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Re: Advice - First Sheet Metal Frame
6061 T6 DOES bend, just not easily at 0.090" thickness.
Our entire chassis last year was folded, riveted 6061 T6 at 0.063" thick, bent on our 36" manual brake and a nearby 54" manual brake.
We made a few gearbox plates out of 0.090 6061. They're hard to bend, would not recommend.
It's all about strength to weight and ease of manufacturing.
Also, when you get down to really thin stuff, we generally stop getting crazy with the pocketing to save machine time and because it really saves hardly anything. We engineer our pocketing of 0.250" plate a lot more than 0.050" folded assemblies. A 2" square of 0.050" sheet weights ~8.5 grams, which is almost nothing.
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Kettering University - Computer Engineering
Kettering Motorsports
Williams International - Commercial Engines - Controls and Accessories
FRC 33 - The Killer Bees - 2009-2012 Student, 2013-2014 Advisor
VEX IQ 3333 - The Bumble Bees - 2014+ Mentor
"Sometimes, the elegant implementation is a function. Not a method. Not a class. Not a framework. Just a function." ~ John Carmack
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