What types of metal do you use for your robot in general?

[JesseK]

1/16", 1/8", 3/16" and 1/4" 6061 Aluminum plate can be found on our robot. We lay a 4'x4' sheet down on the CNC router bed of whatever thickness we need and cut it from there. One day we'll learn how to CAD metal bends properly, and when we do... look out

Our tubes are 2x1 VersaFrame and 1x1 regular thin wall 6061 Aluminum.

Our standoffs are made from AM Churro or VEX ThunderHex, for the most part. We also have 1" solid aluminum round turned down to make a complex (but sturdy) axle and orthogonal mount for our intake.

Connectors include #10-32 socket head bolts, 3/16" aluminum rivets and 1/4" aluminum rivets. Since ThunderHex and AM Churro are immediately tap-able for 1/4-20, we also use 1/4-20 x 1/2" length into the ends of those.

Originally Posted by hrench

I remember aluminum robots put together with rivets--they were always rickety and wobble. These are solid.

Ooh, ouch. Those are fightin' words.... We're 33 matches into our season with no wobble on our riveted drive train frame. Don't get me wrong - we would have loved to weld it this year, but couldn't find a sponsor who could turn it around in time. So rivets have worked really well. The trick: Cleco clamps, and rivets every half inch. If 2 of the holes were precision-drilled, then we were able to get away with hand punch/drill on the others. VersaFrame helps a lot, IMO.