HardWired II

[Ellis]

Yes. 6082 T6 is a decent grade. How you attach it all to itself is as important as the material itself, though. A butt-joint construction isn't as strong as a finger-joint construction, which isn't as strong as a gusset-joint construction. A combination of these out of 12mm ali could make for a very rigid frame.

[Eventorizon]

Ellis is right. The Americans are notorious for 'End Tapping' aluminium bulkheads which is just a Butt Joint with some bolts. Fingering can be tricky but even with a hack saw and time you should be able to make a good quality joint. I like your thinking!

582762_294815160595233_556517437_n.jpg

I feel Galactus is a good example if you are looking at this type of construction. There are Pro's and cons to every construction method but Galactus is built like a brick no matter which way you slice it.

[Flag Captured]

That's good then, I'll get some of that ordered - thanks for the help!

I purposely designed HardWired with that type of thickness in mind, it's as flat as I can get it there abouts (60mm) so I can have thicker side armour then hopefully going to get something thinner but tougher, Hardox or similar, for the scoop/lifter

Ahh, Galactus does look very solidly built - thanks for the photo! Will definitely borrow a few ideas there I'll have a look at all the different join techniques too, I've very little engineering experience but I seem to recall how most of those go, so I may do a few prototypes with this left over wood I have /CAD it up before I go for the real thing!

Thanks for the help everyone!

[harry hills]

I'm using that grade of alu, wee bit thicker though. I'm finger jointing etc

[Flag Captured]

Ahh, that's good to hear then! I might use mostly finger jointing where I can and work from there, depending on what tools I have access too... maybe I'm being a tad ambitious to say the only equipment I have is a vice and an old hacksaw at the minute, but it's worth a go!

[maddox10]

A vice and a hacksaw, and then Hardox? Woha. I hope you have arms like Popeye then.

[Flag Captured]

I could cut it with just a hacksaw, but I don't really want to show off

I'm kidding, It's mostly likely waterjetting or something that I'll go with for the Hardox, or failing that I'll just go for something like a sheet of slightly aluminium and set it further into the machine, or something along those lines.

[maddox10]

My prefered tools to work with Hardox.

[Liftoff]

While on the subject of cutting effort on hard materials...what type of cutting discs are recommended for cutting titanium? I've tried to use the angle grinder with AluminiumOxide metal cutting discs but with little success..

[maddox10]

I use 1mm thin Pferd cutting disks for stainless. Isn't the fastest work and a load of bright white sparksn but it works.

The plasmacutter just doesn't care and cuts it like it's steel or ali of the same thickness.

[Liftoff]

I see, used something similar but wider, 2mm...took me half an hour to slice a piece of 4mm thick Ti roughly 15cm long, and wasted the cutting disk with just one cut!
The material just cant conduct heat away and gets red hot at the cutting area, and the disk will start to get burnt!

[maddox10]

If you use those thick disks on hardox or so, the results will be exactly the same. Good cutting disks are narrow. As I wrote, I use the 1mm thin stainless cutting disk from the brand Pferd.
I buy those in packages of 50. Just to mention.

The pricetag of 4 of those packages is about the same as for the plasmacutter.

[Flag Captured]

I use 1mm thin Pferd cutting disks for stainless. Isn't the fastest work and a load of bright white sparksn but it works.

When you say about the bright white sparks, would you need welding-friendly eyewear for it to prevent damage or is it just that it's bright? Just wondering for if I end up getting a cutting disc like that in the future, since something like that'd come in handy!

[Liftoff]

No need for welding mask as you need to see where you're cutting, but definitely yes for protective eyewear.
http://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/atta...9&d=1383599012

[Flag Captured]

Silly little update for progress on HardWired II, too - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohEMMojQ4j8

Reverted back to 2WD till I can replace one of the faulty gearboxes, and still using the old chassis as a kind of test platform for the new electronics. Practically everything is new, BotBitz TZ85As, those two drill motors, the wheels (which do need fixing, one of the hexagonal nuts in it has come loose and just spins, so I need to glue that in... somehow. Also running on the Spektrum DX5e and AR600 now, I seem to get less power to each side when I mix the channels which is a bit odd. Failsafe is also a tad dodgey too (everything stays put instead of resetting to neutral) so I may need another receiver, but I don't think they're too expensive for a Spektrum compatible one.