Thread: Is riveting that much better?
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Unread 08-01-2010, 15:29
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FRC #2702 (REBotics)
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Re: Is riveting that much better?
Yes, yes it is.

For one thing, as awesome as welding is you are usually going to have two problems:
1) Frame distortion- Every frame I have designed that has been welded has warped to some degree (especially aluminium), this is not a happy thing to deal with (wheel contact, conveyor alignment... ).
2) Skill- My team was lucky to have a veteran welder around, but I have seen what happens when a new student tries to weld aluminium. It becomes more like modern art, and less like robot frame .

Bolts lose in the weight and remaining tight categories.

Rivets are light, easily installed and uninstalled, and create pretty solid joints when done correctly. I think every FRC robot has at least one application where rivets would be the most useful of all fasteners.
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