Cutting Pieces?

[JVN]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

As long as it's not for competition, there's always the option of buying raw materials and drilling the holes yourself.

The Vex parts (like the EDU parts before them) all utilize a square hole grid. These square holes are what permit the Vex system to maintain good allignment of certain parts after they are installed (bearings, motors, etc...). Take a close look at how a Vex plastic bearing block installs into a piece of Vex metal, it is a pretty clever and simple solution. (I'm not just saying that because my boss designed it.)

Originally Posted by robohippo

I am slightly scared of the prospect of permanently altering pieces.

The Vex metal is designed to be a consumable resources. Though all designers try to minimize this (who isn't on a budget?) the true versatility of the Vex kit comes when you cut and bend custom brackets out of the raw-stock given.

Having said that...
I usually use the same construction techniques, and size pieces on most of the robots I build. I'm sure if you do some careful planning, you can get away with minimizing your "loss".

For some cheap replacement piece-parts, you should try www.vexlabs.com this way, you don't need to pay the full $80 for a Vex metal kit if all you need is a few $1.50 BAR-25 pieces.

Good Luck,
John