paper: Kitbot Bending Analysis

[IKE]

Thanks for posting this up. There are a lot of interesting tid-bits to gather from this.

A couple of take-aways I got were:
A reminder of the lack of stiffness in an open rail section (see Ford commerical for "Fully Boxed Frame").
Another great point is the importance of spaceframe and triangulation vs. cantilevered structures.

Overall, I still think the Kit was a pretty reasonable unit that accomplished the goal of a fairly simple mobility solution for many teams. While the classic layout (flat chassis) has always suffered from torsional stiffness issues (this is a benefit for the Mecanum guys), this one seems to be especially strained due to the larger moments from the stand-offs. While some may be upset with this, I think a great number of teams learned some very important lessons this build season. This study is a clear example of that.