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Originally Posted by Arefin Bari
One reason i am against using lexan as the chassis... it may break. example was given by greg...
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Any material can break.
Engineering is about designing such that the materials used can withstand the forces applied.
It's true, a robot chassis made out of graham crackers (my default, "weak material" for examples) probably wouldn't hold up. However: lexan, aluminum, steel are all TOTALLY doable.
Lexan's main advantage is it bends quite a bit before exceeding the elastic point. However, this is also a disadvantage when it comes to chassis design. Aluminum is much more rigid, and rigidity is important for some chassis applications.
Enough rambling... my point is:
Lexan is a totally viable chassis material, and I'd be more worried about it bending and throwing a chain or something than worried about it breaking.
John
edit:
Despite it's "bendability" (there's a fun fake word) Lexan can STILL be used effectively. Check out the above picture of 180 and see how they got around it. Note the cross bracing and box stucture (very high rigidity). Good stuff.