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Originally Posted by DeepWater
McMaster lists 6061 box tube so I guess it does exist. Have you had any failure issues with your 7075 axles? I have considered 7075 axles for weight but have always chickened out and gone with steel. What diameter have you used? Last year we went with the IFI traction wheels with 3/8" ID bearings and thus 3/8" G8 bolts for dead axles. Do you think 3/8" 7075 dead axles hold up in competition?
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They should. We used 1/2" axles with the ends milled down with a 7/16" hex for our wheel and sprocket to mount to. Haven't had a single problem. We also used 7075 for a series of ~1.5 foot shafts in our conveyor system this year. With 7 shafts at 1.5' ea, we'd have been looking at 10.5 feet of 1/2" steel shaft otherwise.
Using aluminum in certain areas instead of steel is pretty much the only reason we made weight last year.