[EricH]

We use custom and always have. (There wasn't a Kitbot frame back in 1997 or so.) However, just because another team uses a custom frame doesn't mean you should. Some things to consider:

• What attachments will you be adding and how? Will you need special modifications (such as a raised end to help slurp up balls last year)?
• What do you have readily available? If you want to do an easy custom frame, are parts easy to come by? Can you get the frame welded? (very important for many teams)
• What drivetrain are you looking at? A basic 4 wheel, 6-wheel, or mecanum drive could be used with a kit frame, but for swerve or holonomic (non-mecanum), it would be much harder, and I'm not sure about tank treads.

The other thing is that nothing is stopping you from using a combination frame. What I mean is that you could use the kit frame as a base, then secure the rest to the top. You could even weld the kit frame together, thereby avoiding having "robot droppings" as nuts and bolts work loose.

For 330's base the last two years, we have used 1"x2"?(not totally sure)x1/8" box tubing, arranged something like this:

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I I I
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I I
I I
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I I I
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edit:the I's should be in the middle of the center, spread out, and at the ends and middle of the outside--Firefox spell check doesn't like all the spaces though./edit
We also have something across the ends of the center.