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Originally Posted by sanddrag
As long as it's not for competition, there's always the option of buying raw materials and drilling the holes yourself.  |
The Vex parts (like the EDU parts before them) all utilize a square hole grid. These square holes are what permit the Vex system to maintain good allignment of certain parts after they are installed (bearings, motors, etc...). Take a close look at how a Vex plastic bearing block installs into a piece of Vex metal, it is a pretty clever and simple solution. (I'm not just saying that because my boss designed it.)
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Originally Posted by robohippo
I am slightly scared of the prospect of permanently altering pieces.
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The Vex metal is designed to be a consumable resources. Though all designers try to minimize this (who isn't on a budget?) the true versatility of the Vex kit comes when you cut and bend custom brackets out of the raw-stock given.
Having said that...
I usually use the same construction techniques, and size pieces on most of the robots I build. I'm sure if you do some careful planning, you can get away with minimizing your "loss".
For some cheap replacement piece-parts, you should try
www.vexlabs.com this way, you don't need to pay the full $80 for a Vex metal kit if all you need is a few $1.50 BAR-25 pieces.
Good Luck,
John