[Travis Covington]

Originally Posted by ducttapedude

IMO Delrin a solid delrin plate ends up being about the same weight as a heavily machined plate of aluminum but not nearly as rigid. I've seen a few delrin gearboxes and you can seem them flex pretty easily, not anything horrible or dangerous, but noticeable. Also, the threading the in the delrin does not last as well, you can use a nut of course, but, just another con in my opinion.

^^Agreed. Delrin isn't as great as many people think. We utilized it the last few years strictly for its ease of machining and the reduced weight. I would much prefer a waterjet plate with a quick pass on the CNC to clean up the bores. Access to a waterjet has always been the issue though, but this is something we are looking at for future use.

The strength to weight ratio of delrin is still significantly less than aluminum, and for heavy reduction gearboxes, you need to be very careful with how you use it. For example, we have made some 250:1 arm gearboxes in the past that I would never consider using delrin sideplates with. Just make sure you are using it for the right reasons. Aluminum sideplates also act as great heatsinks, and for games like overdrive, the CIMs could use as much heat dissapation as possible.