What are differentiate of steel and aluminum in VEX v5?
why aluminum use in Competition?
Well compared to steel, aluminum weighs a lot less, which can help when creating lifts and other components of the robot. Steel can be very good structurally but has way more weight, which could strain motors and such. To me they both have their uses and definitely have a place in VRC Comps.
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Well the difference is the materials used. The steel is made out of, you guessed it, steel. And Aluminum is made out of aluminum. Aluminum tends to be lighter and are used for things that are meant to be light. Of course you could also use steel which it what I use for my drive bases, but that is just me. Steel can cause many problems but is used to make structures stronger and more sound. I don’t think you really need to know this but aluminum is also easier to bend. I am still confused about your question about why aluminum is needed at VRC comps?
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Steel Channel - Strong and heavy
Aluminum - Also pretty strong, but a lot lighter (weight is a great factor in VEX)
Just use aluminum on everything, box the c channels if you need more strength
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steel is 2 times heavier than aluminum, being light is important to increase maneuverability and efficiency. steel is rarely useful
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Typically, steel now is only used for counter weights, or to create a compact support for a lift. Speaking of counter weights, try avoiding the need to put counter weights, and try to work with what metal placement you have around your robot to act as an counterweight. You should use steel only in moderation on your robot to avoid putting strain on your motors, and I’ve seen the affects of weight on a 4 200 rpm drive, and it definitely puts a speed or defense disadvantage from all that extra weight.
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Typically, avoid steel at all costs. It might be cheaper, but it is significantly heavier. Most higher level teams resort to different forms of bracing with the help of geometry and physics. Chances are you can reinforce aluminum to be just as strong, if not stronger than steel in only certain areas.
There are few applications where you need an entire piece of metal to be as strong as steel (and I mean very few). The one notable place I used steel in TT was for my anti-tips because box bolts/couplers simply could not fit in the area I needed. Notice how high of a load an anti-tip withheld in TT. The entire mass of a gigantic robot, 11 cubes (5kg+), and high amounts of momentum.
The key here is being able to identify the weak points and use things such as box bolts and triangle bracing to adjust those areas.
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In general there can be uses for both, but steal is usually used for extreme uses of durability. Aluminum is way lighter and already has lots of durability.
Please don’t revive old threads for no reason 
. This question was already answered.
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