[Doug G]

For those who say welding steel is harder than aluminum - are you crazy? Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Aluminum conducts the heat far quicker than steel, which makes it tricky to get that TIG weld just right. When I TIG steel material, the puddle stays put and you don't have to constantly play with the pedal as much.

Also, plan your weight carefully so you don't have to deal with lightening holes. I know some teams have resources to mill several hundred holes in their frame, but spending hours and maybe days drilling and milling holes is probably not a good use of time. We made a change last year from a two level frame to a single level frame and instead of just using 1x1 box aluminum everywhere, we switched to using C-channel for the internal struts of the frame and just kept the box material around the perimeter. We also better planned our use of 1/16" thick aluminum for the non-stressed parts of the robot. Also we switched to nylon hubbed sprockets where possible. How nice it was to have our robot done days ahead of the deadline and 9 pounds underweight.