80/20 chassis

[Betty_Krocker]

Quick note on 80/20,

DON'T DROP YOUR NUTS!

80/20 is great but can suck at times....

[kaszeta]

I've been lobbying for my team to use 80/20 or other extrusion for a few years. We might use it this year, since (a) my employer uses a lot of it (we've literally built buildings and cleanroom support structures out of it), so we get a lot of leftover material, and (b) we're such a good customer that occasionally the supplier lets some stuff "fall off the truck". I think I've got enough basic stock so that we can at least prototype a frame with it this year.

[zakk]

Team 1539 has used 80/20 for a few seasons, i think its about 3 so far, and have decided to work our way away from using it as much as possible. I will say that it is good metal, and easy to work with, but the only problem that we ran into was how heavy it is, because the (1"x1") weighs about a pound a foot. Otherwise, it works great for manipulators, and etc. (personally I would suggest using it sparingly)

note: small scrap pieces work as great pendants on necklaces (not that I made one for myself or anything )

[mattkohler83]

If you are not sure exactly what size/length of 80/20 to purchase I recommend going to a Pennsylvania company called Kodyn (www.kodyn.com) who makes a version of aluminum extrusion EXACTLY like 80/20 but it is a much smaller operation. They also make fasteners that I believe are much better than the 80/20 counterparts. Dave, the owner, is willing to take drawings and even hand sketches and will let you know how much material you will need and will even precision cut it to length for you. Tell him Matt from Quasics sent you...

[Dale]

Drawing up the whole whole robot in advance is good advice for teams on a extreme budget. However, what we like about 80/20 is it's flexibility to change your mind. You can bolt things together, get a better idea, and change it quickly without cutting out and splicing welded pieces. It's fabulous for prototyping.

To do that you need enough material on hand to play around. 80/20 1" extrusion costs only $.23 an inch list price. The FIRST team price, if you can find a distributor who will do that for you, can be 35% or more off of that. The expense generally comes from all the special inserts, bolts, brackets, etc.

I'm not sure the exact numbers but I think the cost to 80/20 distributors for material destined for a FIRST team is 45% off of list. They then may add a bit for their handling of your order.