When to use certain hardware

Since saving any weight on a robot while making sure the robot is strong is an important part of V5 hence why I am raising this question. When to use certain hardware such as nylon screws, aluminum screws, steel screws, and zip ties. The same goes for nylock nuts, kep nuts, regular nuts, and nylon nuts.

To my current knowledge nylon screws are used for bearings and small parts with little load/stress. While zip ties are used to secure bearings with little to no load. Correct me if I’m wrong.

As for nylocks they are used for joints and for rotating objects that a normal nut will just become undone over time. As for the regular nuts vs kep nuts I don’t know any significant difference expect for the kep nut having a washer.

Feel free to comment where you use certain hardware within your robots and how other methods you used to save weight / make robots stronger.

That’s not a washer…
They’re a ring of “teeth” that grip and dent the metal in order to make a secure fastening. From what I know, they are the most commonly used nuts in VEX since they are easier and lighter than nylocks (just be sure to crank them in a bit)
Personally, I use nylocks on my drivebase and anything that spins/vibrates, and keps nuts on everything else.
Regular nuts are rarely used due to their lack of locking properties.

There was a similar question on the VTOW server, and to quote Noah, nylon screws are commonly used on lifts and anything with low stress (like the bearings you said).

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On our competition bots, we NEVER use keps nuts - the vibration of the robot will often loosen them causing it to fall apart. We’ve had several instances of this. :slight_smile: Keps nuts are useful for prototyping, but using nylocks on the actual robot is our go to.
If we can’t use a nylock, we often butt two normal nuts right up against each other, tightened into each other, this creates a much more secure fastener than just one nut of either type.

If you’re really worried about weight, try using thin nylocks on your robot, they save a lot of weight over time. Nylon screws/bolts also seem to save a decent amount of weight, but i’ve never used them. Does anyone know their strength vs a normal screw?

Not too sure about the bearings and zip ties, i’m assuming you would need to ensure the bits of plastic that stick into the corners of the holes aren’t shaved off like most of ours are :slight_smile:

other than hardware, ensuring your robot is square always helps save weight in the long run as you don’t have to compensate for the deflection. Triangles are your friend :slight_smile:

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