VersaFrame by VEX Robotics

[Steven Smith]

FRC3005 had success with it last year as well.

A few points:

The gussets and holes are helpful, but things still can move around a little bit prior to riveting. Especially for drivetrains, I think it is worth the extra effort to make sure everything is built on a nice flat table (check it) and properly squared up prior to starting to rivet.

Watch how you use the gussets. Rivets and gussets are stronger in the shear direction of the rivet. If you are putting the gussets in bending against the 1/8" dimension and pulling on the rivets, you invite failure modes.

Don't underestimate the accuracy of what you can get with a chopsaw. The human eye is capable of resolving very fine dimensions if you have a good reference point. I like to put a rough Sharpie line where i intend to make the cut, then use a scribing tool to put an extremely thin line precisely on the mark. On smaller material where I can scribe with the sharp end of cheap calipers, I can easily hold 1/64" tolerance. On longer pieces with a tape measure, 1/32" is pretty practical. For most FRC purposes you would be using this tubing for, that is more than adequate, as the slop in your assembly will dominate the error equation.