Folded sheet metal would be good. The thing is that making a sheet steel (or aluminium) body would cost a lot more in materials and even more in tooling. Foam core is dead easy to work with.
On Jan 22, 3:46 pm, [email protected] wrote: > In a message dated 1/22/2010 5:05:31 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, > > [email protected] writes: > > Yes, that's foam core. I did some ballistic tests and found that as > long as it was in sections no longer than about a foot, it was > paintball proof although close range shots do tend to dimple a little. > It stands up to blunt impacts very well. What it can't cope with is > punctures and any sharp, pointy impact goes through it like a sharp > thing through foam core. On the other hand, I knocked up the whole > body in less than a day - including scaling and drawing - and a hot > glue gun, a sharp knife and a cutting board are all that is required > to make repairs. All box sections of the body are filled with > expanding foam for additional strength and the chassis is built from > channel section aluminium. Total cost of the body was less than £5 so > if it fails miserably I can always make a new one in plywood. The > really major advantage of foam core as a none-structural material is > that it weighs sod all. I would guess that a similar body made in ply > would weigh four or five times as much. > > what if rather than using plywood for the body itself, use a piece of > sheet metal? it would stand up to hits, be fairly strong (and with the bends > for the body shape it should be more rigid and possibly remove the body as > one hole piece giving you plenty of access to anything inside), but should > weigh less (or be about the same?) than a plywood body > > Chris, > _Odyssey Slipways_ (http://hometown.aol.com/odysseyslipways/index.html) -- You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. To post a message, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] Visit the group at http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat
