Chassis weight

[sdcantrell56]

I think we maybe have flipped 3 times in our 3 years and that was all in our first season, but a lot of that is because of the beef in our drivetrains. Now we do go a little overboard sometimes (last year) but it has good results.

[dlavery]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

We make everything as light as possible. Adding weight later is much easier than taking it off. In the ten years that I've been with FIRST, I've had a robot tip over twice.

... thinking back fondly to the year we actually had to bolt a 27-pound block of lead on to our robot as ballast.

Too bad FIRST does not still include the "Featherweight In The Finals" award. That was a great incentive!

-dave



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[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by wilsonmw04

I find that hard to believe when the frame itself is 17 lbs if you use every piece. heck the Transmissions + CIM's are close to 6 lbs each.

I'm not sure why zyik deleted her post; It was true. Our frame really is 12 pounds. We use extruded aluminum, not the kit frame.

[sdcantrell56]

Ok so I went back and looked at our frame and our frame without anything weighs 20.9lbs. It is made out of custom aluminum plate and standoffs. This is also without any lightening patterns so that the machine shop wouldn't hate us too much haha.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

We use extruded aluminum, not the kit frame.

potatoarecool started this thread by asking how heavy a chassis made only from material from the Kit of Parts would be.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

potatoarecool started this thread by asking how heavy a chassis made only from material from the Kit of Parts would be.

I completely missed that.... My apologies.

In 2005 when 294 used the KOP frame we saved 1 pound or so removing bits here and there; I've also heard rivets instead of bolts saves a lot of weight.

[GaryVoshol]

What is this chassis thing of which teams speak? It seems to be an object which you are able to weigh? I can't find one in our shop yet.

[jgannon]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

I've also heard rivets instead of bolts saves a lot of weight.

Can somebody who has done this with the KOP chassis give some idea as to the actual weight savings?

[Sam2197]

our frame without anything on it weighed 43 pounds we are gonna deffinately be cutting it close this year

[Dick Linn]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

What is this chassis thing of which teams speak? It seems to be an object which you are able to weigh? I can't find one in our shop yet.

A chassis normally starts as a sophisticated structure fabricated from Unobtanium, which is quite difficult to see or weigh. Strong, but very flexible and difficult to grasp. Due to design changes and production difficulties in the normal FIRST shop, later iterations usually form out of aluminum, plywood, or other things you've been tripping over, depending on your budget. Near the end of the build period, portions of the chassis usually appear on the floor in the form of chips or sawdust, due to a process called "lightening". This is not to be confused with the phenomenon called "lightning", which is a part of the electrical and control subsystem that occasionally leaks out.