Engineering technology from Japan: CNC Machine | Wheel Machines Information: For other uses of the term, see Wheel (disambiguation) and Wheels (disambiguation). This article contains special characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols. Three wheels on an antique tricycle The earliest wheels were made of a solid piece of wood. A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the main components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be moved easily facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Wheels are also used for other purposes, such as a ship's wheel, steering wheel, potter's wheel and flywheel. Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel greatly reduces friction by facilitating motion by rolling together with the use of axles. In order for wheels to rotate, a moment needs to be applied to the wheel about its axis, either by way of gravity, or by the application of another external force or torque....