Got a question. I managed to find someone who can CNC my custom wheel pulley, I went with the cheapest aluminum (6061 T6) that has a tensile strength of 300, I was recommended to go (7075 T6) that has a tensile strength of 600, knowing that it’ll be spinning at a decent speed with a belt causing friction. What’s the best option here?
1 Like
I’m not a machinist, but I do play one on TV.
My opinion is to ask, how many teeth does it have? Because the more it has, the less it matters.
I’d be worried less about tensile strength and more about resistance to abrasion personally, assuming the pulley was designed in a way where it’s not going to physically fail by deformation.
3 Likes
@Savage1 can probably answer this more accurately, buy I’ve run a 3d printed petg wheel pulley for a long time and it worked fine. The type of aluminum probably won’t make a noticeable difference for this application.
2 Likes
There was a time when I ran an aluminum motor pulley and printed wheel pulley, and the aluminum wore faster, 6061 is fine for wheels
1 Like
6061 is more than good enough for a pulley. 7075 is twice as expensive, and way overkill.
4 Likes
I think this might be 6061 and 40 tooth
It seems to last a long time, and if the tooth count was higher, and the number of motors more than one, it might just last the life of your board.
1 Like
It has 36T
36T might the only case where I’d consider a tougher alloy. But even so, if it has two motors, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If it’s single motor and 36T I would consider using a tougher material if longevity is desired.
That’s what I figured, I don’t think my existing Abec wheel pulley has ever felt warm even after thrashing my board around
I’m not even sure how much better 7075 is at abrasion resistance than 6061. Is it better?
Sure, the tensile strength stuff, but 6061 is more than enough in that department, IMHO.
At the moment, I’m only running a single motor setup but in the future I’ll be switching over to a dual, so I should go with the 7075 since there will be more pressure on that one then evenly distributing it
1 Like
I’m gonna see if I can look it up, I’m not sure if it’ll tell me right off the bat, worth a shot
Delrin is a good option for a pulley as well. Easier to machine too. Been running mine for a year and they look brand new.
2 Likes
IMHO delrin is a great choice if cost is your only concern.
Unfortunately I’m on a budget, the company that’s making the pulley is asking $298, that’s prolly the most I’ll go
1 Like
Thats a spendy pulley 
If i may ask, why the need for custom?
2 Likes
I recently made a custom pulley that, if bought or outsourced, would have been just as much…
7 Likes
That’s pretty sweet.
Any reason for the double flange? I imagine that might make belt changes a bit tricky
This is still part of a machine that’s a work in progress. I’m not sure if that will survive or not.
Indeed it is, for a good cause tho. I needed a custom pulley for my clouds since I trust the metal ones and the cloud ones are plastic and have a bearing in the back which wouldn’t work on my truck since the axle doesn’t have enough room, so getting this made I can put it on without the bearing and still have it a good quality since the clouds won’t work on regular Abec pressfit pulleys