Quote:
Originally Posted by akoscielski3
By stand-offs you mean braces, kind of like an axle with no wheel on it? I think i would prefer extending the flanges on the tops and bottoms of the frame. However this makes it hard to get into the frame to do work on the robot of needed. Or am i thinking something different form you?
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Standoffs can take many forms. One of the easiest is to put a spacer on a bolt between the two plates, and then clamp down. You can also thread both ends of a piece of stock that is the right length, and screw bolts into it. AndyMark's transmission is held together with standoffs. When designing standoffs, the larger in diameter the standoff, the stiffer the joint.
Leave pleanty of room around the wheels for getting in. The flanges will make it harder to access, but will make it a
lot stiffer. In 2010, when 971 did a box frame out of sheet metal, the two parts were flexible when separate. Once they were bolted together, the entire frame stiffened up remarkably, and we didn't have a problem.
This is how 971 did our frame last year, and it worked quite well. We are going to make some minor modifications, and do it again this year if the game fits it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by akoscielski3
I thought you couldn't put electronics on any metal. I will do this but it will be lexan instead of aluminum.
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You can put electronics on metal. They must be electrically isolated from it though. This just takes a little bit of care. You can buy nylon screws to bolt the motor controllers down, put a rubber gasket underneath the cRIO, and you should be fine. 254 has done metal bases for 3 years now with no issue. The nylon screws make it so that if the contacts on the motor controllers touch the screws, they won't conduct electricity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by akoscielski3
We already have a bumpers skirt to use for next year. But placement will be done soon.
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If you are going to go through all the work to get this machined and designed, I would seriously consider making 2 sets and swapping them. It will look a lot more professional and the skirt will not catch on anything.
I didn't see a response to the question about machining capabilities. That will help us evaluate your design for ease of manufacture.