carbon fiber and/or aluminum shops?
 

Does anyone have links to places where you can get small sheets of fiberglass? Also, how about 6061 and 7075 aluminum sheets? All my local places only deal with large orders. Google search not turning up much either. I had a link for a CF place once but can't find it anymore...

Have a look at www.robotcombat.com , they stock pretty much everything there.

http://www.robotmarketplace.com/mark...rbonfiber.html :o lol

thats were im going to buy my carbonfiber for my 1/10 scale project im doing:018:

maxdude you posted right before me :007:

Carbon Fiber is pretty inexpensive here:
http://graphiteelegance.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1
I would buy it there if I ever needed it.

Go here:
http://www.industrialmetalsales.com/Aluminum_Plate.html
And send these guys an inquiry asking how much the aluminum would cost. They carry 6061 and 7075. I just sent an inquiry to them earlier today asking about the cost for a sheet 1/8" x 12" x 24" in 6061, and I am waiting to see what their price is.

Normally, I would buy from Speedy Metals on Ebay for 6061-T6 aluminum. It is very cheap there, but they don't seem to have any single 1/8" x 12" x 24" sheets. Look here:
http://stores.ebay.com/SPEEDY-METALS...QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Thanks everyone, I'll check out your suggestions. Now that BL Revo version 1 is complete, I'm starting on another design and was looking at a way to put the battery trays under the chassis to lower the CG and give me lots of room to lay out various parts. I want to make this one as light as possible, yet structurally strong. Since the batteries will be under the chassis, the bottom plate will probably be subjected to dings and scrapes. Nowing this, which would be a better choice for the under carriage - Al or CF? I would say Al, but CF is lighter...

i would actually say cf.

How about garolite? It's a material kind of similar to CF, but a little heavier and not quite as strong. Right now I think I'm going to get some for a new chassis for my 1/8 buggy. To find it, type "garolite" into the search on http://www.mcmaster.com , and select the Garolite G10/FR4.

CF won't stratch as easily as aluminium. You could also consider putting a very thin piece of lexan on the underside of the CF/aluminium to protect it.

I don't mind if it gets scratched, after all, it is a monster truck after all. :) I just want to make sure whatever material I use can take a beating while remaining lightweight. I also don't want it to flex much since the bottom of the truck will be the battery tray bottom and I want to protect the batteries.

Now, I was planning on 1/16" thick 6061 or 7075 aluminum, but what thickness of CF, or even garolite as MetalMan suggested, would be equivalent in strength/flexibility/durability/etc?

1/16" aluminium would be a bit thin for my likeing, 1/8" would probably be better. As far as CF or garolite goes, I really don't know much about they're physical properties. All I can say is CF can be quite brittle, and where aluminium would bend it would tend so snap. Try searching google for the physical or mechanical properites of aluminium, CF and garolite.

Don't bother with google for material properties. Go to www.matweb.com They have almost every type of every material you can imagine. Garolite is the registered name of phenolic. It's like lexan is to polycarbonate.


JB