Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesCH95
I think the 6061 case is a good one to talk about because I think many people get the 'welding is terrible' from experiences with 6061 and not understanding the implications of removing the heat treatment.
And it is awfully hard to beat the weld-ability of steel. Difficulty working on it in the pits with hand tools, and relatively awful machining properties, are the reasons we don't use it often though.
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I completely agree with everything you say about aluminum. Materials should be chosen based on their workablilty (welding, machining, bending, etc.) as well as the strength in their intended purpose.
We use steel simply because we can use less of it that aluminum (as far as taking up space) and if something bends we just bend it back. A lot of our robots have been primarily made from steel 1/2" square tube. Almost every kid on our team can weld it, drilling is easy, and with the right cutters machining is no problem at all.