Acrylic Chassis?

[amorton94]

Could I make a good, durable chassis for my MRC out of 1/4 inch acrylic? Would it hold up good? Or would it just be a waste of time? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
-Austin

[Trike Kid]

I'm thinking by acrylic you basically mean Plexiglas right? Not suitable for a chassis as it's very, very brittle. Also, you'd end up with either a bulky chassis trying to get everything to fit or one with no room to work trying to keep it proportional at that thickness. A lot can be done with the stock chassis, or you can pick up one of the cheaper kits like RC Bro's Skulz chassis for 19 bucks. I'm picking up the skulz as soon as my next paycheck clears the bank myself.

[laalaa]

Like trike kid said, PMMA is not suiteble for chassis.
If you like to use plastic as frame material get PC, polycarbonat. It's suitable for chassis and wont crack easilly. And it's bendable w/o heat.

[Lonewolf]

Seems to me I just answered this question a day or 2 ago.... Nope not the best choice of plastic....The whole cracking issue....lexan or polycarbonate will work as well as acetal and the various materious that make up the plastic cutting boards found at walmart and such..

[amorton94]

Ok, thanks guys. It seems strong but yah I guess with the smaller it got, it wouldn't feel/be as strong. Thanks for clearing this up.

[hitman46mod]

Delrin (acetal) I would recomend 1/8" or if you want more flex 5/32" the amount needed to do an MRC chassis would not cost much, maybe $15. You can get it in scraps, however I just buy it in 24" x 24" sheets and I get a better price. Rod for cross braces about $2 for a 1/4" dia 4' long piece.

Delrin is a very friendly building material it can be easily cut, drilled, and tapped. I use it in all of my projects, what I like most about it is that it is availible in rod or sheet form at a very low cost. I can buy the Delrin needed to build 3 complete chassis and spend less than $20.

I have used acrylic it stinks when you cut it, when you drill it you need to go slow or it will melt, and it tapped threads strip easily. Plus it does not handle impacts at all.

[Terranaut]

You could use G10 fiberglass plate too. This stuff is very tough, yet easier than aluminium to cut and finish, and more rigid than Delrin etc.. I have flown a large gas model heli with custom frames made out of 2.5mm G10, and I use it on my AX10 for link mounts, servo bracket and electronics plates.

Do a google search for 'G10 fiberglass'. Some hobby shops supply it, costs about USD14 for a 12" x 24" sheet, enough for a couple chassis, and a bunch of other smaller parts.

Cheers.

[DarkSoul]

Originally Posted by Terranaut

You could use G10 fiberglass plate too. This stuff is very tough, yet easier than aluminium to cut and finish, and more rigid than Delrin etc.. I have flown a large gas model heli with custom frames made out of 2.5mm G10, and I use it on my AX10 for link mounts, servo bracket and electronics plates.

Do a google search for 'G10 fiberglass'. Some hobby shops supply it, costs about USD14 for a 12" x 24" sheet, enough for a couple chassis, and a bunch of other smaller parts.

Cheers.

The problem with G10 is, as you said, its fiberglass. It is strong and not too bad to work with, but the shavings get under your skin quickly and itch like a son of a bitch. Also, if you grind or sand, you need to keep the part wet to keep the dust from getting into your lungs, once it goes in, it never goes out.

[amorton94]

Ok, acrylic is out of the picture for a chassis, but what about making.....umm....what are they called? 'Crossmembers'? Those things inbetween the tvp's, would acrylic do any good in that application? I'll start looking around here in town for some lexan or delrin also. Thanks for your guys' help so far.
-Austin

[Lonewolf]

Acrylic is good for windows light lenses but not for structural...Oh im sure someone has done it, but haveing been in the plastics industry for 20 yrs Id just say pass on the acrylic for structural parts


delrin acetal hmwhdpe polypropylene polycarbonate cutting board material the harder the better will be your best bet...

[amorton94]

Roger that! Acrylic not for crawling! Thanks for all the help!

[BigB_117]

Go to www.mcmaster.com and order up some Delrin. I ordered a 12"x12" sheet of 1/4" for about $25 last week.

After drilling some holes in my Delrin wheels yesterday I can say that this stuff is very easy to work with.

[rocksteadily]

maybe use carbon fiber? 3racings website sells sheets of it

[Terranaut]

Originally Posted by DarkSoul

The problem with G10 is, as you said, its fiberglass. It is strong and not too bad to work with, but the shavings get under your skin quickly and itch like a son of a bitch. Also, if you grind or sand, you need to keep the part wet to keep the dust from getting into your lungs, once it goes in, it never goes out.

I appreciate the comment, however I am only suggesting a material that I have found is ideal for the purpose. I also work with raw fiberglass cloth, and that does require carefull handling for the reasons you have given. But the preformed plate is not like that. The glass is bonded, and when working it it just makes dust like many other materials. Of course you don't want to breathe it but it doesn't get under your skin, doesn't itch. If you are gonna fabricate things your tools are just as dangerous, and care is required no matter what material you use. Each to his own.

Cheers.