Aluminum or steel?

VEX Robotics Competition Discussion VRC > Nothing But Net (15/16)
1

Which are you guys using (mostly) for this years competition ?

2

All aluminum, exept maby for parts that have to support another robot

3

I never felt steel was necessary at all. If built properly, aluminium will be able to support a lot of weight and still not bend. Based on experience, steel just adds unnecessary weight to your robot.

4

Considering everyone is saying aluminum could someone link me to a good aluminum kit to start my drive train

5

I was going to go for the booster kit but now im iffy

6

You can buy the chassis kit here:

http://www.vexrobotics.com/vex/products/accessories/structure/chassis-kit.html

Or you can customise your parts selection here:

http://www.vexrobotics.com/vex/products/accessories/structure/aluminum-kits.html

If you are just making a standard drivetrain the chassis kit would most probably be enough. However, if you are thinking of going more advanced and want to experiment with things like transmission, customising your parts selection would be a better alternative.

7

Aluminum if you’re being lifted. Aluminum + necessary steel if you’re lifting others.

8

Aluminum is for sure better, it’s just more expensive. If you have the money, go for aluminum, and don’t waste it on steel that may end up getting replaced by aluminum anyways.

If you’re interested, I did this price comparison on the aluminum kits and multi packs to determine which is the best value: https://vexforum.com/showthread.php?p=369257

Edit: By better I mean in general better. However, if you have pieces under high stress, as others have said with lifting, steel is stronger.

9

Our team was forced to use steel the past two years, for budget reasons, and I’ve found there are many things that go wrong and our peers that used aluminum had less problems. Fortunately our team gets to use aluminum this year. I would advise you do the same. Good luck! :smiley:

10

Aluminum twists and bends easier than steel. So it depends upon your strategy.

If you have a heavy jerk, twist, or vibration messing up the shot with on a near stationary platform-based shooter, why not use steel? You will not be moved by reaction forces as easily in most cases.

However, if you want to scoot across the field all the time to get balls off the floor, aluminum along with polycarb is your best bet to reduce weight.