pic: Rastogi 8wd Iteration 1.2

I'm not an experienced sheet metal designer, but what CAD program is that in?


Thaine

[JamesCH95]

I would add in some triangulation in the x-y plane. Other than that I think it looks solid.

What material were you planning on making it out of?

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by ThaineP

I'm not an experienced sheet metal designer, but what CAD program is that in?


Thaine

Solidworks 09-10 thanks to our Solidworks sponsorship through Marie Planchard.

Originally Posted by JamesCH95

I would add in some triangulation in the x-y plane. Other than that I think it looks solid.

What material were you planning on making it out of?

Its .09" thick sheetmetal. I'm not totally positive what grade of aluminum most teams use in their construction so right now I just had it set to 6061 T6. Anyone want to answer that?

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Its .09" thick sheetmetal. I'm not totally positive what grade of aluminum most teams use in their construction so right now I just had it set to 6061 T6. Anyone want to answer that?

Akash,

Sheet Metal is usually 5052, John or Art can confirm that (or anyone with sheet metal knowledge). 6061 just isn't that great for bending. Btw how much does this DT weigh?

-RC

Originally Posted by R.C.

Akash,

Sheet Metal is usually 5052, John or Art can confirm that (or anyone with sheet metal knowledge). 6061 just isn't that great for bending. Btw how much does this DT weigh?

-RC

We use 5052.

(edit: Just checked the BOM at work... Turns out I was a digit off. Whooops.)

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by R.C.

Akash,

Sheet Metal is usually 5052, John or Art can confirm that (or anyone with sheet metal knowledge). 6061 just isn't that great for bending. Btw how much does this DT weigh?

-RC

Every sheet metal place I've called up (now why would I be doing that? lol) uses 5052. 6061 isn't very bendable at all, apparently.

[JamesCH95]

KOP stuff is 5052 from AM (iirc), our other sheet metal parts were also 5052. 6061 likes to crack when it's bent parallel to the grain structure. I have also done sheet metal work with 3003 and 1100, which are very easy to bend, but weaker than 50xx aluminums.

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Every sheet metal place I've called up (now why would I be doing that? lol) uses 5052. 6061 isn't very bendable at all, apparently.

You will not be able to make nice sheet parts with 6061, it does not bend well at all.

5052 is the stuff for bending, as most of you have stated. Whatever sheet metal house is helping you guys out will tell you the same thing.

-Brando

[M.Wong]

Just a question: Is a sheet metal chassis lighter than an 8020 or 1/16 aluminum square tubing chassis?

Also, is there any sort of guide on building a sheet metal chassis?

[sdcantrell56]

Originally Posted by M.Wong

Just a question: Is a sheet metal chassis lighter than an 8020 or 1/16 aluminum square tubing chassis?

Also, is there any sort of guide on building a sheet metal chassis?

Lighter than 80-20...most definitely! Just about any chassis short of one fabricated from steel is lighter than an 80-20 chassis. Of course this is a bit of an exaggeration but 80-20 is a heavy material.

As for the tube chassis, I would think that a welded 1/16" aluminum tube chassis would probably be lighter as well as a bit easier to manufacture than a sheet metal frame.

Sheet metal is nice if you have the resources and if you understand how to design to its strengths, but I dont see it as the miracle construction method that a lot of people on CD seem to see it as.

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Solidworks 09-10 thanks to our Solidworks sponsorship through Marie Planchard.

Thanks. How friendly are they with sponsors? Because we have like three sponsors, and need to branch out more.


Thaine

[M.Wong]

Originally Posted by sdcantrell56

As for the tube chassis, I would think that a welded 1/16" aluminum tube chassis would probably be lighter as well as a bit easier to manufacture than a sheet metal frame.

We've used 1/16 wall 1"x1" aluminum tubing with Nylon connectors for the past 4-5 years. Hopefully, we get access to our school's $2 million dollar tech shop (we've been working at a Magna Seating Facility), allowing us to experiment with sheet metal construction.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by sdcantrell56

Sheet metal is nice if you have the resources and if you understand how to design to its strengths, but I dont see it as the miracle construction method that a lot of people on CD seem to see it as.

The "miracle" of this construction process to me isn't in the actual fitness for an FRC robot, since it's good enough to work as well as other materials. The appeal of it to me is that fabrication with a cool sponsor is automated and fast, so you spend less time machining and assembling and more time designing and thinking.

... in theory.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

The "miracle" of this construction process to me isn't in the actual fitness for an FRC robot, since it's good enough to work as well as other materials. The appeal of it to me is that fabrication with a cool sponsor is automated and fast, so you spend less time machining and assembling and more time designing and thinking.

... in theory.

You can do that with a good tubular design too. Take a look at 2337's chassis, it was all bolt together using inserts into the tubes. Took a bit of time to do but was pretty simple. For reference, it was a combination of 1/8" and 1/16" thicknesses. The majority of it was 1/16" but the transmissions were 1/8" just to be safe.

[AdamHeard]

For inexperienced and novice designers, chassis construction methods are far less important than actual design skills and features included.

You'll see crappy extuded tubing drives alongside crappy sheetmetal drives alongside great forms of both.

Buuuuut, after a few years you come to realize nothing beats good 'ol 2x1