Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik
Simply put, the primary advantage is that you don't have to weld it.
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And third, I don't have a welder....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Patton
I think Richard is right on with the steel tubing recommendation, since as the previous poster mentioned, the 6061 is going to fracture on the bottom side due to too much elongation.
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Probably. I'm going to try to bend the aluminum with some heat and see what happens, which will certainly mess up the calculations, but I was hoping to use aluminum 'cause it's an outdoor application. (I suppose the 'bot won't last 2 years anyway, the steel should last longer...)
Quote:
Originally Posted by squirrel
Ken, the ductility problem with 6061 applies to 4130 as well.....if the part is to be bent, it ought to be made of relatively low strength material.
Bending 3/8" od 1/32" wall soft steel tubing with a bender is tricky enough, I can't imagine trying to bend 3/4" high strength 1/16" wall steel tubing without a bender without having it kink.
But I can imagine lopping off a piece of that tubing at a 45 degree angle and welding it back together with a 90 degree bend in it.
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Ay, there's the rub - needs to be strong, but machine well enough, and bendable. Three competing requirements. Not having any Bismuth handy (have you priced out that stuff?), maybe tin-lead solder, or sand, might be the way to go. (Or galvanized plumbing pipe with an elbow
) Maybe I need to bolt the joint together.
Anyway, again the idea is to learn about the calculations, so when we get into the season in a month I'll be able to maintain my "know-it-all" persona....
Thanks all again, this is great.
Don