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Unread 15-11-2003, 23:57
maclaren maclaren is offline
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AKA: Dexter
FRC #0997 (Spartan Robotics)
Team Role: Engineer
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Rookie Year: 2002
Location: Corvallis,OR
Posts: 59
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80/20 makes something that is somewhat similar.

However they differ in several important ways. First the 80/20 connectors are not reconfigurable. Our design is reconfigurable. The plug and the cube are two separate pieces. Second the 80/20 connectors are made of plastic. Ours are made of aluminum which is much stronger. Third 80/20 connectors use a special type of tubing which is more expensive and must be shipped to you from an 80/20 distributer. Our connectors use standard aluminum tubing which is cheap in comparison. Fourth 80/20 connectors are friction fit in place and require you to pound the frame together. Our connectors slide on and are screwed in place. Fifth since 80/20 is friction fit they can not be reused several times. Our connectors can be re used and reconfigured as many times as you want.

For those reasons our team chose to use our own design and not to use any premade connectors.