For my design I need some structural pieces at a certain size and I NOT sure what to cut them with.
I use a band saw here at IFI when cutting most structural components. With proper eye protection of course.
I am moving your thread to the Unofficial section of the forums so that others may provide tips as well.
We use a hacksaw for most cuts, and occasionally a Dremel cutoff wheel for tight spots and odd cuts. Be VERY sure to wear eye protection when cutting with a Dremel ā those cutoff wheels can fracture. We enforce eye protection for everyone in the same area as a working Dremel.
At home I use my woodworking bandsaw with a bimetal blade to cut aluminum, but not steel.
Use a Sharpie/pencil/etc. to mark the line you want to cut.
Put the metal between a couple of chunks of wood and put the sandwich in a vise. Donāt crush the metal (if it is a C-Channel, or slide, or ā¦) when tightening the vise. Put the location that will be cut, close to the jaws of the vise (if it sticks out too far, the pushing/pulling force of the hacksaw will bend the metal piece)
Cutting several groves in the wood (ahead of time) helps hold some metal shapes in place as you cut.
Wear gloves and safety glasses.
Cut with a simple hacksaw. Use a blade with lots of teeth per inch (go to a Hw store and get the max that they sell). Let the saw and gravity do the cutting (donāt press down more than is necessary to keep the saw in contact with the metal being cut).
Keep the gloves and glasses on. File and/or polish the cut pieces with a bench grinder or hand file.
Blake
PS Or use metal āsnipsā (big scissors) and expect that the metal will become bent where you cut it.
Thin pieces - Tin snips
Thicker metal pieces (steel) - Hacksaw (also works for aluminum)
Thicker metal pieces (aluminum) - Coping Saw (DO NOT use on steel, but cuts trough aluminum like butter)
Axles - Bolt cutter
Once you cut, make sure to file down the metal to exact size and to make the edges safer. For larger increments a grinder works best, but a standard steel file and rasp will work well together depending on the precision needed (remember for axles to round the ends or to grind the edges to a 45 degree angle - done correctly it goes into components and motors like an axle from the factory, but not done or done incorrectly will chew up connections and make life difficult).
we just use foot sheers for the sheet metal 
it cuts straight and it literally taked 1 second
(we tried hacksawing it a few times but it looked butt ugly :()
Plasma cutter without a doubt. No muss, no fussā¦:rolleyes:
As a robot inspector, I canāt emphasize this enough. Always file all cut edges, regardless of how you cut the components! This is the fastest way to keep from passing an inspection at a competition, and its the easiest to fix or prevent.
Also, just as food for thought, I always remind our students; āDo you really need to cut that piece or can the design be changed (improved) to avoid making the cut.ā
Yes, cuts are often needed and can never be avoided completely, but Iāve seen a lot of metal get cut needlessly.
I use a hacksaw normally, and a dremel cutoff wheel when the part is mounted to the robot, likely to bend during cutting, or otherwise difficult to use the hacksaw on. No matter how you cut it, remember to clean up your cut afterwords, to remove sharp points. A dremelās grinding stone works great for this, or, with more effort, a fine file.
The Cheesy Poofs will soon be based in Galena Park, TX if youāve got one of those in a closet. 
At 1261 I rip metal with my bare hands, but on the off chance that Iām not there, the team uses a hacksaw for the thicker metal and the offset snips for the sheet metal. But generally I just rip it with my bare hands. |OO|