|
Re: Input On Steel chassis w/wood inset
Mmmm, I think it's probably up to whatever you think you need. However, I will give you a couple examples. Rage 173 used a completely plywood frame this year, and I believe they have for the past several years. This is from one of their engineering mentors at RampRiot, "We only had a few problems with one crosspiece breaking during build. If you spar it correctly it holds up fine". And it did. It was a little dented, but not excessively for being through several competitions. We hit them a couple times, and they seemed no worse for wear.
Example #2: Many moons ago, in 1998, our FIRST year, we used welded steel conduit for our entire frame. It flexed a little, and was heavy, but it never failed at all. We did have to skimp on our mast, it was PVC, but it was done.
Aluminum is generally a very good stand between for frames, thats why almost everyone uses it, but wood alone, if properly designed, is very adequate. As I imagine, it's less forgiving to design, but after it's designed, it's very forgiving as a frame material, on the field, and to fix in the pits.
__________________
Reading makes a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man. -Sir Francis Bacon
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
-Albert Einstein
|