|
Re: pic: We Called Batman
Ok, so Batman is really one of the Average Joes. He was guided by mentors from two of our sponsor companies.
The raw stock is 6061 Aluminum (McMaster 8974K86 or similar).
The fabrication steps were (1) cut blanks, (2) NC lathe for through bore and center groove, (3) NC mill for fixture holes, (4) wire EDM tooth pattern, (5) back to NC mill for spokes/slots, team markings, and bearing pockets, (6) tumble parts in appropriate media to remove sharp edges.
Steps 1-5 above were done at one sponsor and step 6 at the other. Batman and other students have gotten quite an education from this. They did the CAD but are not qualified to use the tools above, so it was "watch and learn", while their mentors showed off some skills.
In twenty years as an FRC mentor, this is the only time I have encouraged making custom billet wheels. And they look really cool; however, that is not sufficient reason (IMHO) to do something like this. As explained earlier (OP text), our goal was risk mitigation.
__________________
Richard Wallace
Mentor since 2011 for FRC 3620 Average Joes (St. Joseph, Michigan)
Mentor 2002-10 for FRC 931 Perpetual Chaos (St. Louis, Missouri)
 since 2003
I believe in intuition and inspiration. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.
(Cosmic Religion : With Other Opinions and Aphorisms (1931) by Albert Einstein, p. 97)
|