Hi all,
We have used plexiglass/lexan in the past and have had trouble with cutting and drilling. Has anyone used masonite successfully or unsuccessfully? Any problems you might forsee?
We have always used Lexan and had no problems with cutting or drilling. Plexiglass and lexan are two different materials and plexiglass with break and give you problems. We used 1/8 thickness on the bottom but used 1/16 on any covers and guards we needed.
Plywood works great…
Jason
We’ve used a fiberglass / balsa wood composite board that is very light, but very strong. It drills easily as well. We use a bolt-through design though.
Don’t use plexiglass or acrylic. They crack and snap easily. Lexan is the way to go if you want to use something like it.
Plywood works great as well, just a little heavier than all the others. I know of some teams that also use peg-board, which you can get at Lowes or Home Depot.
anyone have experience with recycled HDPE?
HDPE is a bit heavy, but at maybe 1/4 or 3/16 inch probably plenty strong. But for that, 1/8" lexan is real easy to work with and beaucoup strong.
Plywood has the advantage of being relatively stiff for the weight. We’ve used 1/8" Lexan in the past and had to brace it, this year we’re using 3/8" plywood and it’s plenty stout.
1/8 in peg board.
all the holes are pre-drilled makes for easy ziptie’in…
decently strong but its not actually bracing the robot in anyway.
We’ve used 1/16" sheet metal with a protective and antistatic paint coating. We’re using polycarbonate at 1/16" and reinforced in some areas.
HDPE is fun to use and 1/4" will get heavy.
Dude just come over =(
We have so much polycarb!!
3/16" polycarb this year, we’ve used 1/2" plywood with great success before.
We used to use 1/32 Aluminum 3000 series sheets. This year we are talking a half inch piece of wood and CNC wire channels and the placement of components into it. Also we are engraving our key of electronic wires into it. Love having a Router and Mill.
We use perforated aluminum sheet. It is stretched across the base of the robot and riveted in place. Components are tywrapped to the sheet so that any changes or swap of defective components can be easily performed with a minimum of tools, no dropped screws or other conductive hardware and the ability to see everything from both sides of the mounting platform.
We have generally used Lexan (polycarbonate) in the past, but this season we are using plywood. Both work just fine.
Masonite might be overkill.
Watch out for the cRIO this year. I believe it’s grounded, so you would need to insulate it from the aluminum in some way. I know Lowes sells nylon bolts that may do the trick. Of course, you’ll need something between the cRIO and the aluminum sheet as well.
06 - polycarb.
07 - aluminum. Never again will we have a conductive backplane.
08 - Gatorboard (foam laminated between post-card stock) previous years, polycarb this year. Breakable if mounted vertically. Nylon screws and nuts ($5.50 from mcmaster for 100).
09 - Polycarb. Nylon screws and nuts.
Plywood for the third year in a row - and we’ve never had a single problem with anything shorting 
It’s extremely easy to work with, looks good with a little paint and organization, strong, light weight, and pretty cheap. All in all, everything you would want.