Personal · 2023

Locking Mecanum Wheel

Servo-actuated roller constraint for selectable traction

An independent servo-actuated mechanism exploring how a mecanum wheel could preserve omnidirectional motion when unlocked and gain conventional traction when engaged.

Role: Designer / Builder
Organization: Personal Project
Focus: Mechanism Design / Rapid Prototyping

Skills

CADFDM PrintingServo Actuation

CAD front view of a mecanum wheel with its roller-locking linkage installed — The linkage constrains the rollers when straight-line traction matters more than strafing.

Mobility and traction pull in different directions

Mecanum rollers enable omnidirectional motion, but the same roller freedom can limit straightforward traction. I explored a mechanism that selectively constrains the rollers when conventional forward grip is more useful.

Lock the rollers only when needed

A linear servo drives a linkage housed in 3D-printed components. The engaged mechanism applies force to or constrains the rollers; releasing it returns the wheel to normal mecanum behavior.

Low-cost, off-the-shelf actuation
3D-printable geometry
Reversible engagement
Reproducible assembly

CAD side view of the servo and linkage around a mecanum wheel — Side view of the servo-driven linkage and printed structure.

Front CAD view of the mecanum wheel mechanism — Designed around a commercial wheel and off-the-shelf hardware.

What I would test next

The project demonstrated a practical actuation concept and packaging approach. Quantitative traction improvement was not measured, so no performance gain is claimed. A next iteration would instrument wheel load and drawbar force to compare locked and unlocked states.

Detailed CAD view of the mecanum roller locking mechanism — A concept that worked mechanically; the next useful step would be measurement.

Tools: CAD · FDM Printing · Servo Actuation