Due to the design of our robot this year, we’re worried about the frame of the robot twisting while driving. We had the same concerns last year, so we added churros across the frame to stabilize it.
This year, churros have raised some concerns because of availability and added weight. Does anyone have any good alternatives to churros for cross-bracing?
The best option is a solid belly pan. Some hardwood plywood or 1/4" polycarbonate works wonderfully. If you can manage a sheet of material on the top and bottom, that works even better.
We are just using 2x1 versaframe in place of churros.
You could always try all-thread with a couple sets of washers and nuts on each end.
Cut and notch an addition End Plate? (AM-2953a)
Doughnuts would probably be a pretty good alternative to churros. However, that could be open to debate.
You can use the 1inch REV extrusion for this also. The reason we have 5 holes in the end is so you can put multiple screws in to prevent twisting in the mounts.
You can see an example of this with the Rhino Tank drive where they are integrated.
This is what my team is doing, although we may also add the existing churros in for more support.
Beignets would be a great alternative too!
Yeah, you right!
Back to OP: We are putting some lengths of heavy versaframe under the chassis, just either side of the gearbox. We will use these and a slightly angled skid plate to provide protection and hold the plates apart. We aren’t that much worried about minor twisting of the frame; I understand that more flexible frames are actually doing better crossing the defenses.
We aren’t worried too much about making weight this year. Once we decided to be short enough to get under the low bar (though not in the original configuration) and high enough off the floor to get over the defenses, there is a rather limited space to work with. We’re only planning three actuators other than the drive system: intake, raise/lower intake, and launch. Climbing is not out of the question, but below the line on our priority list. We’re more worried about keeping our CoG as low as possible.