Ramp Materials

[Po-ser]

Originally Posted by burkechrs1

carbon fiber panels. very lightweight and very strong. then we're putting a grippingmaterial over them for obvious reasons...

We're using carbon fiber for our ramps too--thin sheets with foam blocks sandwiched inbetween. We're only at the point where we're just about to mount them, though, and we're trying to figure out how many spares we'll need. Have you guys been playing around, seeing how much it takes to break them? It would be awesome to have some input.

And Matt Gardner, as for a suggestion for your team--like the others, I'd strongly consider using honeycomb (try going to mcmaster.com and type in "Aluminum Honecomb" into the search tab). It's not cheap, but it's very light for its strength (good enough to be used for floor panels in airplanes). There's also the added benefit of spending less time constructing the actual ramp, since it arrives at your lab all in one piece, and spending more time on the actuators.

Hope this helps.