My students do not use the rails for anything.
The clawbot kit and tumbler etc. use them for the chassis.
Does any middle or high school team use them for their base?
Any pics?
Thanks,
Rails are just too geavy to use for structure. All alluminum chassis
Rails seem to be a part that teams overlook and most go straight for the C channel. The thing that many do not consider is that a Chassis Rail 2x1x35 weighs 0.258 lbs which is close to the weight of Aluminum C-Channel 1x3x1x35 at 0.235 lbs. A steel C-Channel 1x2x1x35 at 0.361 lbs is 50% heavier.
If a team does not have access to aluminum then rails may be a good substitute. Another benefit is that you can mound rails at the ends.
They don’t quite have the rigidity that a C Channel has but this year’s game is more about speed and weight than it is structure and strength.
My teams use them to brace towers. They usually bend the tabs at the end to the angles needed and bolt them in. Other than that… back scratchers!
Chassis rail exists in an aluminum variant. We try to use them where we can because they’re lighter, but they do bend much more easily so we can only use them in low stress environments.
chassis rails dont always line up correctly if you want to build a straight base. none of the teams in our area bsides the kitbots use chassis rails. personally, chassis rails dont have as much connectability as c channel, because they don’t have the bottom part of the C for attaching things there. pretty useless for non kitbots imo.
rails are kind of like aluminum, but worse. dont use them unless you are making a scissor lift or a hang to grip onto the pole. you can use them if they are your only resource left though.
We have found that chasis rails are very good methods for prototyping before you ever put them on a final bot. I don’t remember the last time we did actually put them on a final bot though.