MATERIALS For Robots

MATERIALS Found a neat material useful to making robots? Know how to work it?
Let me know!
Remember to always opt for the lightest materials possible. Also, soft materials such as plastics are much easier to work with and machine than metals.

	Aluminum A material of choice, basic and light weight, yet a strong robot building material.
	Balsa Wood Extremely light weight for flying robots and easy to work with.
	Carbon Fiber Extremely light weight and strong for tiny battlebots and flying robots. Has potential safety hazards, but has a very high strength to weight ratio.
	HDPE By far the best material for a robot chassis, this light weight plastic is cheaper than aluminum and very easy to machine.
	Styrofoam An often overlooked material, this material is light weight, easy to shape, and extremely cheap.
	Vacuum Forming Basics Understand how you can mold polystyrene sheets into ANY light weight shape desired.
	Velcro, Tape, and Epoxies These important materials often get a bad rep. Learn how they can be very useful, and in a professional reliable way.
Quick material references: (external sites) Quick Materials Lookup Chart MatWeb Complete Material Reference McMaster Quick Reference Chart