Quote:
Originally Posted by KohKohPuffs
Interesting design. Really like it. 
Just one thing, why did you choose wood over aluminum for the drive chassis material? Is it for the weight benefits? I always thought that wood for a drive chassis is not preferable because when, say, you get hit by another robot, then the wood may break, or something like that. Really not sure of this, since I've never done so much woodwork in the past. |
In 2005 we built a wooden arm for our robot... we kept a spare in the pit so that when the judges came by they could jump on it. Nobody with aluminum or steel arms was inviting judges to jump on their arms. They were either too valuable, or too flexible to demo this way. We had the arm in a three point bend test with the two largest judges bouncing up and down on it... and came away with the first of several design awards for working with wood.
In 2010 we went "all in" with a complete plywood chassis. No laser cutter, just a tablesaw, drill press and some baltic birch plywood. We tested it against some 1" aluminum tubing we had sitting around the shop, and all I've got to say is that the aluminum robots were lucky that we all had (wooden) bumpers on!
The teams with the lasers have since gone well above and beyond anything we did, achieving both lighter weights and more rigid frames. I believe it was 1899, from Seattle, that had a spare chassis in their pit one year and would invite judges to stand on it, taking our "just try and destroy it" schtick to a new level.
One way of looking at it is that wood is nature's carbon fiber. The lower density allows for great cross sectional structures and enhanced stiffness. As structures often fail by buckling or bending, the extra strength of metals is offset by the enhanced specific stiffness of wood. Add to that the low cost and ease of working with wood, and it can solve problems that metals cannot.
Oh... and should wood need repair, rather than running to the machine shop to get something welded, you can just grab some fiberglass cloth and 5 minute epoxy and have it rebuilt stronger than it was before your next match.
Please don't interpret this as saying that aluminum is no good... there are plenty of beautiful aluminum, steel, and composite drive trains and components out there... but wood is a very, very competitive material choice for teams that want to consider it.
Jason