Frame

When constructing your frame, you'll need 

 1) 2x1s for the base (Qty - 4) 

 2) Bellypan (Qty - 1) 

 3) Frame Rails (Qty - 1 or 2) 

 

 Note 

 Wall thickness of .100" or thicker = thick wall (good for chassis due to durability and high impact resistance) 

 

 

 Bellypan 

 

 Has small holes in certain areas known as grommet holes to allow for electrical components to mount, and has holes along the perimeter for mounting onto chassis. All bellypans have a cut extrusion pattern along the surface which saves weight and makes it look nice, which is known as pocketing

 

 

 

 Laser cut by sponsors 

 Typically 1/16" to 1/4" in thickness 

 Thicker bellypans have smoother driving due to lower center of gravity (CG) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Pocketing 

 

 Process of using a CNC or laser cutter to cut away material from a solid sheet of metal, leaving behind bits of metal known as ribs, which form a lightweight grid or lattice pattern. Common bellypan pocketing patterns include triangles, squares, rectangles and hexagons, but pocketing for other subsystems like shooters or intakes feature different patterns. In SolidWorks, you'd make the bellypan pattern by using the vent tool. As for the mounting holes it would just be a linear pattern which you would cut extrude.

 

 *ALWAYS have fillets when designing your pattern to avoid difficult to machine sharp edges* 

 Any sort of pocketing should have ribs with a thickness of 1/8" to 3/16" 

 

 

 

 Frame Rails 

 

 Frame rails are mounting tubes (1x1s or 2x1s) which are integrated into the frame design for structural support and for mounting separate subsystems like shooters, intakes, climbers, etc. 

 

 

 Design Considerations 

 

 Place battery first when designing drivetrain as it is the heaviest component, so you can take CG into account (important for deciding how smooth your robot can drive) 

 When designing your drivebase, your main goal should be maximizing CG while maintaining efficient mass to incorporate other subsystems in the future 

 Tungsten sheets are heavy and good for CG, but VERY expensive