How strong is sheetmetal?

[tsaksa]

[quote=roystur44;1067989]Alex,

Properly designed and using the right tools for the job. Sheet metal can be stronger, lighter and easier to produce a complex fabricated chassis. Team 971 mainly uses sheet metal and rivets to produce their chassis. The team uses a variety of materials to do the job. We never rule out plastics, extrusion, aluminum tube, wood, pvc, steel, etc.


Exactly,

I am a new mentor without much experience with using sheet metal in robots. Just my own occasional hobby projects. But I believe many materials such as sheet metal are too easily overlooked.

Remember that almost all automobiles are today constructed with a sheet metal body that has no solid frame or chassis underneath it. Automotive engineers gain the strength and rigidity they need from sheet metal by making careful use of the inherent strengths of this material and applying geometric principles to overcome the weaknesses. Done properly, sheet metal produces a very light, strong, and inexpensive frame.

The biggest difficulty that might face a team wanting to make full use of sheet metal in their design is the expense of tooling. Sheet metal can be easily and inexpensively bent and joined in simple shapes to improve strength and rigidity. However, the complex shapes used in automotive bodies required very expensive metal forming equipment. These complex shapes bring sheet metal construction to very high levels of strength and beauty. But as long as you do not want to push the construction technique to the extreme levels used in auto bodies, you can do a lot with this material quickly, and at a modest cost.

[ratdude747]

Anoher point to consider is how you will be ebnding it if you choose to. accurate bending is half the battle... good sheet metal equipment is a must. if you are using aluminum or plastic, depending on the thickness and alloy/plastic type, you may need to use heat to avoid and minimize fatigue cracks at the bend. this is an often overlooked thing...

what i have heard is it is a lot like crab drive- you either love it and it works wonders or you hate it and its fails... for some it works and some its a waste of time and money.

my advice is to try it in the offseason first and see if it does what you want... if you like it and it still suits your needs once the 2012 season begins, go for it. if not, try something else.