pic: CV Robotics WCD 6wd Drivebase Prototype

[Adrian Clark]

Originally Posted by Dunngeon

We have a shop that's offered up their CNC Plasma Cutter. We plan to cut it, then check tolerances to see if it's good enough for use. If it isn't, our fallback is to use one of our schools CNC routers to machine a wooden bellypan and paint it black.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to test new fabrication methods before the season. In 2013 I tried to cut a bellypan out of .090 5052 Al on a plasmacam machine, a machine I had never used before. When I came to the shop and showed the staff what I was making they told me it wouldn't work, and they were right. As I was cutting out the profile the sheet began to warp, I had to give up shortly after I started because the sheet bent up and hit the torch. This is exactly what I was warned would happen.

Before you take the time preparing to go to your sponsor and make the test parts I recommend you talk to an operator first. They will know the machine and it's limits and can tell you if your parts can be made on their machine and even give you tips on how to design your parts to be easier to cut. The main things you need to convey to the operator is the materiel, its thickness, and the complexity (run time) of your parts. With that information they should be able to tell you if they can cut them without the sheet warping.

There a several teams with in house CNC plasma cutters, you should be able to find them with a quick search. I would recommend talking to them as well, they can provide you with valuable insight on how to best utilize a plasma cutter for an FRC team.

-Adrian