This is the first iteration of a sheet metal chassis.
All aluminum is 1/8".
It’s 30x24".
Weighs 25.2 pounds
Older 4" AM Performance wheels.
Shifting transmissions geared for 13.8/5.2 FPS.
All chain is ran inside of the side rails.
The side rails have an open bottom.
The side rails are composed of 2 halves, allowing for easy removal of the sprockets without removing the transmission.
It still needs some work like adding a belly pan etc.
Wow looks great. However, I have two suggestions. The top CIM looks like it could warp the plate backwards if it isn’t thick enough. Also, I know personally that chain inside tubes is typically problematic, though not impossible. I would recommend all gears if going inside the rails, and even then, you need large access holes. A better alternative would be to let the chain be outside the rain, so you can tension it with ease and access it more easily.
I would be concerned about warping or torquing the frame where the wheels are. We had some minor issues with using 2x1 inch 1/8 wall aluminum tube on our WCD this season, so just a precautionary
Though I agree with the comments above. I would be worried about warping the frame as well especially sustains a strong impact. I would think about gusseting some of the corners as well as maybe adding a mounting point for the gearboxes on that cross beam. That way not all the load is just on that side plate.
On my previous team, we prototyped a ‘sheet metal coast drive’ in the off-season of 2011 and did sheet bumper mounts and they can be tricky. There is a bunch of information in this thread: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98808
That drive also used 2x1 tubing and had 0 issues with the chassis as far as I know. Bellypan was integrated .090" pan into the front and back cross member. 10/10 would build again.
Overall, I must admit I enjoyed designing with 2x1 tube much more than with a pure sheetmetal frame. I felt that it simplified the design and was easier to have parts manufactured with a mix of tube+sheet.