Quote:
Originally Posted by big1boom
I prefer an angle aluminum robot,
1) It looks cool
2) Its stronger than wood
3) Its fully customizable
4) Its easy to machine, (our entire robot frame was made with a miter saw and a drill)
5) Its more forgiving
6) Its relatively lightweight (the entire robot weighed in at 117, and that is with a lot of #35 chain.
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I'm going to have to call you on some of those.
2) You'll have to define the strength. Tensile, compression, shear, torsion, or bending? Elastic or not? How is it supported?
3) So is wood. You may need gussets, but it is fully customizable, and said gussets add some strength.
4) Guess what else can be made with only a miter saw and a drill? Yep, a wood frame. I might even say it's easier to machine, as it's softer.
5) Really? Wood is pretty darn forgiving. It's also cheaper, so if you do make a mistake, and you can't fix it on that piece, you can get another piece much more cheaply (and easily) than metal. Home Depot and Lowe's don't exactly carry much structural aluminum--but you can sure get some pine or fir!
6) Depends on your wood. Balsa or spruce is pretty light, for example. (Though I can break thin sheet balsa barehanded, but that isn't saying much.)
__________________
Past teams:
2003-2007: FRC0330 BeachBots
2008: FRC1135 Shmoebotics
2012: FRC4046 Schroedinger's Dragons
"Rockets are tricky..."--Elon Musk
