Shafts in Drivetrains

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

This is an overly simplified statement. Quite a few factors go into shafts for a WCD, including material used (I don't use 6061 to cantilever since friends reported bending of shafts on their bots), stress risers along the shaft, length of the shaft, load at the end of the shaft, etc...

I should have gone into more detail - my apologies - Yes, as Akash said, you shouldn't have a problem with cantilevered shafts if you use the right grade material in the correct manner. For a live axle setup, 7075 aluminum in 1/2" hex should work perfectly. I've yet to have problems with it. If you're doing anything smaller or dead axle, I'd go with a steel alloy (I hear 4140 is good), though I find it better to stick with live axle and use 7075 al.

Also, as Akash mentioned, I also prefer to retain parts on the shaft by drilling and tapping the two ends of the shaft 10-32 by about 3/4" and putting a 5/8" 10-32 bolt with some washers on for size to keep everything on the shaft.