Someone asked a question about where they can find polycarbonates.
I would strongly recommend going here: https://www.robosource.net/13-plastic-sheets
The poly carbonate sheets there are legal thin, and come in a variety of sizes.
I would also recommend going here for lubricants, washers, zip ties, tools and more. https://www.robosource.net/
We use Bodecker for all our polycarb needs. Prices are pretty good and ship times are pretty fast too. You might find some cheaper. If so post here to let us all know!
Make sure when you tell teams that they can use polycarbonate, tell them the thickness requirement. We had to basically disable a robots lift today because their polycarbonate was 3 times as thick as the thickest that is legal
Is there a place you can buy polycarbonate molded to your specs? I’m thinking about getting some, but I’m not sure how/I don’t have the tools & experience to do shape it.
Non shattering plastic from the following list; polycarbonate, acetel monopolymer (Delrin), acetal copolymer (Acetron GP), POM (acetal), ABS, PEEK, PET, HDPE, LDPE, Nylon (all grades), Polypropylene, FEP; as cut from a single 12" x 24" sheet up to 0.070" thick. i. Plastic can be mechanically altered by cutting, drilling or bending etc., but it cannot be chemically treated, melted or cast. Teams may heat the polycarbonate to aid in bending.
Is it legal to stack sheets together to create a thickness great than .07" and fasten them using VEX hardware?
Yes
I’d look for a local company that does plastic vacuum forming. Maybe you can even get them to sponsor you.
The poly carbonate sheets there are legal thin, and come in a variety of sizes.
I can second this, bought some sheet plastic from robosource a while back and it was great. Price was as low as anything else I could find online, it arrived promptly despite being out of stock at the time I ordered it, and the plastic itself has stood up well to the wear we’ve put it through. Plus you’re buying from a known person actively involved in the VEX community (just see the post above this one). I’ll definitely be looking at robosource the next time I need to order anything they carry.
home depot. Cheap, easy to get, don’t have to wait for shipping.
Home Depot generally does not have plastic that is legal for vex, so be careful! You need polycarbonate (lexan), acrylic is illegal as it shatters but is what most stores carry, and usually the thinnest polycarbonate stores have is 0.093" which is too thick.
I ordered the polycarbonate sheets from Robosource, simply because we couldnt get the 1/8" thickness sheets in Singapore.
And I must say that @Kevin Boenisch is just amazing! He helped to source for the cheapest shipping cost and delivered it to us according to the agreed time frame.
And you will never need to worry about using too much polycarbonate or sheets that are too thick. The sheets sold in Robosource is exactly what is required in Vex.
We also ordered from Robosource and we had really quick shipping and a good product (plastic sheet) delivered to us also