What materials do you most commonly use on your robots?

[MichaelBick]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

I also think you're still overstating the cost, both in machining capability and time/effort, of building a tube frame; 449 has been machining with little more than a miter saw and a drill press for the entirety of the time I've been on the team, and we currently have no problems at all with tube frames.

Again, I highly reccomend you give the article a good read. I think you are overstating the negatives of 8020. Essentially, 8020 can be used exactly like box tube, without the use of gussets. This can be a big benefit to many teams(anywhere from rookies to season veterans). Anything that "gives" you time for free is a good thing. Whether the time savings is more beneficial than the weight loss is based on the team and their resources.

Your original statement was that 8020 is a "terrible" material. My primary point is that this is obviously not the case, because a robot that was mostly built out of 8020 did so INSANELY well.