Re: Interesting material usage?
 

Not sure anyone uses more wood than 58

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

In some parts of the world bamboo is a structural material. Anybody ever use it on a bot?

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

First team to find a use for pure sodium on their robot gets disqualified for unsafe materials.

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

I really wanted to use casting material, like the kind doctors use when you break your leg. It is a strong, lightweight fiberglass that you can mold to any shape after you get it wet. Dries as hard as a rock, and I doubt that the robot will care too much if it makes it itchy.

It even comes in a variety of colors.

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

Team 2485 wrapped our 1/16 wall aluminum in carbon fiber to retain yield strength while saving weight; it turned out to be a good call when we weighed in at 120.0 in Vegas.
We also used Kevlar in places where we anticipated impact; it's flexible, and we figured it could absorb some of the impact.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/img...754f9616_l.jpg

Here's a photo of our bot; both the carbon-wrapped aluminum and the Kevlar are immediately noticeable. It's nice that black and gold are our team colors too... plus carbon fiber has been a bit of a signature of ours since 2011.

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

This year alone we've managed to find a use for arrow shafts, ratchet straps, garage door railing, a ratchet wrench and spearfishing elastic bands

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

In OCCRA, Oakland County Competitive Robotics Association, we used a trailer hitch as weight!

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

Even though in the 'real world' its really common, there aren't many robots with steel structures. 1108 has a top-roller pickup and front supporting frames made of square section steel tubing and we weigh-in at only 92 lbs.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/img...6f147894_l.jpg

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

We used some steel angle this year because of the forces involved with our catapult--and we're glad we did!

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

We've used carbon fiber/plywood composites for years for electrical panels and other flat panels which require strength/stiffness/light weight. Yes I know that carbon fiber is electrically conductive, but there are fixes around this.

This year, our ball pickup frame is fiberglass pultrusion, with the ends filled with an epoxy-carbon fiber composite to prevent collapse when tightening through bolts. The technology comes from Gdeaver (see earlier post this thread). This construction provides a ball intake which flexes elastically when stressed, rather than breaking or permanently deforming.

We've learned that in some cases, we can replace steel components with 7075 Aluminum (similar tensile strength, but still soft). Also that if welding is unnecessary, either 7075 or 2024 Al provides high strength (again, if there is no abrasion). 6061 Al remains the only real aluminum option for welding.

1640 uses a range of polymers on our robots. Polycarbonate and polypropylene are big ones, but nylon, acetyl, polyurethane, polyethylene and PMMA are used as appropriate. Don't get me started talking about rubber.

I love materials!

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

Hex cel honeycomb aluminum. We were 2 alliance captain on carver this year our awesome can grabber was less than 6 pounds total weight. The robot can be seen at ftchartland.org.

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

For our can burglar this year, we used an old fiberglass fishing pole. We had some issues with it breaking when our hook was too heavy, but overall it was a great material to work with as it was very lightweight.

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

Our team used insulation foam for our ramp construction this year. To reinforce the foam (particularly in the case of side loading) we placed thin steel wire within the main structure. It looked atrocious, but it generally worked well, and increased our stack output significantly. Also, I was able to stand on the ramp without it breaking.

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

This year we didn't use anything interesting. Last year we used a bicycle rim and plain old rubber bands on our robot. The year before we used a leaf blower.

Re: Interesting material usage?
 

Some pink isolation foam.