How Do Mecanum Wheels Work?

Mecanum wheels, also known as omni wheels or ilon wheels, consist of a hub with rollers oriented 45° to the axis of rotation.

Perfect for tight spaces, they enable conventional forward & backward movement as well as side to side and even rotation. To accomplish this, each wheel turns independently. To move side to side, pairs of wheels oppose one another, acting like a worm gear.

You'll see a forklift like this one from time to time in the background on the show Mythbusters!

Music: Brown Box by Grillo

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Category:

Education

Tags:

• technical illustration
• technical illustrator
• illustration
• infographics
• mecanum wheel
• omni wheel
• omni directional wheel
• omni directional drive
• ilon wheel
• airtrax
• how stuff works
• how it works
• mythbusters
• forklift
• 3d
• sketch and toon
• toon shader

[carcomp101]

Ya, don't forget all of the timing and computer controls required to coordinate 4 of these things. You can't just slap them on your vehicle and hope for the best.

[pradeepknal]

simple, clear demonstration..thankya !!

[imjeffp]

There's also one in the 2009 "Star Trek" scene where the cadets are being assigned to their ships.

[motomissle]

I saw this on mythbusters

[iggitypiggity]

i'm just gonna put it down to magic.