and initial purchase price would make the added benefits not worth it. Again, I don't know these values, but I would be interested in knowing them. It's one thing to make the forklift move on amazing ways. It's another to do it effectively for a long time while being cost effective.
That's perfectly true. The only downside is more motors and more complex programing of motor controllers. In robotics I've built a few of those drive systems (swerve is what they're refered to) and they outclass mecanum drive systems in every other way.
@@caseymurray7722 maybe I'm missing something, don't you only need 4 extra motors to steer the wheels? 2 if we discount the power steering motors already in normal wheels. 2 sounds like a whole lot less than the 64 or so extra motors in these cyberpunk wheels
@@Zreknarf No for a mecanum drive you only need 1 motor per wheel. For a swerve drive you need 2 per wheel, one for rotation and one for drive. Mecanum wheels are nice because they can fit where normal wheels once were and aren't complex. Swerve is better but way more complex; all designs have a bevel gear so it's like trying to set lash on a rear end but for 4 corners and they all need to be level.
@@caseymurray7722 ahh I thought the diagonal rollers were powered, so that's what I was missing. but surely 16 or so rollers and their axels and their bearings is more complicated than 1 little extra steering motor, no?
I first witnessed these wheels at a special needs conference over twenty years ago. Apparently they never caught on for wheelchair operation. I hope they can be adapted for industrial use, but I'm sure there are many hurdles still ahead...
It does. It's like if you've ever had a truck in 4x4 mode and then turn tightly on a flat smooth surface. Everything wants to bind. The rollers are designed to wear and be replaced.
I drive a tow motor ( life truck) everyday as a part of my job. Coming in and out of trailers at different high. Even wet floors at times. Driving outside at times. We tear up solid rubber Wheelsat times. I got to see this in a real world working situation. Clearly the engineers never drove am in their entire life. They would know that smooth concrete floors are not very smooth. I'll say this product tearing up within months
We did a trial with on a forklift with Mecanum wheels ~15 years ago. It was pretty awesome control wise, even an untrained engineer like me could operate it easily. Our satellite factory had an epoxy floor so wear wasn't a significant issue. My understanding was that there were some reliability issues with the forklift (unrelated to the Mecanum wheels), and we chose to stick with our existing electric forklifts.
@@HobbyOrganist thats not true forklifts working in a warehouse is gonna see alot more use then your average private car. one or two vecation trips a year cant be comapred to 8 hours a day every day.
I would suspect they design the rollers to be harder than the average forklift tire, but soft enough to grip. I'm sure there has been a lot of engineering that's gone into developing just the right rubber for them. That being said, I do think you would have more wear on the mecanum wheels compared to traditional wheels if they where made of the same material.
@@danielmiller2886 at a guess I would suspect the wheels are driven by hydraulic motors, which balance the energy going into the wheels. Thus, provided the wheels do not slip, power is used in the direction of motion and not wasted in producing the opposition forces. It might be a different story if the forklift was not working on a flat ridged concrete floor. On a looser surface such as gravel or mud, one might expect the wheels to spin, as the opposition forces no longer cancel out. This might result in a diagonal motion to that of the intended direction. It is interesting to think about, particularly in terms of energy usage. Provide there isn't any slip, then energy is not wasted in maintaining the canceling forces, as the force produces no associate motion. (Work being defined as force times distant moved).
@@neilw5541 I used to deliver to a shop that had a forklift with 4 non turning wheels. It bent in the center like a worm... It was odd to watch. Regular forklift was much smaller.
I love the idea but I am not sure how well it would work in 99% of the production settings. It looks like too many things have to be just right consistently to function properly. First & foremost a completely consistently clean floor which I've never experienced no matter how thorough the housekeeping is pieces of pallet break off..the list goes on & on.
This movement system works as long as each wheel has a perfectly equal coefficient of friction for each wheel. When dirt appears on the surface or the wheels wear out, the direction of movement is unexpected.
I agree. Im sure this wheels will wear out way faster than regular one either. So it will cost more to repear
@@sahinyasar9119 Hence the market share of this invention is tiny even all those years later.
@@StrangerHappened when thinking about it. This only usefull for robots useally used in amozon cause they only move in predicted space. While employee only need someone skilled to work for them to drive regular one
probably can be fixed by computer adjusted wheel motors to maintain the direction
That's for materials science engineers to resolve.
I've seen these wheels being used on BattleBots. The robot that uses them is "Shatter" and the wheels are used to always stay squared up to their opponents during combat. It's a pretty cool design.
No you haven't
it was invented by the makers of Razer for the UK original series called Robot Wars. This was somewhere around the late 90s
Ok
These wheels are commonly used in robotics like FRC, but they are slowly being replaced by swerve drive bases that corrects all the physical limitations of mecanum wheels.
They are also used in some forklifts. ua-cam.com/video/0DBXuZv38l8/v-deo.html
There's so much wrong with the mecanum in practical terms though, namely maximum load bearing, extreme susceptibility to friction loss leading to accidents, and inefficient (or outright destructive) conversion of energy to motion.
Maximum load bearing for a mecanum wheel based vehicle relies on the axels of the rollers and their mount points, so in practical terms, a forklift capable of lifting 1 ton with mecanum would require solid steel axels on all of the rollers and thick 2 part milled block steel locking rings for the inner diameter and mount points of the rollers. Under ideal conditions mecanum wheels for industrial applications would be incredibly expensive compared to just using a forklift friendly warehouse layout.
Due to their significantly reduced contact area, mecanum wheels are much more susceptible to dusts and dirt causing slipage, even just one wheel slipping can turn a lateral movement into a rotational movement, in the forklift scenario described that leads to slamming into warehouse shelves with a product laiden fork, and on cars it's a fast track to an accident.
Finally, the creation of two opposing angles of movement creates extra stresses on the frame and wastes rotational energy, leading to early breakdowns and wasted potential energy. Both a financially and ecologically unfriendly prospect, all to fit a single shelf of additional storage per 10,000ft of warehouse.
I believe in your last section, talking of rotational energy, you're referring solely to the wheels but there are a few different frames of reference for rotational energy in this system. Engines, bearings, motors, wheels, etc. and even the frame like you said. Potential (gas/battery) -> kinetic (ie, motor) -> rotational -> (motor/wheel) -> kinetic (movement) but it's nuanced with friction, sound, heat, etc. I think the greatest loss of that initial potential isn't to the rotational energy loss but because of the lack of contact of "tire" to the ground, assuming a high coefficient of friction the driver is only harassing a small percentage of what they could with a normal tire that is in full contact and normal to the ground. Long opinion haha
It's meant to be driven by peasants inside Amazon Wearhouses.
thats why they invented reach trucks and magnet lines(with an adjustable forkbord) so you can already get maximum storage space
Hence why they will only be used in warehouses on said surface and on Hilariously leveled floor, refering to that one episode in Rick and Morty
@@doctorpanigrahi9975 you spell like someone who works in an Amazon warehouse
One of the best video productions you have done! Having spent 40+ years managing warehouse and freight operations, I can see how Mecanum wheeled forklifts could have made us so much more efficient.
Took “reinventing the wheel” to a whole new level
We tested this type of forklift at my company ~15 years ago. The technician that was supporting the trial let me operate it. It was so intuitive to operate even an untrained engineer like myself was able to control it precisely within a few minuets of practice. I would have love for us to adopt this technology, however, I was later told that the forklift was unreliable (nothing to do with the Mecanum wheel system) and we chose to stick with our tried & true electric forklifts.
The unreliability is definitely in part due to the mecanum wheels. Poor surface contact at the wheel base leading to slippages that can cause rotation when you want lateral movement, wasted energy in all 4 directions of movement due to needing to cancel out forces, said wasted forces putting excessive strain on the frame, all combined with poor weight tolerances at the axels of the rollers themselves make it an expensive and wasteful platform.
Excuse my lack of knowledge in the area but I'm curious.
Is this reliability also due to a weight limit?
I would imagine a solid single part wheel would be more structurally sound that several smaller "wheels".
Even if the forklift was far more agile and could probably accomplish the same tasks faster than a standard forklift, I think the wheels would wear out quicker.
Is this something you ran into, or were the forklifts not in action long enough to discover this?
Systems like this are used at Boeing Airbus and others to move major sections of aircraft. Siemans has one that moves locomotives.
@@davidsandy5917 yet they called it unreliable lol when they are been used to build multi million dollars planes
@@lcfflc3887 and what does that have to do with their reliability?
*But if the load is greater at the front than the back (due to the lifting), then chances are that the 2 front wheels will carry greater friction than the ones in the back resulting in slightly unexpected shifting of the vehicle, specially on uneven surfaces of slight differences of friction. It seems promising, but I wonder if this was practically tested in real life under these explained circumstances.*
this is for a prefect floor, or it will not work?
just not a practical idea at all if you ask me...
Guys, this is not just a theoretical demo, there are forklifts with this mechanism in the real world.
@@chipfyn1 I haven't seen a forklift with those wheels yet, but coincidently just yesterday I saw a little wheel-drone in a tech store with just those wheels. They certainly didn't use CGI because no real vehicle would exist, but because it made explanation of the concept way better understanding. And for making an online video (where budget is very limited), how would you find out, where there is some company nearby, that has such a forklift? And even if you did, another question if they let you play around with it for some video.
ua-cam.com/video/E2b_69Gpmic/v-deo.html
May be could use a computer system like ESP to dynamicly balance the outputs of each wheel?
We used these in our FIRST robotics robot. They were super interesting to watch in person
Exact same here :) Ours was a lift vehicle
I’m also in FIRST. Good luck to anyone competing this year. 😁😁
what does "robotics robot" even mean
@@fitrianhidayat its part of the name “FIRST robotics”
@@fitrianhidayat It's a meme event, doesn't even matter anyway
Haters will point out how ineffective is it, but u gotta acknowledge the guy who made it, such a imaginative and brilliant engineer he is. They are so intelligent
How does pointing out legitimate concerns about their use make someone a hater? Every comment I've read lists legitimate design flaws with the current design, such as friction coefficients, load bearing concerns for forklift applications, high wear rate on the rollers, just to name a few? Is it truly considered "hating" when pointing out legitimate concerns in the hopes that said concerns will be taken into account, and help make these wheels better in the future?
@@SgtAwesome97 most people will expend theit creative energy poking holes in existing things rather than providing new solutions. It should be kind of obvious that these wheels arent going to replace regular wheels and have many drawbacks that only make them useful in certain niche cases
In an exaggerated example, pointing out flaws in this wheel is like calling a fighter jet design stupid because it sacrifices a lot of performance at commercial speeds and cant carry many people or big payloads
Thank you for what you do. The world needs this
Clever, but as you can see from the vector forces, there is a lot of forces cancelled, which mean not energy efficient. Also small contact patch means high weat or expensive materials. That is why some way smart ideas dont get to thrive. These videos will benefit if they present the limitations of anything new and the barriers to adoption. Furthermore, for the people that bring the example of no work being done when one pushes against a wall where the forces cane out please consider that in the example of pushing against a wall, work is not done with regards to wall being moved, yet one does waste muscle energy into thermal energy via pushing in vain. Same for example if a car or machinery that is stuck against a practically immovable object. They do not move the object, yet they burn fuel or electrical energy to thermal waste instead of useful work in moving said "immovable" object.
I was wondering the same thing about the cancelled forces--the energy for the wheels pulling against one another has to go somewhere...
I totally agree that Lesics videos would benefit from a more balanced presentation. But you are wrong about the cancelled forces: Forces cancel out all the time in mechanical systems and that has nothing to do with energy. For instance, if a pen lies on a table, the gravitation force on the pen and the normal force from the tabletop cancels out. No work is performed, and no energy is expended.
@@waylonk2453 dat axle lol. Indeed it does seem like a terribly inefficient configuration. But it fills a niche!
@@mumiemonstret It's different. The pen and the table top forces do cancel that's why there's no movement, only equilibrium, no work. But in this mecanum car, a work must be done and two active forces in different directions combine so that the resultant force would move the car in the direction intended. Real active forces has to be cancelled out. This car is indeed inefficient but this car is built for mobility not efficiency, that's why don't expect this to become a viable transpo. But indeed this could be very valuable in tight spaces or warehouses.
@@MrKockabilly My guess is the cancelled force for mecanum wheels is akin to force cancellation when two wheels rotating in opposite directions push against each other. Energy is expended in the form of kinetic friction of the wheels rubbing against the ground.
The design and thought process of this concept and then final product is absolutely sensational.
That kind of wheel is found in aircraft cargo loaders. They often have to rotate ULDs 90 or 180 degrees. You can clearly see the wheels turning in opposite direction to achieve this.
These other comments are dumb. All of a sudden everyone has a mechanical engineering degree.
Lifting planes on a tarmac but these commenters acting like it's a dandelion ready to bust apart at the first sign of dirt or a loose screw.
I think the best part isn’t that it can spin in its center, a tank or anything with treads can do that. What’s amazing is that it can move sideways or diagonally without changing which way the vehicle is facing
3:01. That was the most interesting part. Now all you have to do is make it fly.
This is practical for low speed applications like warehouse forklifts and factory robots where you can use them on uniform floor areas and much controlled environments. Brilliant idea. 👏
Except the wear and tear costs and the fact that these wheels have problems bearing even moderate loads.
Plus the fact their "new" and "innovative" means there very expensive. It just costs more to have them than what they can put out for product. Especially when their are systems for lifts that have sharp turn radii already with normal inexpensive tires.
Is the concept cool and interesting? Yes. Is it practical and efficient? Not really. Plus you gotta factor in if someone is going sideways down a crane isle their taking up most if not all the clearance, thus opening up more problems for foot traffic and collision with hazards.
I used to play with these last year when I was doing robotics. Fascinating to see them work
Its a good design but the wear and tear on the tyres is significantly larger than normal tyres. Hence it runs out of tyres quickly and also each tyre is operated by a separate driver/motor.
The forklifts are also used outside on unprepared loose ground. Mud, dust, snow, as many sources of debris that would ruin the bearings of each roller on such wheels, the replacement of which is likely to cost, not only in repairs but also immobilization of the forklifts for a while. On the paper lots of promises but in real life , more handicaps appear and make the concept less attractive. Except perhaps in very clean indoor applications with great condition concrete floors.
@@tonerotonero1375 i have no knowledge of forklifts though but
Im sure there's some seperate forklifts that can do what you exactly said and this one on this video is specifically for warehouse use??
Idk...
Tire
@@titaniumspecial4207 not when rollers need changed every 50 hours of use
@@gagepuffinbarger6939 Since we came up with English first over here in England, Tyre is correct :P
i am not even an engineer BUT this is a great design, i am mindblown. yes i has a niche application, its just the design is AMAZING
I did robotics in highschool and when we would compete in competitions these were our wheels of choice. Fun to drive. Pain to program. Love the video
Did the same thing as you, to program we just followed a tutorial and it wasn't so bad, did you compete in FTC or VEX or something else?
They legitimately reinvented the wheel.
amd made it less reliable by a long shot
A Fork Lift using these wheels was seen in the shuttle hanger scene in Star Trek (2009).
These wheels have been around for a while now but are only used in specific applications.
ua-cam.com/users/shorts_t_aAw5JgWM?feature=share
ok
Myth busters also used a fork lift with these wheels. I never understood how they worked. I was thinking that the small rollers were somehow powered. This video simplified the wheels but the drive system just got complex, each corner needs it own power. Then a fluid way for the operator to control it.
I am pretty sure I saw these at an expo back in 1993.
Can definitely see a few niche uses for these, but overall for general use these scream impractical.
I was a fork lift operator for years, ours turned A LOT tighter than this example, lmao. Did you pick the worse fork lifts on the market or something?
Just a simple graphical demo. It's not meant to be 100% real-world accurate or to scale. But you knew that.
@@Salsuero It's misleading though and serves to fluff up the merit of these wheels when in reality, they're pretty damn impractical for fork trucks.
I thought that when I seen it too lol. Did it HAVE to be that egregious...... 😂🤣🤦♂️
And of course, even regular wheels can have zero turning circle, if you have them driven separately (i.e. left wheels forward, right wheels backward, as I have seen on many excavators on wheels or even tracks).
That's what I am wondering about - you don't need these for zero turning circle. The difference is the sideways motion - did you, as a forklift operator, ever felt the need of sideways motion?
I suppose it would be nice to have in some cases (like, when trying to fit a box into a tight space), but did you as an operator ever need it, or could you after a while turn to the right spot on the first try without the need for additional maneuvering?
yeaah i agree these seem like theyed be hard to drive, i'd rather just grab the standup if i cant get the turn with the sit down as all forclifts are zero turns.
These wheels are being Used on airfield highloaders, being able to maneuver freight containers Into an airplane without needing to use muscle. Pretty cool Tech👍
Happy New Year to the Lesics Team! Now I know why so few people are inventors. It needs a lot of thinking, understanding, imagination, trials, and perseverance. I was so surprised to learn about Antikythera mechanism and the South-pointing chariot; it is amazing how some peoples' brains work. I have a feeling that Lesics team may have a few such brains :)
Happy new year! 🥳🥳
you forgot to add 8-10 year university degree followed by PhD and doctorate credentials, oh wait.
@@goodgoyim9459 You may be right. University education and degrees help build connections, get a job or funding to support the innovation and thus, give a head start to some extent.
Best wishes for 2022.
That was literally reinventing the wheel. Absolutely genius.
This appears to be so simple and obvious now but imagine thinking about this idea. It must have been very creative process.
But it wont work,
@@lilkurd2000 your comment is invalid unless you explain it. Show us that you understand it better than the engineer did.
@@theobserver9131 if it did work you would see a real thing not a computer generated movie about it. And sure it would maybe work in a storage, but then when we start to think about diffrent loads etc thoose things will break.
"What if I put a wheel... on a wheel...?"
Creativity, courage and a little bit of crazy is what makes a genius.
@@lilkurd2000 ua-cam.com/video/0DBXuZv38l8/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Futurism
I've driven forklifts most of my life. Some can even turn a circle in their own length. If I used that much room to turn, my rear would've been out the door.
Haha well put
Yes
MEEEE TOO. I was looking for a comment like this before I said anything.
Ya came looking for this comment. That forklift turn was such utter bullshit lol they can 100% turn on the spot 🤦♀️
That's OSHA's special K turn
Thankyou for such a detailed explanation. The way they solved problem of jerky motion was ingenious.
This is such an amazing invention.
These videos are soo good....
I never miss them watching...
Thanks u so much SIRRR! Very glad this channel exists.
And pls make one video on working mechanism of analog watch...as i always wonder who it works. 😁
Stay away feds
Yes I am interested in both analogue and digital watches mechanism
FBI SECRET AGENT.
"SECRET" INDEED.
Clever idea, but surely, the relatively small contact area of each wheel, compared to a conventional wheel, means that the load-carrying capacity will be reduced (unless they're made from some expensive super-strength material). So it's not really practical for a forklift (which by it's nature must carry high loads), but I can see the idea being useful in something like an electric wheelchair.
They are very common on many smaller, indoor forklifts that prioritize that maneuverability over load capacity.
I wonder if there is a way to both change the concavity of the wheels to increase or decrease the surface area and direction of force back and forth from a mecanum wheel to a conventional wheel as well as support the weight by using a mixture of mecanum wheels and conventional wheels to allow for larger carrying capacity or a different mechanism that supports weight independent of the wheels. I say I wonder because I can't imagine a light enough radially fitted piston system that could achieve this result assuming you have solved the problem of increased friction against differently aligned vectors if you were indeed using just the wheels to support the weight. Perhaps a hydraulic block is lowered from the center turning point that can rotate relative to the forklift but not the ground to support the additional weight that exceeds the carrying capacity of the wheels after they have retracted into mecanum wheels.
My point being that it may be incorrect to assume that all the weight can only be supported by mecanum wheels that are in use
it looks like it would wear down easier too, especially because its sliding
It looks like a bearing. You know bearing can carry so much weight. So I think it can work. They can make those things as small wheels with rubber around it and make them stronger to carry weight.
@@Blox117 They are not sliding, it is an illusion. The rollers are... rolling.
The functional limitation is that each roller in frictional contact in a 4 wheel vehicle bears 1/4 of the vehicles weight & in turn each small bearing on the 4 contact rollers 1/8th of the weight.
That makes reliable engineering of weight carrying vehicles like fork lifts difficult, they sure work on wheel chairs however.
Yes
By that logic the contact point of the axle and the wheel bears 1/4 of the weight in any 4 wheeled vehicle and that must mean that reliable engineering of those is difficult, except we know that's not true
we also know that those forklifts already exist and regularly handle serious loads without problems or more maintenance than a normal forklift
besides in a typical mecanum wheel two rollers maintain contact with the ground at all times, not one, so each end of the little roller axle bears 1/16 of the weight compared to 1/4 for a normal wheel axle, so all your faulty logic does is actually prove that mecanum wheels are superior
and it IS faulty logic because weight distribution does not work that way, there's no single point that gets 1/4 of the weight or any other asinine simple fraction and the stresses change all the time and don't result in nice even numbers like this
also mecanum wheels DO NOT use bearings, they have steel axles with endpoints mounted in a metal frame!
@@nadarith1044 it is not the matter of 1/4 and 1/16 (which is only sometimes true which created even more stress) the problem is that those rollers are not attached to long steel shaft but some small part.
And even if they exsist they will be able to lift less and requier more upkeep and cleaner work space.
@@greedier-7661 Dude the 'small part' is an inch thick steel axle that is as long as the wheel is wide, it's proportionally thicker for it's lenght than a 'long steel shaft' and it's endpoints are both closer together while also being supported on the endpoints and bearing weight on the middle, this means that any stresses that want to bend and break it will be countered better because of how it's being kept rigid and supported on both sides
in contrast the long steel shaft is essentially bearing the weight on the endpoints and is supported closer to the middle which means that the endpoints will receive more stress due to basic lever principle, on top of that it's also proportionally getting a bigger fraction of the total weight and is proportionally thinner and longer therefore weaker, it's obvious it's going to experience stresses in excess of the rollers and be more prone to bending to boot
yet the axles are reliable and durable, so the shorter, thicker, supported more rigidly rollers are obviously not going to be worse or less reliable
also your 'if they exist' remark shows that you didn't absolutely no research and have no idea what you're talking about, they do exist and as much as i tried to find opinions about mecanum forklifts there is no mention of 'more maintenance' or 'weight limits', they're as capable as normal forklifts, the problem is that they're rare as mecanum wheels are essentially unheard of outside of robotics (and from what i see most of the problem is people with opinions that aren't engineers poisoning the well on the idea by spouting blatantly false statements about the wheels)
speaking of robotics, you have things like small pallet sized robotic platforms that easily support 1 ton weights, up to massive autonomous airport robots that support enormous loads and are used to transport plane parts, the main limitation seems to be batteries as they're all mostly electric
they all also operate outside, in a matter of fact mecanum wheels are excellent in off-roading and can handle very rough terrain, what they don't handle well is speed due to their reduced contact patch and how at high speeds their 'rolling' becomes 'repeated impacts' with how they're made
speaking about your 'clean work space' statement one important part is that mecanum wheels also receive incredibly small wear and tear, the entire idea that they have a lot of friction is a gratitous misunderstanding of how they work, the entire idea is that any force that isn't converted into motion of the vehicle is just harmlessly expended by the freely spinning rollers, the mecanum wheels NEVER skid and don't even experience wear and tear when breaking as when unpowered the wheels automatically oppose themselves due to their configuration and bleed any force with the free spinning rollers
@@nadarith1044 Firslt I am not worried about shaft of the rollers but the endpoints becouse even if most of the force is focused in the middle, endpoints are being affected by diffrent force and if they were not the only thing being affected byt it but rollers kept some there would be friction affecting them.
Regarding my lack of reaserch, you yourself admitted that you did not find anything about such stuff despite the fact that such thing would be in their manuals. Even cars have it wirtten how much can the bear.
The small robots work in diffrent ways as they don t use 4 wheels / 4-8 rollers to hold their weight and there is often used a lot of them if they want to lift something realy heavy.
If they did have very small wear and tear that means that they would have small friction which means that you would have to make works space not wet and straight as possible and it would skid. That what friction is for.
And if all of that was false rollers (not whole mecanum wheels) would be used much often but i hardly even see them.
Why are trucks not useing them. You would olny need to make them bigger.
Tanks could use them.
Oh and forklifters could use them even without the wheels just have them use your rollers.
Fantastic knowledge 👏 👌
Thank you so much information about this system
Wow!!! Was my 1st thought that came to mind! Engineering at its finest, just superb, you guys literally tickled my brain
The Mecanum wheel is a cool invention, but modern forklifts already have extremely tight turning radii. A bigger problem forklifts face is having human operators, which take up space that could instead be used to bring the payload in closer/over the vehicle. These wheels add an unnecessary level of complexity and reduce reliability, that wouldn't be better solved by implementing two-axis steering.
"A bigger problem forklifts face is having human operators"
Found the robot.
I installed this system at Van Der Lay Industries.
@@SUBARCTICPSYCHO and you didn't even need to ask him to identify all the images with bridges in them...
You Captchas are getting pretty smart... even creating your own UA-cam accounts?😉
I wouldn't call having human operators a problem. People need jobs, man.
@@SUBARCTICPSYCHO ikr 😆
Looking at these force patterns have me wondering how often and how expensive it would be to replace all those bearings, rods, rollers, and eventually the whole wheel.
The rollers are the primary wear components. And IMO, Mecanum wheel systems is unsuitable to pretty much anything other than polish concrete or epoxy floors under modest loads.
@@stanimal8 unsuitable is an understatement even slightly uneven floors will make them very unfun to use hell even down right dangerous the moment one wheel lifts or even loses a little bit of grip you can go from moving in a direction you want to a direction you dont want. and there totally useless off road.
I just looked it up. A single roller can be removed by removing two bolts. You do not even need to jack it up.
Same. Plus the video almost seemed like a sales pitch, talking about how much more efficiently a forklift could maneuver instead of turning circles. But looking at the force patterns, I was thinking, so this thing is working against itself all the time. Working at 50% efficiency constantly to achieve a single direction, cost effective wise, a regular forklift with a skilled operator probably runs circles around this.
Looks like a really good concept, although I imagine it would be quite a lot more expensive than traditional systems. No doubt it will get more efficient and less expensive in the future.
I think a one problem and cost factor is that you need 2 sets of differently manufactured wheels. With normal wheels you can just switch any wheel of matching size onto it. With these wheels you'll at least need 2 wheels for spare, in case either one breaks.
And if they become dirty they’re useless
At this rate, the number of component involved in rubber-based vs mechanum is just too many. I’d rather invest in flexible joints rather mechanum wheels.
Or make it affordable at launch 😒
Yes
Nice to see an actual application of the Mecanum Wheel concept.
that's amazing, very creative approach on developing this wheel design.
Brilliant! Re-inventing the wheel, not as an exercise in futility, but in a way that makes sense! Perfect for tight places! I think you would need a computer between the drive system and the driver, though. I love this kind of thing. Thanks!
I feel like just adding the single wheel control to a forklift could allow more freedom with less of the downsides of this design
You mean 4 wheel steering? Yes that seems to be a much simpler and lower maintenance solution. But if you imagine actually trying to steer something with 4 wheels independently steered it's not easy. Forklifts have to move forward and reverse very accurately, in a straight line, to pick up and deposit things like wood pallets. So maybe having steering on each wheel isn't worth it.
I took that as meaning a tricycle design. Two wheels on one axle acting as the pivot point and one single wheel that steers. Back when I worked in a warehouse most (if not all) of our P.I.T. had this design.
@@wterlep yes theres usually a tricycle layout on european forklifts that attach to the back of trucks however i think this layout might be a bit less stable and cant carry as much weight
@@DrewWithington I meant having one motor for each wheel so you could control them independently of eachother. Then you could make it steer like a tank or a car in tight spaces. but 4 wheel steering might work.
@@masterseeker360 true but the same applies for the mecanum wheels since the weight of each wheels is focused on only one of the small rollers at a time, so carrying hvy load will most likely break the small bearing of the rollers (hope you understand what I'm trying to say cuz it's hard for me to expalin it clearly)
0:09 is an absurd case that probably only applies to outdoor equipment. The rest of the video is very well made!
Agreed, forklifts tend to have real wheel steering for this purpose. Large front wheels for carrying most of the weight and smaller back wheels for 180° turning motion give great maneuverability, not sure where they pulled this example from.
My words are less to thanks him who made this important education video, even who is the father of this macanum Wheels
Really it's very phenomenal invention of science specially for transport (lifter )
I got stirred at this mechanism after watching the video
Thanks Lesics
So genius and yet so simple to understand. Very creative approach, we humans can truly achieve amazing things, just right individuals and resources are required. Amazing !!
We use these for our robotics team! They're super helpful. Makes movement so much easier. With one joystick we can move the bot in any direction
And when you rotate the joystick you can turn the robot, right? So you can drive it by pushing forwards and turn by tilting?
Other joystick could easily be used to operate the fork itself with up,down,left,right with tilt 👍tough which one you set on rotate is probably personal opinion.
This channel is such incredibly smart, it's like reading a engineering book all the time.
Being a professional fork lift driver for 25 years I would say wear would be a large factor on these wheels considering the weight exerted on them at times, great idea but probably too costly considering bearings and rubber wear.
Yes, looks like there are a lot of forces working against each other here.
Wow, that was awesome 👌
That was amazing !!
they need this on power wheelchairs
May be easily tangled up with hair and threads though? I can certainly see them being very helpful there.
wheelchairs are not forklifts in a whare house
@@victorhopper6774 forklifts are not in a whare house either.
The Marvic 3000 caliper post on the first grid sliding armature is a 3 digit setting where the post and the armature meet the angle of cross line was set at a maximum of one. Reset it at the 3 mark and that will eliminate any clogging issues next time you run it. - Dan Aykroyd
DARZHNARZHERLARLEFREFLARZSHERBLE?
DARZHNARZHERLARLEFREFLARZSHERBLE?
I've been around a lot of forklift operators. I've seen them crash into a lot of things and current forklifts are pretty intuitive and simple to operate. These things would be amazing in the hands of a skilled operator but I've not met a lot of those.
Brilliant. Thank you for sharing and explaining.
The practical examples were very helpful to see how it actually works in normal use…thanks
I'm here cause of the thumbnail
I think I remember seeing a couple designs for 6-wheel lifts to try overcome drawbacks a few years ago, but it's really a high overhead
Interesting invention, though as a fork lift operator with many years of experience, the demonstration of an elevated load moving in a sideways direction violates a sacred rule not to transfer an elevated load in any direction other than one that is directly parallel to the long wheelbase of the machine. If the machine wheelbase was square, it would not present an issue in this regard.
Now this group literally reinvented the wheel!!
Great work! Thank you
The animation at 0:42 shows the traction force in the wrong direction. It should be 90° from what is shown. The roller is free to rotate in the direction the arrow is pointing so it cannot provide traction in that direction.
Well spotted
I hate physic, because of that
As a traction aid for poor surfaces I'd like to see a set of wheels where the rollers can be driven via a coaxle shaft with a motor for the wheels carrier frame, and another for the rollers themselves. with the ability to select the rollers ability to spin freely or to be held locked will permit the vehicle to deal with poor traction caused by sand, gravel or other loose materials.
Kinda pointless, going through sand or gravel would almost immediately kill the wheel by getting material inside the roller bearings and jamming it all up
@@baileylunn2215 Such is life, you can't avoid dirt eventually it's going to find you...
"In the future we'll have flying cars."
The future - wheels that go sideways. 😅
Best I can do is a paramotor: ua-cam.com/video/L1Z8YT6w7Rc/v-deo.html
talk about reinventing the wheel!
I really appreciate your videos, thanks a lot for making me understand more of this world☮️🌍
Most Of Here Are Engineers Or Who want Be 🔥🤙
No I am programmer 😂😂 and teaching programming
Retired business owner 😜
I'm a security guard.... i'm so confused why this was in my suggestions
I've played with one of them modular RC cars that has this type of wheels, and was always curious of how it works.
When I first saw the forklift with the Mecanum wheels on Mythbusters, I was completely baffled by how it worked. Adam mentioned it but did not explain how it worked.
Glad to see someone beat me to this system, makes it cheaper forme to buy several when I need to. Thanks and giddy dance.
Great video. Brilliant idea! I genuinely learned something new this morning!
I'm sure the wear/tear and friction associated with the motions can quickly shorten the tire lifespan and even the ground surface it contacts.
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I am thinking the same the wheels would have a extremely short lifespan and the surface it uses would need to be near perfect so parking lots would be out of the question. Polished concrete would probably be the the ideal surface. As for the wear lets assume the rollers are a consumable perhaps they last a month. Just because they are shot doesn't mean the wheel would be shot. And the really cool feature is you would be able to change the rollers with the wheels still attached to the fork lift just do the ones facing up then turn the wheel and change the other half of them. The rollers which are a small tube would be easy to manufacture and should be rather cheap since wheels are the real engineering challenge. And if you replaced just rollers the wheels should last for dozens perhaps hundreds of roller cycles.
If you haven't already, can you make a video explaining how the transmission of those vehicles work which has both a manual and an automatic transmission in the same car
The forklift driver in the video appears to have a standard looking steering wheel. How does using this translate to the various possible forklift movements described? Another video showing the operators' movement control system would be useful.
it's probably an auto circuit board that does all the computer calculations and instructions, not an actual manual rod
@@SDRIFTERAbdlmounaim You can use one joystick to move the forklift. push in the direction you want to move and rotate the joystick to turn.
You can combine this with other joystick to control the fork up/down, left/right and tilt forwards/backwards.
On top of that you can just add buttons on the joysticks to handle things like clamps and other functions as needed.
Or get an Ai to run the whole thing. Just automated the whole thing. Also this seems to work best on flat clean surface so no offroading?
Its simplicity is still blowing my mind
That’s awesome 👏🏻
I think about this vehicle for our warehouse ..
These are probably really functional and very practial once in the vehicle. The problem is that the cost of engineering is for sure more expensive than the standard.
Even in case of breaking, to repair it would be a pain.
Still, i really love the concept and the video
The thing about the wheel is maximizing space in warehouses because normal forklifts rquire a lot of space, thats why amazon use small robots for example, even if its expensive for a big company could be definitly worth it if the space gained is really big.
Yeah, fixing the rollers must be a headache and designing them can't be easy with all the different forces they have to withstand.
A warehouse workers dream... Till management stuffs it further with pallets :)
@@ramoncf7 this is a working wheel - it was invented 1972 and has been in use since. There is no upcoming designproblems...
As only a component of force for each wheel works in desired direction, the power loss would be more.
Indeed. The wheels would wear off dramatically fast.
@@amjan The force component that doesn"t "work" does not contribute to the power either, so no.
And since the rollers roll, not slip, they don't wear fast either.
Please stop guessing and assuming that this isn't a real product!
@@amjan I would not be surprise if the wheels wear faster, not because of the reaction loads, but mostly because of the tapered shape of the rollers causing the rollers to speed-up and slow down as the wheel roll while the vehicle in NOT moving at exactly 45 deg. Also the small contact patches on the rollers would likely wear faster due to higher contact stress AND these wheel systems have much lower capacity when compared to the rubber treaded steel wheels used on typical forklifts. I've only seen Mecanum wheel systems used on small lower capacity battery powered forklifts. We tested these type of forklift at my company ~15 years ago.
@@mumiemonstret Your grasp of simple mechanics (based completely on your "work" and thinking the rollers roll because they are called rollers even though they obviously do not roll or you would just have a block fitted with rolling rollers remaining static in the same position indefinitely) is why you believe this to be a real life practical application. Which it obviously is not.
I have to wonder though, about tire wear. I've worked in warehouses, and product quickly gets caked in rubber dust, which comes from the tires of forklifts.
I don't pretend to know the lifespans of forklift tires, but I have to imagine, since less wheel surface area is meeting the ground, greater weights are being carried by the rubber that still actually touches the ground. Also, since in many of these maneuvers, the direction of movement isn't in line with the roll of the tire, that the added friction will cause even faster wear.
On top of that, there will be lots of bearings for each roller. Bearings that will at times ne carrying the whole load for that tire, while at the same time taking forces from drag as the rollers are not moving in the same direction as the tire.
I'd have to imagine that the wear, repair costs, and initial purchase price would make the added benefits not worth it.
Again, I don't know these values, but I would be interested in knowing them.
It's one thing to make the forklift move on amazing ways. It's another to do it effectively for a long time while being cost effective.
Wow!
These wheels are so cool!
Wow, very impressive. This should be standard issue.
Making a classic wheel, that can rotate 360°, while being attached and transmissed from above would be more efficient and even reliable.
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That's perfectly true. The only downside is more motors and more complex programing of motor controllers. In robotics I've built a few of those drive systems (swerve is what they're refered to) and they outclass mecanum drive systems in every other way.
@@caseymurray7722 maybe I'm missing something, don't you only need 4 extra motors to steer the wheels? 2 if we discount the power steering motors already in normal wheels. 2 sounds like a whole lot less than the 64 or so extra motors in these cyberpunk wheels
@@Zreknarf No for a mecanum drive you only need 1 motor per wheel. For a swerve drive you need 2 per wheel, one for rotation and one for drive. Mecanum wheels are nice because they can fit where normal wheels once were and aren't complex. Swerve is better but way more complex; all designs have a bevel gear so it's like trying to set lash on a rear end but for 4 corners and they all need to be level.
@@caseymurray7722 ahh I thought the diagonal rollers were powered, so that's what I was missing. but surely 16 or so rollers and their axels and their bearings is more complicated than 1 little extra steering motor, no?
I first witnessed these wheels at a special needs conference over twenty years ago. Apparently they never caught on for wheelchair operation. I hope they can be adapted for industrial use, but I'm sure there are many hurdles still ahead...
Ok
Seems like the sideways force on the axle would destroy bearings, and cause excess wear to drive gears.
It would
and to the floor
It does. It's like if you've ever had a truck in 4x4 mode and then turn tightly on a flat smooth surface. Everything wants to bind. The rollers are designed to wear and be replaced.
Mr. Bengt solved more problems building those wheels than I did in my whole life.
I have see some remote control toy cars using these wheels. It is cool what you can do with this design!
I drive a tow motor ( life truck) everyday as a part of my job. Coming in and out of trailers at different high. Even wet floors at times. Driving outside at times. We tear up solid rubber Wheelsat times. I got to see this in a real world working situation. Clearly the engineers never drove am in their entire life. They would know that smooth concrete floors are not very smooth. I'll say this product tearing up within months
In an outdoor area yes, in an indoor area they would be more suited
yeah i mean its sliding because those rollers aren't parallel with direction of motion
We did a trial with on a forklift with Mecanum wheels ~15 years ago. It was pretty awesome control wise, even an untrained engineer like me could operate it easily. Our satellite factory had an epoxy floor so wear wasn't a significant issue. My understanding was that there were some reliability issues with the forklift (unrelated to the Mecanum wheels), and we chose to stick with our existing electric forklifts.
your force vectors are off, but otherwise a very solid video
You’re right. They’re so off it bother me totally.
Do the roller wheels ever slip? (scrape against the ground) If so i have my doubts.
The rollers don't slip under normal use.
@@stanimal8 unless they wheels are moving in a 45 degree direction of travel, they would have to scrap. That’s how a wheel or roller would work
Then they needed another genious to make an intuitive way of controlling this vehicle. Awesome video as always!
Thank you for this video I didn't ask for or need
Do the cancelling forces result in excessive wear, or slip, on the wheels as they pull in opposite directions?
No, the rollers don't slip more than an ordinary tire. They are like small unpowered tires.
@@HobbyOrganist thats not true forklifts working in a warehouse is gonna see alot more use then your average private car. one or two vecation trips a year cant be comapred to 8 hours a day every day.
@@Ithzzz I’m pretty sure they are comparing the tyre on a forklift and a traditional forklift tyre in the same conditions, just assuming though
I would suspect they design the rollers to be harder than the average forklift tire, but soft enough to grip. I'm sure there has been a lot of engineering that's gone into developing just the right rubber for them. That being said, I do think you would have more wear on the mecanum wheels compared to traditional wheels if they where made of the same material.
@@danielmiller2886 at a guess I would suspect the wheels are driven by hydraulic motors, which balance the energy going into the wheels. Thus, provided the wheels do not slip, power is used in the direction of motion and not wasted in producing the opposition forces. It might be a different story if the forklift was not working on a flat ridged concrete floor. On a looser surface such as gravel or mud, one might expect the wheels to spin, as the opposition forces no longer cancel out. This might result in a diagonal motion to that of the intended direction. It is interesting to think about, particularly in terms of energy usage. Provide there isn't any slip, then energy is not wasted in maintaining the canceling forces, as the force produces no associate motion. (Work being defined as force times distant moved).
Forklifts don't turn like that. They have rear steering.
I'm at work right now and I see one with rear steering and one like in the video used for lumping
@@neilw5541 I used to deliver to a shop that had a forklift with 4 non turning wheels. It bent in the center like a worm... It was odd to watch. Regular forklift was much smaller.
This is called: reinventing the wheel.
*ba dum tss*
Wow very interesting! Thanks 👍🏻
Reinventing the wheel just took on a whole new level
I love the idea but I am not sure how well it would work in 99% of the production settings. It looks like too many things have to be just right consistently to function properly. First & foremost a completely consistently clean floor which I've never experienced no matter how thorough the housekeeping is pieces of pallet break off..the list goes on & on.
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Fascinating video!
The conception of this is mind boggling.
great detail sir