Lightweight Aluminum Vex Metal Kit
 

Just noticed this:

The Aluminum Kit consists of the following aluminum parts: (4) C-Channel CHAN-121-25, (1) C-Channel CHAN-151-25, (2) Flat Plate PLATE-5-25, (1) Medium Chassis Kit CHASSIS-25x25x2, (4) Bar 1x25 BAR-25
Price: $99.99

The parts are competition legal. According to my calculations if these items were purchased seperately in their normal non-aluminum version it would total $52.88. As far as I can tell only the parts in this kit are available in aluminum, and they state "Aluminum parts are available only as a kit and are not sold individually." I'm happy they've introduced lighter weight parts, but upset they're done so in such a restricted manner. A large size chassis made of aluminum would be nice.

Re: Lightweight Aluminum Vex Metal Kit
 

I saw that and really liked it! :) But at $100, that is mighty expensive aluminum, especially for VEX. I think the price will scare off, rather than attract, potential customers.

Re: Lightweight Aluminum Vex Metal Kit
 

I'm not so sure. It is a heck of a lot of metal, at only a $20ish price premium. If I were on a team that needed metal, I'd most likely be buying this stuff.

Re: Lightweight Aluminum Vex Metal Kit
 

So essentially it's twice the cost (or to be exact $47.11) to have it in aluminum, not a $20ish premium. So you could have twice the amount of metal for the same cost if you bought it as galvanized steel. That's a pretty significant difference.

Re: Lightweight Aluminum Vex Metal Kit
 

D'oh! Missed that--for some reason, I thought a metal kit was a metal kit.

Regardless, I still believe you'll see a lot of this on the field, particularly on manipulators. Think about the weapon of choice for Half-Pipe Hustle: the tilting tank tread loader. (Definitive example in Orangeburg: FVC 171) Many of those devices required a lot of metal to make 'em sturdy. Cut that weight down, and you're suddenly capable of lifting the same balls up to the goals even faster (or lifting more balls at the same performance level, to the extent that the sizing box will allow).

This year, since you've got so many field elements, I see teams trying to figure out how best to use their motors and servos to accomplish the widest variety of functions that they safely and reliably can. If you can make a mechanism work on one motor where it once worked with two, you leave the door open for a mechanism elsewhere. (Monkeybot, anyone?)