Sheet Metal vs Tube Drivetrain

[Zebra_Fact_Man]

If you don't plan to go WCD / cantilevered axle, sheet metal seems to be the way to go. That said, if you do want to go WCD / cantilevered axle, I imagine it would be pretty difficult to do so with sheet metal.

Bottom line is, go with a system you are familiar with during the build season. Experiment in the off-season to grow your team's knowledge-base.

[orangemoore]

Originally Posted by Zebra_Fact_Man

If you don't plan to go WCD / cantilevered axle, sheet metal seems to be the way to go. That said, if you do want to go WCD / cantilevered axle, I imagine it would be pretty difficult to do so with sheet metal.

Bottom line is, go with a system you are familiar with during the build season. Experiment in the off-season to grow your team's knowledge-base.

I think 148 would disagree with you.

[cadandcookies]

Originally Posted by Zebra_Fact_Man

If you don't plan to go WCD / cantilevered axle, sheet metal seems to be the way to go. That said, if you do want to go WCD / cantilevered axle, I imagine it would be pretty difficult to do so with sheet metal.

Bottom line is, go with a system you are familiar with during the build season. Experiment in the off-season to grow your team's knowledge-base.

Back when I was on 2220, we designed our drive trains primarily as closed tube/channels (tube on each side of the axle). They had some disadvantages, but man they were absolutely bulletproof, and were incredibly fast to design and build (I was able to design one in the style we did for 2014 in about 30 minutes with all the COTS parts downloaded).

It's been said before in this and other threads: go where your expertise is.

If you don't have existing expertise, pick a direction that complements your existing skills and go that way.