Make a good mock up using cheaper material. Maybe some good plastic type like delrin or a low grade aluminum. No reason to waste expensive AL on the first couple of pieces until you are completely satisfied with the setup.
I have some ~1.5 mm aluminum laying around that I was going to use as a mock up. Also does anyone know what would be a good spacer to use inbtween the chassis. I'm thinking something like a maxx bulkhead brace.
Check out some of the axial crawler parts. They have some threaded rods that would work well and some assorted lengths.
These are good to use, you can also get the al radio tray spacers that many 1/8 buggies use. They are often tapped to use m3 bolts, and can be cheap. I remember the ofna ultra sereis uses these, and ofna stuff is usually cheap. Not sure if they will be the correct length though...
Easy to tap. I think 7075 is slightly easier because of it being harder, it doesn't gum up the tap like 6061 does. In fact if you use 6061, I only recommend hand tapping it. In my opinion it was to easy to chew up using a mill to tap it. Also make sure to use something like tap magic to help.
6061 is not too bad to tap, but cutting oil for al is a must. I have not tapped too much 7075, but found it harder to do.
I usually use my benchtop drill press, clamp the item in the small vise, and turn the press pulley by hand while feeding the tap into the hole. Perfect cuts everytime, and the vise helps to keep the threads straight and true. Plus I have never broken a tap this way. Eevn a cheap small drill press works great, I am using a small craftsman unit right now.
Has anyone gotten UHMWP locally? Or delrin or something similar. I've gotten it off of mcmastercarr before, but buying stuff like that online seems like a ripoff because of the shipping.
Did you look at the chassis offered by Kershaw Design, he has two aluminum frames, one for e-revo's and one for nitro revos going to electric, might be easier in the long run for you. There is a picture of the nitro conversion on his website.
Yes I have seen that, but there are a few things that I don't like about it. It has 2 battery trays. 2 servo mounts. The bottom plate doesn't attach to the bulkheads in any way. In my design I attach the bottom plate to the bulkheads, which I think will make it substantially stiffer.
I do agree about the battery placement, but I already have a 5s 8Ah battery and I don't want to get a new one. I am currently using a 3racing chassis with a maxx tranny.