Quote:
Originally Posted by raychensg
Very nice!
I'm curious about the riveted gussets (which look beautiful by the way)
What size rivets are you guys using? In your experience, how strong are gussets compared to welds?
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Thanks!
They're 1/8" 6061 plate over 1/8" wall tubing in that frame. We're using 3/16" rivets, they're the same hole as #10 screws, which makes it easy. If you get the right grip, they're extremely strong. Us using that many is complete overkill, by the way.
We've done welded once when I was on the team, and the two years I've designed the frame, we've used 3/16" rivets. They never gave out, even a lot less with a lot more stress in 1/16" tubing. I would highly recommend riveting, the only difference in my mind is that riveting can be faster and you don't have to worry about warping things. Rivets are also much faster to replace than bolts if you have a pneumatic riveter.
However, this evidence is completely anecdotal. If anyone wants to post KSI yield numbers for riveted vs welded butt joints, please be my guest. I'd highly recommend at least trying riveting though, if it's something you're interested in as a team.