what is a good plastic to make my own chassis? (Kydex/Delrin/etc...)

[rc10b4ever]

Hi,

I want to make my own chassis. what type of plastic would be good? Kydex, Delrin, other?

Is there a plastic sheet and a plastic rod I can get from the hardware store?

Thanks!

[CamplinP]

What will the chassis be used for? On - Off road?

[rc10b4ever]

i should have put this on there. offroad. and i dont mind chassis flex. this is just going to be a chassis for a mid motor converted rc10b4.

i have made carbon fiber balsa laminate before.came out beautiful! very rigid/light. easy to cut. but for this project i want a low cost/simple to make and easy to work with.

i was thinking maybe kydex or pvc or what might be available at my local hardware store. kind of my take on the centro c4.2 chassis. only with plastic.

[jwscab]

for most models, G10/FR4 fiberglass sheet is an optimum choice for messing around. it's cheap, strong, available in colors and available in most places. The downside is that it's only a flat sheet, so if you need a kickup, you need to do that some other way. I lean towards a bulkhead with the kickup in place already, or 6061 T6 aluminum bent to the right kick, then bolted on, OR use the original kickup if basing it on a different car suspension.

one such vendor:
http://www.eplastics.com/G10_FR4_Glass_Epoxy_Sheet?gclid=CLLB6s6Q4LoCFSEV7AodXFIAIg

you can use 3/32" or 1/8" as a standard thickness, or a metric equivalent.

kydex or PVC are really too flexible for chassis material in flat sheet.

[Coelacanth]

Yep, Kydex is great for bumpers, because of it's flexibility...but not good for a chassis plate.

[tamiya]

Yep, Kydex is great for bumpers, because of it's flexibility...but not good for a chassis plate.

it's actually not too bad, if you doubledeck or fold the sides into a u-channel its plenty stiff



Kydex is dense though, could be heavier than same volume of aluminium

[Coelacanth]

It gets soft very easily with moderate heat, I'm not sure it'll be strong enough to resist warping in the areas of a hot motor/ESC/heatsink. I wouldn't use it myself, though it's definitely easier to work with.

[kink]

This may sound a tad mental... I was looking at my vintage skateboard the other day at its multi ply deck construction. So how about making a thin plywood chassis for an RC car? Perhaps experiment with coatings to add stiffness and water proofing. Maybe some kind of resin or glue which may soak in. Then sand it and polish it. The front deck kick up and rear tail would actually mimic the RC10 chassis shape. Maybe even add underside deck graphics Just a random fun build thought. You heard it here first...

[Phin]

A couple of companies made Balsa wood core graphite chassis for RC cars back in the day. DA Graphite was the most common.


Dragonplate has birch core sheets of carbon fiber in 3/32" and 1/8" that would work for a chassis. I just looked now and they've discontinued some sizes and are currently selling leftover stock is now at a 30% discount. http://www.dragonplate.com/ecart/categories.asp?cID=180

[tamiya]

Avoid wood in thin planks for structural elements... warps with humidity, splinters on impact etc

If u can't find thin sheets of carbon or fibreglass, go raid a electronics supply house for PCB blanks.



You can etch off the copper layer if you really want to or just leave it there for extra RF shielding

[Phin]

Anyone know a source for flat/matte black fiberglass like the stuff AE used to make the RC10T2 towers? The McMaster black FR4 has a very shiny gloss finish.

[Minisforever]

It would be really cool to see a "finished" wood chassis rc10

[retrorobot]

Avoid wood in thin planks for structural elements... warps with humidity, splinters on impact etc

If u can't find thin sheets of carbon or fibreglass, go raid a electronics supply house for PCB blanks.



You can etch off the copper layer if you really want to or just leave it there for extra RF shielding

Do you think fiberglass food trays they used for fast food back in the day would work? I mean those things made to withstand a lot of beating.
Where I live, I see them once in a awhile at thrift stores for a dollar. I can make many chassis from it.

[tamiya]

meh, fast food trays are made with some recycled injection moulding plastic afaik... Not really true laid-fibreglass
Only good for carpark drifting your FWD soccermom-mobile after eating contents of tray...