Best frame building material

[superbeano2004]

I was curious on what is the best material for building a frame for a robot. Last year, we used 1" aluminum tubing and it did well but it was difficult to weld and it was not as strong. I see other teams using extrusion tubing and I was also curious on why extrusion so good. Thanks for your help!

[Alex Cormier]

There are many different types and kinds also sizes of extrusion that your able to get. One reason we used extrusion last year was the ease of it compared to making all the frame with the 1" aluminum like we did in 2003. It cut back on time, money and human resources because all we had to do is call the nearest dealer and they would send us a piece for our frame instead of cutting and welding the pieces together. The nuts and bolts that the extrusion come with are very strong and hold up through many competitions if used correctly. here's a website that i have as a favorite from last year, even though we never ended up using them we had a dealer about a half hour away that was very generous to us. I hope all of this helps you and can't wait to see what your team builds this season.



Pit Bull


P.S. If visiting the website go towards the bottom for the FIRST special...

[David Hoff]

I agree with most of what Pit Bull said about extrusion. It is very easy to work with and is very strong. However, it is very heavy. When teams have only 130 pounds to work with every pound counts.

For about three seasons or so Cyber Blue used extrusion, but this previous year we went with aluminum tubing. It worked out very well for us and in the future I'm sure we'll do the same.

[Mini-D67]

Originally Posted by David Hoff

I agree with most of what Pit Bull said about extrusion. It is very easy to work with and is very strong. However, it is very heavy. When teams have only 130 pounds to work with every pound counts.

Thats not entirely true...

Our entire frame was built out of extruded, given it was was only 1/16th" wall 1x1, it only weighed about 14lbs! Thats not very much for how much frame we had!

Go here and click on 2005 Build to see some naked pics of the bot!

[Conor Ryan]

Originally Posted by Mini-D67

Thats not entirely true...

Our entire frame was built out of extruded, given it was was only 1/16th" wall 1x1, it only weighed about 14lbs! Thats not very much for how much frame we had!

Go here and click on 2005 Build to see some naked pics of the bot!

so that held up for you guys pretty good? I saw a couple teams use 1/8" on the outside and 1/16" on the inside and other supports. But it all matters on how you apply it.

[Captain Rich]

In the past few years, I believe that my team has gone over kill on frames. We used 2x4 extruded in an H shape, 80x20, and the kit frame this year. All of thoes were overkill and never took a single dent. So this summer we are going to try a few frames. What experience do you guys have with the strengh of 1.5" angle alluminium?

[eugenebrooks]

Originally Posted by Captain Rich

In the past few years, I believe that my team has gone over kill on frames. We used 2x4 extruded in an H shape, 80x20, and the kit frame this year. All of thoes were overkill and never took a single dent. So this summer we are going to try a few frames. What experience do you guys have with the strengh of 1.5" angle alluminium?

We used 1.5" aluminum angle for the front and back of our robot for the
past two years. Last year it was fine because "violent" robot interaction
occured up on the platform and there was no room to build any speed.
This year we got the front of our robot bashed in during the quarter finals.
I doubt we will be using 1/5" aluminum angle in this way again.

[kevin.li.rit]

Yeah extruded alumnium is pretty easy to work with as long as you don't need anything welded. We used 30mm X 30mm Extruded aluminium for all of our robots. There's also 20mm x 20mm Profile that we also used in the previous two years for various parts of our robot to reduce weight. Both of them are very durable, We never hand any problems with it breaking or bending.

[Genius^-1]

Another problem with aluminum extrusion is that the connecting pieces can get kinda pricey. This can be a problem for teams with limited funds, but you can always make your own connectors, as most companies give dimensions in their catalogs. Just something to think about.

[Sam J.]

yeah, we (Team 435) have used extruded aluminum for about 4 years now. It is very useful, because it is durable, and you can easily move pieces around. If you make an incorrect measurement, you can simply loosen the pieces, and slide them to the desired location. For the last three years, we used BOSCH, and for the 02, and 03 seasons, we used a combination of 30mm x 30mm, and 20mm x 20mm. Last year, we switched to their 1" system, because that is what all the rules and parts are in. Switching to 1" was a welcomed change.

-Sam

[Bcahn836]

We have used angle aluminum for the frame for the last 2 years and have had very few issues. it is light and somewhat durable. However we did break a few pieces but that was from defending the king of the hill in the stack attack game, where at times it got rough. It is easy to work with, its light, but isn't as strong as extruded or square.

[Greg Perkins]

Aluminum Plate and standoffs!

...thats if you have access to machines to cut the parts you would need.

KISS!!!!

[Greg Needel]

for teams looking to easy construction you can also use steel tubing...now before you react to say that i am crazy think about this.

a piece of carbon tube steel (1/8 wall) .5" x .5" x 36" weights 1.5 lbs

a piece of 6061 alum tube (1/8 wall) 1" x1 " x 36 " weights 1.4 lbs

the weight difference between alum and steel is not very much when the steel is half the size

for teams who want an easy material to work with without having to buy all the attachment components with extrusion, think steel. much easier to weld, much less expensive, locally available everywhere, easy to machine


you might want to consider this when looking at materials for the upcoming season

[Arefin Bari]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

for teams looking to easy construction you can also use steel tubing...now before you react to say that i am crazy think about this.

a piece of carbon tube steel (1/8 wall) .5" x .5" x 36" weights 1.5 lbs

a piece of 6061 alum tube (1/8 wall) 1" x1 " x 36 " weights 1.4 lbs

the weight difference between alum and steel is not very much when the steel is half the size

for teams who want an easy material to work with without having to buy all the attachment components with extrusion, think steel. much easier to weld, much less expensive, locally available everywhere, easy to machine


you might want to consider this when looking at materials for the upcoming season

I gotta agree with greg on this one... we have used NOT STEEL but aluminum tube... as long as its welded right... you are good to go... most of the years out bots has been a pushing bot... probably at the end of the season we will see one or two bends but nothing really bad. Extrusion are good too... we have used it during 2002 season and it worked great...

[jimfortytwo]

High quality plywood is a great material to seriously consider, especially if metal fabrication is a difficulty for you. One of the great things about plywood is that it doesn't dent-- give it a hard jar and it will spring back every time. Often the plywood comes out of the season in better condition than the 1/8" wall aluminum box beams. I must admit though, for "shiny factor" our team is considering moving into a different material for next season.