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Re: Aluminum Strengths?
Quote:
Originally Posted by pfreivald
Please forgive the thread-o-mancy, but this was the most relevant one I could find for my question...
We found a company with a CNC plasma cutter willing to do some sheet metal work for/with us (yay!), but they're primarily a steel place. We used 1/8" steel on our octocanum wheel pods last year, and they held up *great*.
This year we'd like to go lighter, so I requested 7075 T-6... They proffered 5052 as an alternative that's easy for them.
Is this a good substitute? Would those with experience on FRC drive trains consider 5052 a reasonable alternative to steel? (I know it's lighter... The question is, how does the strength and the stiffness compare?)
We have no metals experts on our team, so looking up the numbers doesn't do a lot of good at this point in time. Any expertise people are willing to share would be most appreciated.
Thanks!
Patrick
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Without having seen your drive mods, my inclination is that 1/8" steel was overkill for your application. I've seen 6061 and 5052 hold up perfectly fine in a number of similar applications, often with pocketing or thinner stock.
Second, think about how smart design can add strength to your modules, to make up for the loss in raw strength. Did your original design incorporate flanges? This is one of the reasons that 5052 is preferred by a lot of sheet metal places -- 5052 aluminum has very good properties for bending. Consider the failure modes you might expect your modules to encounter, and reinforce them by beefing up your design, rather than your material. You should be fine.
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FIRST is not about doing what you can with what you know. It is about doing what you thought impossible, with what you were inspired to become.
2007-2010: Student, FRC 1687, Highlander Robotics
2012-2014: Technical Mentor, FRC 1687, Highlander Robotics
2015-2016: Lead Mentor, FRC 5400, Team WARP
2016-???: Volunteer and freelance mentor-for-hire
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