Quote:
Originally Posted by Molten
I disagree. We use the 1 1/2" Aluminum tubing and it makes it much stronger. Last year, our robot got tipped over 3 times and did not show the slightest hint of damage. When making a frame, keep in mind that the best robot is lousy once it falls apart. The main point of the frame is to keep everything from falling apart. It does not necessarily have to be fancy, it just has to be functional. Remember, function over form.
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Obviously 1 1/2" tubing is stronger than 3/4" tubing. It is also heavier and takes up more space. We have had no damage to our welded 3/4" thin-wall tubing superstructures for the past two years (despite "vigorous" interaction with other machines), but we do design our superstructures for using the finer tubing, with some good gusseting at the corners.
There is nothing wrong with making your robot stronger and stiffer, for as you say a broken robot is no fun. Teams need to make a trade off between strength and weight that only they can decide. We have found success building very durable, lightweight superstructures (which we weld to the KOP frame) with 3/4" square thin-wall Al tubing.
Jason