Quote:
Originally Posted by GRT808
Yes we have gotten it waterjetted thanks.
As for it bending we are using aircraft grade aluminum (not sure what alloy) but in our past competitions we have used the same grade and have never seen it break in any of our applications. I'm a bit more concerned about the effort it is going to take to make everything fit (such as the bearings) since the jet is so precise.
We are using 0.187" aluminum plate.
Any suggestions or concerns I should be aware about before season starts?
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I think aircraft grade aluminum is a waste of money.
If you properly support that plate you will see zero benefit from using any alloy stronger than 6061.
You may actually have problems getting your bearings to fit if you waterjet it to the nominal size of the bearing. Most waterjets are only going to have repeatability of about +-.002 to .005 inches.
This isn't going to be good enough to reliably cut a press fit for a bearing. We have waterjetted our sideplates since 2009 and have the bearing bores cut ~.015-.030 undersize so we can go back and remachine them to ensure roundness and press-fit tolerances. I know 233 waterjets them about the same amount undersize and then reams them to the proper size for the bearing.