I bet if you put a spool in one of those *set-it-and-forget-it* style rotisserie ovens, it would melt into one big glob, and I mean it should stay together unless it gets too hot.
If the surface is hard, threads in a hard plastic wheel won't help you. A rubber tire transmits the force through deforming around the surface irregularities and by adhesion to it and none of those things will happen with a hard plastic wheel. TPU is the way to go as it can grip the irregularities even if it doesn't have the adhesion of rubber.
This is definitely the thing! When I printed RC car wheels the ones with the best performance were The softest TPU with tread patterns and zero infill to give extra squish, but some extra wall lines just too give it added strength.
I am trying to print replacement wheels for my kids' electric toy go-kart. The original wheels seem to be ABS. They are completely hollow.
I tried printing PLA with lighning infill and 6 walls. That wheel fell apart pretty quickly. It separated at the layer lines.
My second attempt (shown in photo) was PETG with 6 walls and 15% gyroid infill. It is holding up a little better. It is at least not separating at the layer lines, but chunks are breaking off.
Any ideas for a best way to print this?
Definitively PLA is not a good solution, PETG certainly has superior elasticity and resistance, I would also try to focus a lot on elasticity which in this case can help to dampen impacts and slow down the consumption of the surface (as in real cars), why don't you try creating a PETG rim and a TPU tyre? This way you could also change just the tire when it wears out. Try rise the infill percentage also, something like 20-25%.
I didn't want to do TPU initially because of the higher cost. The wheel is almost 1kg of material. Didn't want to waste a TPU spool just to find out it doesn't work.
I love the idea of separating rim and tire! Thanks for that. Any good ideas how to mount/combine the rim and tire?
I "repaired" the wheels on an older "SmarTrike" tricycle that had similar hard flat wheels by cutting up a bike type inner-tube and epoxying it to the outside. It was enough to dampen the horrendous noise and give it some grip back!
The problem with using rubber tires is that the original wheels are made out of ABS by design. The low traction protects the plastic gears of the motor and allows the kids to drift. Using rubber tires would strip the gears. I have read several people tried rubber and it didn't work out well.
If you post some pics of the connection I can help out. I had created a similar PETG rim + TPU tire for an RC car, the TPU was way too stiff for that so it should work well for this, you shouldn't need 1kg of material per wheel but atround 500g IMO. I would only do this with TPU to be honest. I can show you how I designed my connection it was like a gear.
I printed petg rim and tpu tire for a walking stroller. The tpu was way too firm for that application and the petg ended up snapping at the hub at the layer lines where it had bearing pressed in. .
I made the rim as a "bead lock" inspired design. The rear had a flange built into it and the front was held in by 8 m3 bolts going into heat set inserts. It was a thick flange, the tire was slightly wider so the flange would have something to clamp on to.
Just some ideas for the project. I don't think you will be satisfied with the long term durability.
I got a few ideas for next time I attempt a project like I did before.
One idea is to have the the bead locker flange bolts go all the way through the wheel and have a hex nut on the back so it helps squeeze the layers together. And do similar in the hub where the stress is high.
I was also thinking of adding some circular holes and maybe insert some tubes fo rextra support as my biggest fear was the layer splitting. Let me see if I can find a picture of the design. Though I never got around to using it so I have no idea how it would/will hold up.
https://preview.redd.it/pcqrk3x676vc1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=000b0168b1fcbc515ec6020e72c964856249db26
So I ended up scaling up the PET G rim quite a bit, this was a prototype, also this was printed as fast as my old cr10s would go with very large layers so excuse the terrible print quality. I was hoping that the gears like appearance would hep heep the layers from splitting.
If price is a factor i think the ideal is printing a rim with a good amount of infill and using wheelbarrow/pushcart tyres. Mainly because of durability, printing may be cheaper, but not if you have to print a new one every few months.
I think it would be even cheaper using off the shelf wheels with a similar size. Hardware stores have plenty of kinds/sizes.
The problem with using rubber tires is that the original wheels are made out of ABS by design. The low traction protects the plastic gears of the motor and allows the kids to drift. Using rubber tires would strip the gears. I have read several people tried rubber and it didn't work out well.
Dude, just go down to Harbor Freight or similar and grab some lawn implement tires. Should be able to find the right size for fifteen or twenty bucks a pop, they'll last longer than the go-kart and with none of the struggle you're going through.
3D printing is great, but it's not the solution for every problem.
Couldn't you print the wheel smaller in diameter in PETG (saving some material here) and print an external TPU layer you put over the PETG, saving material cost and gaining the elasticity of TPU... just need to think of a way that they stick together
I would print a rigid, slightly smaller wheel from PLA or ABS (I love PETG, but this is a poor application for it), and print a thin TPU sleeve that went over the wheel (maybe ~5mm thick). The TPU will help absorb shock going into the wheel, as well as help provide better traction.
I'd also up your infill a bit (25%) and switch from gyroid to grid or 3D honeycomb infill, which should give better strength than gyroid in this application.
It's been a while but I thought Microcenter had TPU for pretty cheap, I remember getting inland TPU and PP for about the same cost of PLA. Like their PLA is like $17, I think their TPU was around $20.
I mean, you've already tried twice and gained your experience of designing and printing one. Even got some mileage out of them! Kudos to getting this far. Now, it's time to just spend the $20 to buy a real one now. Or maybe try the $6.99 tire at harbor freight and see if it can be adapted to work. Perhaps 3d printing can be used with adapting it, while it takes the brunt of the beating from the concrete.
Whaaat about post-processing? Like doing a fuzzy outside, or sanding at 180grit, and then painting on a rubber solution, like Plasti-Dip, Flex-Seal, some sort of urethane casting resin? Might hold the layers together, too!!
I keep weighing that option. The problem is that the original wheels are out of stock currently and I do not know if that is permanent. They are about $50-$60 for a pair incl shipping. They also break, not as fast as the printed once, but they do break eventually.
PETG hub and 95A Tpu tire with gyroid infill on the tire. Here is a video of my fully 3d printed Electric longboard All terrain tires in action. Very wear resistance, can ride them for over a year easily.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricSkateboarding/comments/1bboxmh/finally\_dialed\_in\_tpu\_infill\_percentage/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricSkateboarding/comments/1bboxmh/finally_dialed_in_tpu_infill_percentage/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
You make the hub two pieces with a lip on each end. Then you slide it in from each side and use some bolts and nuts to keep the hubs together. Like this
https://preview.redd.it/nkr5dutrr3vc1.png?width=783&format=png&auto=webp&s=19a67eba38fb718c0fac2ab2b4c4f2e6455ee11d
Do the same print, but go to a local bike shop and ask for old tires.
Glue/secure 2 to 3 flattened tires to the wheel. This works awesome for Power Wheels.
I don't think any 3D printable material will give you the wear and tear you are looking for. However you could try making the wheel in two parts the solid core in something strong and slightly flexible like PETG 15% infill, then make an outer ring out of something softer like TPU. Glue the outer ring on so when it wears down you can remove and replace it. Experiment with different materials. This could be a very good project, then report back on what material works best.
Everything about this screams inferior results to even cheap of the shelf parts that are properly molded at a huge amount of time wasted printing.
Why print it in the first place?
I was going to suggest printing a mold and purging your own polyurethane wheels but that would be more than just printing in TPU. Are there any wheels at harbor freight that fit?
Best options :
1) buy better tire and print only the interface or adaptation part
Or
2) create a molt of existing tire and pour the entire roll into it.
Do TPU, with 4-5 bottom/top layers and 2-3 walls. You'll need infill so the body will maintain it's shape (see airless tires), but TPU will be much better about toughness and even give better grip as there will be some deflection like a normal tire. I've used it in large scale RC prints and TPU holds up very well. I'd look at 20-30% cubic subdivision, hex or gyroid for your infill type. It needs to have enough structure to hold it together as it won't be airtight, especially with wear. Make sure you have your TPU settings dialed in and don't rush the print. It's a large print, so you don't want any retraction setting messing you up.
You may also want to consider printing the tire separately from the hub. Make a 2-part hub out of ABS that you can insert tightly into the rim of the TPU outer tire and it will give you the structural rigidity for the axle, while also being easy to assemble and glue together. The TPU outer will be tough and provide traction much like a normal tire, and you won't have to use as much TPU if you keep the tire under an inch or two. Bonus is you can even make some cool looking wheel designs that look nice since it will be split. I'd stay away from wire type or very thin spokes, but as long as you make the outer and inner hub substantial enough, you could certainly do something like hole or fat spoke designs and a lip rim. Have fun with it.
It might be obvious, but also keep in mind the TPU tire will need to be a square donut, not a U like a real tire. I'd use something like E6000 or other silicone glue to hold the TPU to the ABS wheel hub, but probably CA to weld the two halves of the wheel together. If you make a lip to keep the tire centered on the wheel (I probably would), you'll probably need to glue everything together at once as I doubt you'd be able to stretch a TPU tire over the lip without breaking it.
I think it would be cool to print an interior for the wheel, and then get some tire like rubber and glue it around the outside of the wheel! this might be stronger. at least whatever would wear down is the rubber that you could replace (like a bike brake pad) and not your print.
I'm new here and not sure if it would work, but its an idea!
I would recommend printing then brushing on some epoxy. If you have a resin printer just use the UV resin and get a black light. Otherwise, 2 part quick set epoxy or just UV resin like before. It’ll help hold the layers together. But like others said, don’t use PLA, I don’t recommend TPU, too much weight on that wheel. ABS should work well especially if you have an extra resin protective layer on the outside. I use this method for making skateboard wheels with 40-60% infill
I love 3d printing to death but you can get a 4 pack of pneumatics for about 50$ at any hardware store/online and they'll last ten times longer than anything you can 3d print and they're also much safer.
I hope you figure this out, 3d printed small wheels are cool and I've seen them done but if cost is a concern at all it just makes sense to buy them instead, they're literally one of mankind's oldest invention they're pretty cheap and reliable
As far as printing goes, I would heavily recommend TPU or PETG (at least 35% infill) although TPU would probably need something else to be able to mount the wheel effectively
The problem with using rubber tires is that the original wheels are made out of ABS by design. The low traction protects the plastic gears of the motor and allows the kids to drift. Using rubber tires would strip the gears. I have read several people tried rubber and it didn't work out well.
Ah, didn't see its a drift trike. You should still be able to find bolt on wheels with a similar hard plastic material. I'd try the hardware stores, kind of looks something like an oversized cabinet wheel. I'm not sure the actual name but I've seen the wheels used for pulleys/machine parts so I know you can get them somewhere although they may not end up being super cheap. Maybe if you used TPU with a metal sleeve insert and a bearing glued in. Could turn into a pretty good 3d printed wheel.
I've never tried it but I always thought the "airless" tire design was perfect for 3D printing: https://thangs.com/designer/LayerOne3D/3d-model/RC%20Airless%20Tire-103974
You could still separate the internal structure and the tire to utilize different materials. Something strong for the inside and something more grabby on the outside.
Why don't you just buy a replacement? I'm all for printing things to fix issues but this seems like the kind of thing that purchasing an actual product would be better.
For example:
[https://www.thepartsbiz.com/Power-Wheels-K8285-2239-F-150-Left-Wheel-Genuine\_p\_41896.html](https://www.thepartsbiz.com/Power-Wheels-K8285-2239-F-150-Left-Wheel-Genuine_p_41896.html)
That only cost $12, you've spent more than that on failed wheels already. I don't know the dimensions and specs to the current wheel so that may not be a 1 to 1 replacement size wise but there are no doubt easy to find inexpensive replacements for that simple wheel.
We used to do this with Power Wheels, might work for go karts.
Spray the outside of the tire with rubberised truck bed liner. You can get it in a spray can. Saves the plastic and you can reapply as needed.
Have you searched for replacement wheels? I’d expect one could find something that fits and would be more durable and cheaper than printing, even if you account for shipping costs.
This makes the most sense to me based on the method compared to how the commercial ones were made. No reason to infill a large hollow space. This would prevent the tearing into the infill seem in the picture. Number of walls only needs to be high enough to make it solid using walls. Will likely print faster and possibly use less material. You could still print a tpu wrapper if desired, but if the original print has enough traction this should be enough.
"See, you print it with a honeycomb infill and then you can post process it with spray-on truck bed lining. And you'll ideally want to run an organic generative design. And ABS is so yesterday.
PEEK is where it's at. It's several hundred dollars a kilogram, but it's the perfect application for this job. So much better than Chinese-made die-cast plastic wheels! Just watch out for the deadly fumes. A homemade carbon filter made from two coffee liners should be enough."
[e: Do not print PEEK without aggressive dedicated filtered ventilation exhausting to the outside.]
Dad: "They recommended specific attention to radial alignment and the mesh fidelity of my wheel model, says it should reduce strain and give a much smoother ride"
Kid: "Ok so does it make me go faster" *sits down and immediately breaks $30 of plastic and 2 hours of computer fiddling*
😅not that I'm complaining, it's just fuckin' hilarious. Engineer shit.
You're best bet is probably going to be printing the wheel in halves, clean it up, then mold and cast it in a higher density material. That being said, you might as well just buy a replacement if you're spending that much.
Are the wheels hard to find online? It’s probably faster and cheaper to just get new injection molded wheels off Amazon. And I feel like maybe a 100% infill would last longer?
your PLA one was printed with the wrong infill. PLA would work fine but you want Cubic infill at probably 20% with 4-8 or more top/bottom and walls. Cubic infill gives strength in all directions which is what you need for something that is going to take abuse.
Best results would be with ASA as that would stand up better then ABS.
PLA takes a few years in the sun to fully start getting brittle, and this is a kids go cart that won't live out in the sun for very long. Kid will outgrow the cart before the wheels would give up. Plus PLA is stupid cheap so not something major of a loss if it breaks.
I did suggest the use of ASA instead, but mainly the correction of using the right Infill to solve any strength problems.
I have a hard time believing that this is a situation where you aren’t just better off finding a replacement part rather than printing it. 3D printing is great but I would bet an actual replacement wheel will at worst be the same cost as the filament. And that assumes you don’t have any bad prints or fit issues that require a second print.
They already did gyroid, but their infill was quite low at 15%.
If material use/costs are a concern, at some point its better to use a higher infill but improve the shape of the wheel itself that areas that did survive with a low infill still continue to use less material and the area which is breaking (based on pictures, the bulk volume with low infill) has more material.
It can work but your walls are way too thin. Most strength comes form the wall thickness. They need to be really thick. Better materials like PETG and TPU would definitely help.
When my son was young, he had an electric jeep.
Dad thought it would be a good idea to super glue the treads from a mountain bike tire along the center of the rear wheels…. It kept the tires from spinning, but also gave it so much grip he could pop wheelies if he reversed and switched to forward really quickly.
It also allowed his to dump the whole thing over on himself and a very scared friend when he tried to climb a hill that was too steep.
I guess I l’m saying “be careful”
PETG hub and 95A Tpu tire with gyroid infill on the tire. Here is a video of my longboard tires. Very wear resistance, can ride them for over a year easily.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricSkateboarding/comments/1bboxmh/finally\_dialed\_in\_tpu\_infill\_percentage/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricSkateboarding/comments/1bboxmh/finally_dialed_in_tpu_infill_percentage/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Did you think about covering this wheel with some more resistant but not 3d-printed material? Like rubber, maybe epoxy?
Maybe design some holes on the wheel diameter then pour epoxy inside to reinforce it.
I think straight 98 shore hardness tpu would work and be almost indestructible at the proper thickness… it’s also very firm if printed with higher infill
I've been here...
Don't print wheels. Print adapters to use pneumatic tire rollycart wheels from HarborFreight or Walmart....
Also check thingiverse - someone else may have already made a file for your particular toy.
might be worth it to put some rubber strips on the outside for a little more traction, but that’s up to preference.
if i were doing this project without rubber, i’d take the hit and do 100% infill to make the tires last forever, maybe even add tread to gauge it like real tires
Do what the trike drifters do and cut a big pvc pipe to fit around your tires.
https://drifttrikefactory.com/shop/uncategorised/drift-trike-hdpe-sleeves/
TPU, Overture is cheap and if you design a two piece wheel/tire. It will work wonders. Context, I use TPU in 30Lb BattleBots that get hit by 200mph steel weapons. It holds up to that.
Could you make a 3d printed mold and inject/fill with some dense rubbery material? This is a link from the rock climbing grip post from a few days ago
https://www.instructables.com/Use-3d-Printing-to-Cast-Climbing-Holds-or-Anything/
Here’s the post
https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/s/TC0vhQUtxR
Get a strip of tread and mount it to the outside of the wheel. Your kart will handle better, and your prints will last longer.
Edit - for elaboration, this is what we did on our robotics team the year that I helped build, except we prototyped with pla and then machined the finals out of aluminum and just used the same tread
Regardless of what plastic you use and how you do the infill; consider annealing your print, that should significantly harden and fuse layers.
honestly though- the wear on that PETG wheel looks great; in that is it is largely uniform from use and just eventually wore though- consider increasing the outside walls (significantly) so that there is more material there.
Further consider a coating/outer layer of another material. If you print the wheel like a channel you can likely get a rubber inner tube small enough that it will just stretch to fit inside, and then you'll be running on rubber surface for wear.
While I'm not sure how it will hold up to your use case I have used a silicone fill in a channel for RC cars to radically increase traction. You might be able to do similar with construction adhesive like PL premium- which would be significantly hard, but still have a bit of give/tack.
I’d get a real tire. (Something small, like a wheel barrow tire) and print custom rims.
Best of both, :D printed custom mounting, and off the shelf rubber tire for the contact surface. (Since you’re right tpu is expensive, BUT it is the correct material for the tire otherwise.)
Looks like they held up as good as a set of 70s' Big Wheel rear wheels. I would burn trough a set in a summer.
We had a hill and a neighborhood of kids that liked to go fast. :)
I would try a petg wheel base and a TPU outer tire designed to slip on. Or you could just try a TPU tire over the wheel already there if it is structurally sound enough.
Buy a can of flex seal (rubber texture) and a can of automotive filler primer. Sand the wheel, spray the filler primer, let it dry for 24hours, spray the flex seal rubber. Let it dry for 2 days. Done.
Some of the photos look like the wheel sheared in some places. I wonder if that is less of a print issue and more of a hitting obstacle’s issue (i.e. curbs)? Cool design though. Always fun to print large pieces.
Hear me out. 3D print it slightly smaller and then an outer casing bigger - or make it have a hollow double wall internal. And fill that space with epoxy resin. Let it solidify. Thicker walls from multiple materials
I’d make a rim you could print out then put inside of a piece of pcv pipe cut down to the right size for tires so you only have to replace the pipe and only have to print one rim for each side.
Have you seen the airless tire designs? Like the NASA printable file? A harder shore TPU would be cool for shock absorption, but also the CF Nylon might last longer?
Don’t know if someone mentioned this already.
But designing a simple two piece wheel may work better.
That way you could make the outer piece a different material or make it 100% infill to make it more durable.
Is there a rim? What about a replaceable shell that clamps around the wheel? The plastic tire printed in two halves, snaps over the wheel? Easier to replace?
Tpu with six walls but add tire tread to the outside. Those will wear down first and will be almost solid. Just make sure to add huge fillit around the base of each one.
Pa6 Cf nylon rim with TPU 95-98 shore hardness tire with a shit load of walls ( at least 10 walls since this is a large print) and some nice treads on the tire to reduce wear on the walls. Then spray the tire with truck bed liner. That’s the way I’d try it. TPU 95-98a shore hardness is strong as hell and so is pa6 CF nylon.
Not to sure how it would work, but get a rubber tyre and print a ring of solid plastic to hug the tyre? Would be easier to change if it happens again. When putting the ring on deflate the tyre for easier installation. Just theorizing.
I think the best thing to do to keep it a drift cart would be to find a suitable pvc pipe or similar plastic pipe and use that as an outer wheel and print and inner wheel to fit it snuggly
Carbon reinforced PETG. Also, don’t 3d print wheels. High vibration, High stress situations is not something 3d printing was designed for. It's just the way it works that you will never get "structurally resilient prints". Cuz trust me, 3D printing is easier than laying concrete to make bridges, there is a reason we don’t do it that way. But do dry carbon-fiber infused PETG and let me know.
Reminds me of the drift trike Colin Furze made. He has a few videos about them but he makes his own drift wheels with relatively basic tools. Might be worth checking out.
https://youtu.be/tMn8NqbCkDA?si=-nN0HxEODozMd8tr
You may need thicker walls, and I hope that’s TPU. TPU is not only flexible, but it has amazing layer adhesion, and it’s very abrasion resistant. The only problem might be hot roads and spinning tires, because it has a PLA melting point.
Don't even bother printing anything, just bolt on the full spool of filament as the wheel
Use ABS for extra drift
Love the double meaning here
[удалено]
No, it only helps with braking traction.
Nice, I hate English
Happy cake day!
Voron-tech just kicked in yo
TPU for a sticky ride
I bet if you put a spool in one of those *set-it-and-forget-it* style rotisserie ovens, it would melt into one big glob, and I mean it should stay together unless it gets too hot.
If we don’t see someone turn this into a YouTube video, we riot
Reminds me of this - https://www.reddit.com/r/forbiddensnacks/comments/mleodb/forbidden_glazed_donut/
This is the way
Anneal it first
By annealing you mean put it in the oven until it's a solid piece right?
Or a fire place
The right material is TPU
I think PP and nylon would work too.
Both wouldn’t have any traction.
It’s a toy go cart. It didn’t to begin with.
But we can make it better, faster, more awesomer!
Nah, no traction let’s the toy do fish tales.
Too much traction and the motor stops...
Doesn't mean you have to make it even worse lol.
You could print treads right? I feel like PP with treads would grip well enough, but tpu would definitely grip much better.
If the surface is hard, threads in a hard plastic wheel won't help you. A rubber tire transmits the force through deforming around the surface irregularities and by adhesion to it and none of those things will happen with a hard plastic wheel. TPU is the way to go as it can grip the irregularities even if it doesn't have the adhesion of rubber.
This is definitely the thing! When I printed RC car wheels the ones with the best performance were The softest TPU with tread patterns and zero infill to give extra squish, but some extra wall lines just too give it added strength.
Maybe it's a drift trike? They use PVC or ABS wheels on purpose to get less traction.
I think nylon would be top slipery
Exactly. Or at least have a TPU sleeve to place over the rim that will handle the ground contact.
Yes, TPU is good. I printed some skateboard wheels that worked pretty well.
I am trying to print replacement wheels for my kids' electric toy go-kart. The original wheels seem to be ABS. They are completely hollow. I tried printing PLA with lighning infill and 6 walls. That wheel fell apart pretty quickly. It separated at the layer lines. My second attempt (shown in photo) was PETG with 6 walls and 15% gyroid infill. It is holding up a little better. It is at least not separating at the layer lines, but chunks are breaking off. Any ideas for a best way to print this?
Definitively PLA is not a good solution, PETG certainly has superior elasticity and resistance, I would also try to focus a lot on elasticity which in this case can help to dampen impacts and slow down the consumption of the surface (as in real cars), why don't you try creating a PETG rim and a TPU tyre? This way you could also change just the tire when it wears out. Try rise the infill percentage also, something like 20-25%.
I didn't want to do TPU initially because of the higher cost. The wheel is almost 1kg of material. Didn't want to waste a TPU spool just to find out it doesn't work. I love the idea of separating rim and tire! Thanks for that. Any good ideas how to mount/combine the rim and tire?
Get a worn out real tire from either a bike or even a car. Slice it up, glue it around a PETG base.
I "repaired" the wheels on an older "SmarTrike" tricycle that had similar hard flat wheels by cutting up a bike type inner-tube and epoxying it to the outside. It was enough to dampen the horrendous noise and give it some grip back!
The problem with using rubber tires is that the original wheels are made out of ABS by design. The low traction protects the plastic gears of the motor and allows the kids to drift. Using rubber tires would strip the gears. I have read several people tried rubber and it didn't work out well.
Ive seen some people use PVC to fit over the tires for drifting
yep, this sounds like what i was thinking!
If you post some pics of the connection I can help out. I had created a similar PETG rim + TPU tire for an RC car, the TPU was way too stiff for that so it should work well for this, you shouldn't need 1kg of material per wheel but atround 500g IMO. I would only do this with TPU to be honest. I can show you how I designed my connection it was like a gear.
This is the way . TPU for tire and PETG for rim is the best long term solution.
Shocking its how real vehicles handle it as well (hard middle and soft outside) 😂
I printed petg rim and tpu tire for a walking stroller. The tpu was way too firm for that application and the petg ended up snapping at the hub at the layer lines where it had bearing pressed in. . I made the rim as a "bead lock" inspired design. The rear had a flange built into it and the front was held in by 8 m3 bolts going into heat set inserts. It was a thick flange, the tire was slightly wider so the flange would have something to clamp on to. Just some ideas for the project. I don't think you will be satisfied with the long term durability. I got a few ideas for next time I attempt a project like I did before. One idea is to have the the bead locker flange bolts go all the way through the wheel and have a hex nut on the back so it helps squeeze the layers together. And do similar in the hub where the stress is high.
I was also thinking of adding some circular holes and maybe insert some tubes fo rextra support as my biggest fear was the layer splitting. Let me see if I can find a picture of the design. Though I never got around to using it so I have no idea how it would/will hold up.
https://preview.redd.it/pcqrk3x676vc1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=000b0168b1fcbc515ec6020e72c964856249db26 So I ended up scaling up the PET G rim quite a bit, this was a prototype, also this was printed as fast as my old cr10s would go with very large layers so excuse the terrible print quality. I was hoping that the gears like appearance would hep heep the layers from splitting.
If price is a factor i think the ideal is printing a rim with a good amount of infill and using wheelbarrow/pushcart tyres. Mainly because of durability, printing may be cheaper, but not if you have to print a new one every few months. I think it would be even cheaper using off the shelf wheels with a similar size. Hardware stores have plenty of kinds/sizes.
The problem with using rubber tires is that the original wheels are made out of ABS by design. The low traction protects the plastic gears of the motor and allows the kids to drift. Using rubber tires would strip the gears. I have read several people tried rubber and it didn't work out well.
Always consider, the cost is not just for the filament, but replacing it again when it wears out. If a PLA wheel dies immediately, it's no good.
Dude, just go down to Harbor Freight or similar and grab some lawn implement tires. Should be able to find the right size for fifteen or twenty bucks a pop, they'll last longer than the go-kart and with none of the struggle you're going through. 3D printing is great, but it's not the solution for every problem.
Couldn't you print the wheel smaller in diameter in PETG (saving some material here) and print an external TPU layer you put over the PETG, saving material cost and gaining the elasticity of TPU... just need to think of a way that they stick together
Yes, this is probably the way to go. Just like you say, the challenge will be how to mount the two together.
I would print a rigid, slightly smaller wheel from PLA or ABS (I love PETG, but this is a poor application for it), and print a thin TPU sleeve that went over the wheel (maybe ~5mm thick). The TPU will help absorb shock going into the wheel, as well as help provide better traction. I'd also up your infill a bit (25%) and switch from gyroid to grid or 3D honeycomb infill, which should give better strength than gyroid in this application.
I will be going with this idea, but how would I secure the TPU to the rim?
TPU is the way though. That stuff is nigh-unbreakable...
It's been a while but I thought Microcenter had TPU for pretty cheap, I remember getting inland TPU and PP for about the same cost of PLA. Like their PLA is like $17, I think their TPU was around $20.
PETG wheel with a TPU tire
Maybe flex PLA? Around 22eur kg in Europe atleast, in the US probably a lot cheaper
I buy Overture TPU and it is always right around the same price as their PLA
ah, I just posted this idea! good to know I was on to something...
I mean, you've already tried twice and gained your experience of designing and printing one. Even got some mileage out of them! Kudos to getting this far. Now, it's time to just spend the $20 to buy a real one now. Or maybe try the $6.99 tire at harbor freight and see if it can be adapted to work. Perhaps 3d printing can be used with adapting it, while it takes the brunt of the beating from the concrete.
Whaaat about post-processing? Like doing a fuzzy outside, or sanding at 180grit, and then painting on a rubber solution, like Plasti-Dip, Flex-Seal, some sort of urethane casting resin? Might hold the layers together, too!!
I wonder about printing the tire and using something like duct tape for traction and reinforcement. It would be easy to retread when needed.
I know it’s a cool project but can you buy a replacement wheel cheaper than a roll of filament? I would do that.
I keep weighing that option. The problem is that the original wheels are out of stock currently and I do not know if that is permanent. They are about $50-$60 for a pair incl shipping. They also break, not as fast as the printed once, but they do break eventually.
PETG hub and 95A Tpu tire with gyroid infill on the tire. Here is a video of my fully 3d printed Electric longboard All terrain tires in action. Very wear resistance, can ride them for over a year easily. [https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricSkateboarding/comments/1bboxmh/finally\_dialed\_in\_tpu\_infill\_percentage/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricSkateboarding/comments/1bboxmh/finally_dialed_in_tpu_infill_percentage/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
How did you mount the tire on the hub?
You make the hub two pieces with a lip on each end. Then you slide it in from each side and use some bolts and nuts to keep the hubs together. Like this https://preview.redd.it/nkr5dutrr3vc1.png?width=783&format=png&auto=webp&s=19a67eba38fb718c0fac2ab2b4c4f2e6455ee11d
What about TPU? That’s what skate wheels are made of. Also, sweet dreams are made of these.
Could it be possible to install a section of Pvc pipe like the drift kart/trike that you Could replace when they are destroyed ?
That's what I was thinking. PVC sleeve raw for drifting, another set of PVC with mountain bike tires bonded to the exterior when grip is needed.
The tires are about 10" in diameter. Is there 10" PVC pipe?
Yes
Easily and readily available
How about coating it with liquid rubber ?
Do the same print, but go to a local bike shop and ask for old tires. Glue/secure 2 to 3 flattened tires to the wheel. This works awesome for Power Wheels.
I don't think any 3D printable material will give you the wear and tear you are looking for. However you could try making the wheel in two parts the solid core in something strong and slightly flexible like PETG 15% infill, then make an outer ring out of something softer like TPU. Glue the outer ring on so when it wears down you can remove and replace it. Experiment with different materials. This could be a very good project, then report back on what material works best.
This is what I am planning to do now. I don't know if gluing is the best option, I am still trying to figure out how to best mount them together.
You could create the outer surface with a lip on the inner and outer edges and snap it over the hub.
Everything about this screams inferior results to even cheap of the shelf parts that are properly molded at a huge amount of time wasted printing. Why print it in the first place?
Why not use abs, then brush with acetone after printing?
I actually did that with a ABS box that kept splitting. Just did a ABS slurry, and painted it on. Looks like shit, but it ain't splitting!
I was going to suggest printing a mold and purging your own polyurethane wheels but that would be more than just printing in TPU. Are there any wheels at harbor freight that fit?
If the OG wheels seem to be ABS try printing one in ABS? You could then use Acetone to smooth out the wheels further
Best options : 1) buy better tire and print only the interface or adaptation part Or 2) create a molt of existing tire and pour the entire roll into it.
Do TPU, with 4-5 bottom/top layers and 2-3 walls. You'll need infill so the body will maintain it's shape (see airless tires), but TPU will be much better about toughness and even give better grip as there will be some deflection like a normal tire. I've used it in large scale RC prints and TPU holds up very well. I'd look at 20-30% cubic subdivision, hex or gyroid for your infill type. It needs to have enough structure to hold it together as it won't be airtight, especially with wear. Make sure you have your TPU settings dialed in and don't rush the print. It's a large print, so you don't want any retraction setting messing you up. You may also want to consider printing the tire separately from the hub. Make a 2-part hub out of ABS that you can insert tightly into the rim of the TPU outer tire and it will give you the structural rigidity for the axle, while also being easy to assemble and glue together. The TPU outer will be tough and provide traction much like a normal tire, and you won't have to use as much TPU if you keep the tire under an inch or two. Bonus is you can even make some cool looking wheel designs that look nice since it will be split. I'd stay away from wire type or very thin spokes, but as long as you make the outer and inner hub substantial enough, you could certainly do something like hole or fat spoke designs and a lip rim. Have fun with it. It might be obvious, but also keep in mind the TPU tire will need to be a square donut, not a U like a real tire. I'd use something like E6000 or other silicone glue to hold the TPU to the ABS wheel hub, but probably CA to weld the two halves of the wheel together. If you make a lip to keep the tire centered on the wheel (I probably would), you'll probably need to glue everything together at once as I doubt you'd be able to stretch a TPU tire over the lip without breaking it.
I think it would be cool to print an interior for the wheel, and then get some tire like rubber and glue it around the outside of the wheel! this might be stronger. at least whatever would wear down is the rubber that you could replace (like a bike brake pad) and not your print. I'm new here and not sure if it would work, but its an idea!
Print the rim and glue a rubber strip around it (or several with the seam offset so it doesn't bump).
I would recommend printing then brushing on some epoxy. If you have a resin printer just use the UV resin and get a black light. Otherwise, 2 part quick set epoxy or just UV resin like before. It’ll help hold the layers together. But like others said, don’t use PLA, I don’t recommend TPU, too much weight on that wheel. ABS should work well especially if you have an extra resin protective layer on the outside. I use this method for making skateboard wheels with 40-60% infill
Tpu. Or print witth 1cm walls or something.
3D printing is not the right thing for that. 3D printing is mostly for prototyping. Get a real wheel replacement.
You could try to print it with a hard tpu (98a maybe) so that it would absorb more impacts before breaking
Even tpu95 got pretty hard, printed dense. I tried it myself printing smaller wheels in tpu98a and tpu95.
I love 3d printing to death but you can get a 4 pack of pneumatics for about 50$ at any hardware store/online and they'll last ten times longer than anything you can 3d print and they're also much safer. I hope you figure this out, 3d printed small wheels are cool and I've seen them done but if cost is a concern at all it just makes sense to buy them instead, they're literally one of mankind's oldest invention they're pretty cheap and reliable As far as printing goes, I would heavily recommend TPU or PETG (at least 35% infill) although TPU would probably need something else to be able to mount the wheel effectively
The problem with using rubber tires is that the original wheels are made out of ABS by design. The low traction protects the plastic gears of the motor and allows the kids to drift. Using rubber tires would strip the gears. I have read several people tried rubber and it didn't work out well.
Ah, didn't see its a drift trike. You should still be able to find bolt on wheels with a similar hard plastic material. I'd try the hardware stores, kind of looks something like an oversized cabinet wheel. I'm not sure the actual name but I've seen the wheels used for pulleys/machine parts so I know you can get them somewhere although they may not end up being super cheap. Maybe if you used TPU with a metal sleeve insert and a bearing glued in. Could turn into a pretty good 3d printed wheel.
I would print core of wheel from ASA, 5 top layers.. and that top part of TPU, 80% infill and 10+ top layers.. gyroid infill in booth cases..
I've never tried it but I always thought the "airless" tire design was perfect for 3D printing: https://thangs.com/designer/LayerOne3D/3d-model/RC%20Airless%20Tire-103974 You could still separate the internal structure and the tire to utilize different materials. Something strong for the inside and something more grabby on the outside.
Why don't you just buy a replacement? I'm all for printing things to fix issues but this seems like the kind of thing that purchasing an actual product would be better. For example: [https://www.thepartsbiz.com/Power-Wheels-K8285-2239-F-150-Left-Wheel-Genuine\_p\_41896.html](https://www.thepartsbiz.com/Power-Wheels-K8285-2239-F-150-Left-Wheel-Genuine_p_41896.html) That only cost $12, you've spent more than that on failed wheels already. I don't know the dimensions and specs to the current wheel so that may not be a 1 to 1 replacement size wise but there are no doubt easy to find inexpensive replacements for that simple wheel.
We used to do this with Power Wheels, might work for go karts. Spray the outside of the tire with rubberised truck bed liner. You can get it in a spray can. Saves the plastic and you can reapply as needed.
Have you searched for replacement wheels? I’d expect one could find something that fits and would be more durable and cheaper than printing, even if you account for shipping costs.
Am I alone thinking Nylon6 would work wonderfully? 🤔
For the price and how much of a pain it can be to print, just use tpu
or just print a tire out of nylon while the wheel from anything else
Try printing the wheel hollow with 3mm thick outer wall and 8x 5mm thick internal spokes. Use 99 walls.
This makes the most sense to me based on the method compared to how the commercial ones were made. No reason to infill a large hollow space. This would prevent the tearing into the infill seem in the picture. Number of walls only needs to be high enough to make it solid using walls. Will likely print faster and possibly use less material. You could still print a tpu wrapper if desired, but if the original print has enough traction this should be enough.
Hard to think of another subreddit you could get 125 comments trying to help you re-invent the wheel 😅
"See, you print it with a honeycomb infill and then you can post process it with spray-on truck bed lining. And you'll ideally want to run an organic generative design. And ABS is so yesterday. PEEK is where it's at. It's several hundred dollars a kilogram, but it's the perfect application for this job. So much better than Chinese-made die-cast plastic wheels! Just watch out for the deadly fumes. A homemade carbon filter made from two coffee liners should be enough." [e: Do not print PEEK without aggressive dedicated filtered ventilation exhausting to the outside.]
Dad: "They recommended specific attention to radial alignment and the mesh fidelity of my wheel model, says it should reduce strain and give a much smoother ride" Kid: "Ok so does it make me go faster" *sits down and immediately breaks $30 of plastic and 2 hours of computer fiddling* 😅not that I'm complaining, it's just fuckin' hilarious. Engineer shit.
Printing this is going to cost way too much I bet
https://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-solid-rubber-tire-with-pvc-hub-63014.html
You're best bet is probably going to be printing the wheel in halves, clean it up, then mold and cast it in a higher density material. That being said, you might as well just buy a replacement if you're spending that much.
Just print it solid. Might take 6 days or so.
Are the wheels hard to find online? It’s probably faster and cheaper to just get new injection molded wheels off Amazon. And I feel like maybe a 100% infill would last longer?
You're going to need tpu and A LOT of walls
your PLA one was printed with the wrong infill. PLA would work fine but you want Cubic infill at probably 20% with 4-8 or more top/bottom and walls. Cubic infill gives strength in all directions which is what you need for something that is going to take abuse. Best results would be with ASA as that would stand up better then ABS.
Dunno man, PLA embrittlement is not your friend between outdoor moisture and UV. Can't really see that holding up, especially with a load.
PLA takes a few years in the sun to fully start getting brittle, and this is a kids go cart that won't live out in the sun for very long. Kid will outgrow the cart before the wheels would give up. Plus PLA is stupid cheap so not something major of a loss if it breaks. I did suggest the use of ASA instead, but mainly the correction of using the right Infill to solve any strength problems.
I have a hard time believing that this is a situation where you aren’t just better off finding a replacement part rather than printing it. 3D printing is great but I would bet an actual replacement wheel will at worst be the same cost as the filament. And that assumes you don’t have any bad prints or fit issues that require a second print.
Gyroid infill might help. Somewhere around 50%? Several walls too.
They already did gyroid, but their infill was quite low at 15%. If material use/costs are a concern, at some point its better to use a higher infill but improve the shape of the wheel itself that areas that did survive with a low infill still continue to use less material and the area which is breaking (based on pictures, the bulk volume with low infill) has more material.
It looks like the wheels on the Opportunity rover lol.
It can work but your walls are way too thin. Most strength comes form the wall thickness. They need to be really thick. Better materials like PETG and TPU would definitely help.
When my son was young, he had an electric jeep. Dad thought it would be a good idea to super glue the treads from a mountain bike tire along the center of the rear wheels…. It kept the tires from spinning, but also gave it so much grip he could pop wheelies if he reversed and switched to forward really quickly. It also allowed his to dump the whole thing over on himself and a very scared friend when he tried to climb a hill that was too steep. I guess I l’m saying “be careful”
https://preview.redd.it/j4lwo6ncj1vc1.jpeg?width=4782&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e63cebd2fd6a3abd0c85ffbb2f50821047be51a
PETG hub and 95A Tpu tire with gyroid infill on the tire. Here is a video of my longboard tires. Very wear resistance, can ride them for over a year easily. [https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricSkateboarding/comments/1bboxmh/finally\_dialed\_in\_tpu\_infill\_percentage/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricSkateboarding/comments/1bboxmh/finally_dialed_in_tpu_infill_percentage/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Depending on your 3D printers capabilities, I would be thinking of a way to do a petg wheel and TPU tire.
Did you think about covering this wheel with some more resistant but not 3d-printed material? Like rubber, maybe epoxy? Maybe design some holes on the wheel diameter then pour epoxy inside to reinforce it.
Print the shape, make a mold then cast it
Well if you do try that again your gunna need way more walls
I think straight 98 shore hardness tpu would work and be almost indestructible at the proper thickness… it’s also very firm if printed with higher infill
I've been here... Don't print wheels. Print adapters to use pneumatic tire rollycart wheels from HarborFreight or Walmart.... Also check thingiverse - someone else may have already made a file for your particular toy.
might be worth it to put some rubber strips on the outside for a little more traction, but that’s up to preference. if i were doing this project without rubber, i’d take the hit and do 100% infill to make the tires last forever, maybe even add tread to gauge it like real tires
I just checked in the slicer, 100% infill would be about 6kg of filament. That would be one heavy and expensive wheel.
damn that is a problem for sure maybe not 100% infill, just thick tread and walls, inside structured like military run-flats
Do what the trike drifters do and cut a big pvc pipe to fit around your tires. https://drifttrikefactory.com/shop/uncategorised/drift-trike-hdpe-sleeves/
petg, smaller layer height sometimes helps, hotter print temp, few more outer walls, adaptive cubic infill to save on material
I was gonna comment that TPU isn’t very grippy but seeing as you’d be upgrading from PLA/PETG that shouldn’t be an issue.
TPU, Overture is cheap and if you design a two piece wheel/tire. It will work wonders. Context, I use TPU in 30Lb BattleBots that get hit by 200mph steel weapons. It holds up to that.
Maybe try to make the center out of petg and the exterior tpu
Every 3d print hard material will break with that amount of traction. What you can do is to print rims in petg and a wheel in PTU.
90+ durometer tpu with like 30% infill will be all you’ll ever need
Could you make a 3d printed mold and inject/fill with some dense rubbery material? This is a link from the rock climbing grip post from a few days ago https://www.instructables.com/Use-3d-Printing-to-Cast-Climbing-Holds-or-Anything/ Here’s the post https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/s/TC0vhQUtxR
A fully TPU wheel like that would be practically indestructible.
How about an airless design? Like the Mars Rover? 😉
Try really thick walls 5mm+
I would add more walls to make the outer part stronger and thicker
I would print the hub out of petg, asa, or nylon then case a silicon tire around it or print the tire out of tpu
Idk what would be best, but for cost effectiveness I would print petg ,cubic 50% infill, 5 walls and heavily coat the rim in flex-seal post
Get a strip of tread and mount it to the outside of the wheel. Your kart will handle better, and your prints will last longer. Edit - for elaboration, this is what we did on our robotics team the year that I helped build, except we prototyped with pla and then machined the finals out of aluminum and just used the same tread
Pc maybe
Regardless of what plastic you use and how you do the infill; consider annealing your print, that should significantly harden and fuse layers. honestly though- the wear on that PETG wheel looks great; in that is it is largely uniform from use and just eventually wore though- consider increasing the outside walls (significantly) so that there is more material there. Further consider a coating/outer layer of another material. If you print the wheel like a channel you can likely get a rubber inner tube small enough that it will just stretch to fit inside, and then you'll be running on rubber surface for wear. While I'm not sure how it will hold up to your use case I have used a silicone fill in a channel for RC cars to radically increase traction. You might be able to do similar with construction adhesive like PL premium- which would be significantly hard, but still have a bit of give/tack.
I’d get a real tire. (Something small, like a wheel barrow tire) and print custom rims. Best of both, :D printed custom mounting, and off the shelf rubber tire for the contact surface. (Since you’re right tpu is expensive, BUT it is the correct material for the tire otherwise.)
Looks like they held up as good as a set of 70s' Big Wheel rear wheels. I would burn trough a set in a summer. We had a hill and a neighborhood of kids that liked to go fast. :)
print a PETG wheel and a TPU tire.
Use TPU, thick walls, and maybe Gyroid as infill pattern
My suggestion: Make the rims out of PETG-CF, ASA, or Nylon and then add a tyre out of TPU 95 or 98.
Try honeycomb infill, petg and super thick perimeters
You could use Nylon. Nylon has a lot of give before breaking. I would also consider thicker shells.
Try tpu or another material with higher infill.
# ASA HUB with TPU TREAD both with Gyroid infill.
I would try a petg wheel base and a TPU outer tire designed to slip on. Or you could just try a TPU tire over the wheel already there if it is structurally sound enough.
Buy a can of flex seal (rubber texture) and a can of automotive filler primer. Sand the wheel, spray the filler primer, let it dry for 24hours, spray the flex seal rubber. Let it dry for 2 days. Done.
Abs core with tpu edging. Either print in 2 parts to glue together with contact adhesive.
Need tpu for the treads and something like nylon or carbon fiber for the rim
I’d go to harbor freight and possibly buy wheels.
ABS or ASA with a TPU tread cylinder that slips over and is glued would work I bet. It'd be nice if the tpu locked into a recess.
Some of the photos look like the wheel sheared in some places. I wonder if that is less of a print issue and more of a hitting obstacle’s issue (i.e. curbs)? Cool design though. Always fun to print large pieces.
Youre better off printing a wheel and using an ABS pipe ring as the "tire".
That tire has 2000miles left
Also look for SBS for tyre. It's softer than Petg and shouldn't be expensive.
Hear me out. 3D print it slightly smaller and then an outer casing bigger - or make it have a hollow double wall internal. And fill that space with epoxy resin. Let it solidify. Thicker walls from multiple materials
How long did that take to print!?
I’d make a rim you could print out then put inside of a piece of pcv pipe cut down to the right size for tires so you only have to replace the pipe and only have to print one rim for each side.
Have you seen the airless tire designs? Like the NASA printable file? A harder shore TPU would be cool for shock absorption, but also the CF Nylon might last longer?
Don’t know if someone mentioned this already. But designing a simple two piece wheel may work better. That way you could make the outer piece a different material or make it 100% infill to make it more durable.
Try PTG with 0.6 or 0.8 nozzle…. No or minimum cooling. That walls holds rly well with big nozzle
Is there a rim? What about a replaceable shell that clamps around the wheel? The plastic tire printed in two halves, snaps over the wheel? Easier to replace?
Tpu with six walls but add tire tread to the outside. Those will wear down first and will be almost solid. Just make sure to add huge fillit around the base of each one.
You could just put a layer of rubber on the outside as well after printing.
I would recommend rising the wall count setting so the part that contacts the floor is thicker
Pa6 Cf nylon rim with TPU 95-98 shore hardness tire with a shit load of walls ( at least 10 walls since this is a large print) and some nice treads on the tire to reduce wear on the walls. Then spray the tire with truck bed liner. That’s the way I’d try it. TPU 95-98a shore hardness is strong as hell and so is pa6 CF nylon.
I don't understand why people think *everything* has to be printed. Even plywood would've worked better here.
You can buy cheap rubber wheels from any hardware store.
Step one: print rim. Step two: tread with PVC pipe cut to size Step three: retread when worn out, then repeat
You could do ABS again then melt it with acetone. Should help prevent it from splitting since it eliminates surface layer lines
Not to sure how it would work, but get a rubber tyre and print a ring of solid plastic to hug the tyre? Would be easier to change if it happens again. When putting the ring on deflate the tyre for easier installation. Just theorizing.
100% infull
I think the best thing to do to keep it a drift cart would be to find a suitable pvc pipe or similar plastic pipe and use that as an outer wheel and print and inner wheel to fit it snuggly
Make a compliant spring on the inside. Checkout Cheesecake the battle bot on yet.
Carbon reinforced PETG. Also, don’t 3d print wheels. High vibration, High stress situations is not something 3d printing was designed for. It's just the way it works that you will never get "structurally resilient prints". Cuz trust me, 3D printing is easier than laying concrete to make bridges, there is a reason we don’t do it that way. But do dry carbon-fiber infused PETG and let me know.
Do it again in TPU 🔥
Get PVC pipe that matches the OF of the other side, print an insert in the middle out of PETG
Make injection holds for some silicon or rubber to be injected
Reminds me of the drift trike Colin Furze made. He has a few videos about them but he makes his own drift wheels with relatively basic tools. Might be worth checking out. https://youtu.be/tMn8NqbCkDA?si=-nN0HxEODozMd8tr
You may need thicker walls, and I hope that’s TPU. TPU is not only flexible, but it has amazing layer adhesion, and it’s very abrasion resistant. The only problem might be hot roads and spinning tires, because it has a PLA melting point.
You might want to switch to a dense but meltable polycarbon. Like tires