Materials for FRC

[lbarger]

Siri,

I was out of town this past weekend and had not responded to RC to with regards to getting invited to join the Google document. That has now been resolved.

I am very happy to see there are others interested in moving this project forward. I look forward to working with you, RC and anyone else that may have time to help and/or knowledge of materials of particular interest within FRC.

Is there a good resource available for tires and/or tread materials? Do we want to include that as well?

[,4lex S.]

Originally Posted by lbarger

I hesitate on including correlations (Strength vs. Cost, Strength vs. Weight and Stiffness vs. Weight) as these involve both material properties and geometric forms. This could/should be a complete white paper in itself.

This is why I need to take MODS...

Anyways, I like the two pronged approach for this one. The presentation idea will make the idea accessible for now, and allow information to be gathered, but it would definitely be beneficial to have a white paper (preferably one that evolves with new editions). The key to all of this is making it accessible to all levels of FRC participants and still useful to everyone.

The encyclopedia style setup would be good for FRC. I personally find handbooks of this style more valuable than textbooks.

Originally Posted by lbarger

However, having no experience with open documents and being a registered Professional Engineer, I am curious to learn how one can ensure the accuracy of information provided by 'the public'. If the information is not accurate, it could be worse than useless. It could be harmful.

The privacy of the open document has been confirmed I think, but it is good to hear we have a PEng involved in the project. Before anything is released, it should probably be reviewed by you (lbarger) and whomever else of similar qualification is willing to take a look. The last thing we want to do is release unreliable information to the FRC community.

[JamesCH95]

One could always include an annotated bibliography. It would be really good if someone with the ASM handbooks for steel, aluminum, and composites would get involved. I only have one for titanium, but any technical library should have them.

I have read portions of ASM handbooks on these topics, and what you're making sounds like a distilled version. This is not a bad thing, in fact it's a good thing, because ASM handbooks can be intimidating and over the heads of most HS students. They cover everything: strengths, proper fabrication, economics, good design practices, etc.

I use titanium as a design material quite frequently at my job, and my titanium handbook has proven invaluable. Need minimum practicable dimensions for casting? In the handbook. Need machining feeds and speeds? In the handbook. Need corrosion data in seawater? In the handbook. Need heat-treated properties? In the handbook. Need welding guidelines for different processes? In the handbook.

[Dick Linn]

There is some good sheet metal reference information here:

http://www.precisionsheetmetal.com/home/materials.htm

[TerryS]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but this sounds like a great resource if was ever completed. I searched, but couldn't find any follow up posts regarding a released paper or presentation. Was anything published or was it overwhelming and tabled?