Rover: Prototype Mk1 - Material choices

As the Search & Rescue Flying Tank progess has come to an end, a new chapter begins. We decide to have a Unmanned Ground vehicle as a mobile ground control station, moving landing pad and able to recieve video feed.

The material suitable to fabricate the rover will be aluminium and polycarbonate.

Why aluminium instead of steel?

Well, aluminium is lighter and cheaper than steel and it is commonly found in hardware stores and workshop. Not only that, it is easily to work with when doing machining. 1 application of aluminium used for the rover will be T-slotted extrusion. It is commonly used to build frames as it provide a 90 degree angle with the help of the brackets specially designned for the T-slotted extrusion.

Why polycarbonate instead of acrylic?

Polycarbonate is the mother of all impact materials and it is tougher compared to acrylic. Since it is impact resistance material, it is suitable for the rover. Below is a video showing the comparision of polycarbonate and acrylic when there is impact acting on it.