Standard vs. Custom Frame

[Andy Baker]

Originally Posted by Viper37

I never said there was anything wrong with the kit frame, simply that it was weak.

Originally Posted by Viper37

The kit bot material is weak. Wack 2 pieces togeather and note the fat chunk of aluminum missing. That is what happens to low quality aluminum stock such as what we are provided with.

On another note, last year bumpers were few and far between, seeing as just about everyone couldnt make it up the ramp with bumpers.

Im not saying this on baseless grounds. Pleanty of people agree with me.

Weak is a relative term. Whether a person thinks something is weak is their opinion. One thing I have learned in FIRST is that everyone has their own opinions with regard to designing robots.

If someone designs their robot so that 90% of their weight is in the structure of their drive base, then the kitbot chassis is probably not for them. Also, if a team uses their robot as a rolling brick without any regard to scoring the game object, then again the kitbot chassis is again maybe not for them.

The kitbot chassis is not "low quality aluminum stock", if I recall correctly. It is 5052 H32 aluminum.

It may not be for all teams. If a team wants to have some weight left over to have an arm, a lift, a shooter or a latching system and they don't want to spend much time on their drive base, then the kitbot chassis is a perfectly fine structure to use.

Also, many teams got on the ramp while using bumpers. The teams who did not succeed in this either chose the ramp to be a low priority or they did not design their drivebase well.

Andy B.