Programming instructions

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Inventor’s Guide
Structure
276-2178-E-0610
Introduction to the Structure Subsystem, continued
The VEX structural components come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Each of these
structural shapes may be strong in some ways but weak in others. It is very easy to bend
a piece of VEX Bar in one orientation, but it is almost impossible to bend it when it is in
another orientation. Applying this type of knowledge is the basis of structural engineering.
One can experiment with each piece and see how it can be used to create an extremely strong
robot frame!
When designing a robot’s structure, it is important to think about making it strong and
robust while still trying to keep it as lightweight as possible. Sometimes overbuilding can be
just as detrimental as underbuilding.
The frame is the skeleton of the robot and should be designed to be integrated cleanly with
the robot’s other components. The overall robot design should dictate the chassis, frame, and
structural design; not vice-versa.
Design is an iterative process; experiment to nd out what works best for a given robot.
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