[BurkeHalderman]

Originally Posted by Madison

You might use something like this -- http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-0756.htm -- to pick up the formed hexes on the back side of the transmission and span the gap between them, not unlike how the transmissions on the Kitbot are braced together.

Using the formed hexes on the back plates as mounts for a brace was my first choice, as it would have been the simplest for us. But according to the CAD the face-face length is .45" and i can only find .375" or .5" hex stock.

Originally Posted by PhantomPhyxer

AndyMark makes a part http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-0443.htm that secures the top to the Transmission and the outer lower rail. Can you weld gussets in the corners of the current mount?

While we couldn't weld anything, due to not having access to a welder, using a brace like this is an option. While I couldn't use the same one from AndyMark, I could easily make one with the same hole pattern as the Ball Shifter.

Based on the comments so far here is one option :

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

There's an engineering problem there, what kind of plate or bar would be optimal (stiffness vs. weight)? Note that it does not need to be of constant cross-section, but beware of creating an "slender column" in compression. I'll leave that as an exercise for you.

I believe my design could be an example of the comment (in bold). The brace is made out of .125" aluminum so it could have the ability to bend up or down. Although I think it would be strong enough for it's aplication.