pic: 6WD Riveted Frame Development

[M. Mellott]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

Are you concerned about the torsional stiffness of the channel that contains the axle mounts? Rectangular tubing in the same application would be quite a bit stiffer.

You make a good point. I'm always concerned about the overall strength of the frame. I believe that the base frame is the foundation of the robot, and a team should never have to worry about it as far as maintenance--too many other things need attention and, barring a catastrophy, should be rock solid. We've always had solid frames, but often "solid" translated to "heavy".

I suppose we were trying to be a little different (as far as our past designs go), not only with the use of U-channel, but also the added weight savers. This is why we were hoping to develope the design over the summer, then construct and test/abuse during the fall once school starts up.