Joining the convo a bit late in the day, but anyway, going Back to:

Quote Originally Posted by Eventorizon View Post
Also, never use screws in a robot. They are far to thin and they can easily be snapped. Use bolts. Either thread the plastic or use brass inserts.
Errrr no, I think Endeavour can be shown as a testimony to that. Yes, if you use something like 2 screws to hold armour on then you are definitely going to run into problems. In Endeavour though, we used somewhere between 100-125 (possibly more) M4 screws to hold the whole thing together. I think its something like 26 screws alone to hold one motor down. At the champs last year (2013) we took 2 major hits on the side armour and all we got was a bit of a graze, no "panel ripping off" which is what you seem to be describing. Screws are definitely strong if used properly...

Quote Originally Posted by typhoon_driver View Post
Wood would be another useful material in this case. Easy to repair and a nightmare for spinners to get through or damage in the thicknesses you could put on a robot (think 2 inch all around the outside)
Would definitely agree with this, especially if the wood is used like spinner food! If you use really thick wood on top of HDPE or hardox etc, the spinner is unlikely to get through all the wood and even if it does you still have your "proper" armour to protect yourself anyway. Also the fact the wood splinters means that you are unlikely to get the "hit and flip" action that many verticals try to achieve.

Overall, yes bricks can definitely be successful, particularly in events like the Annihilator and the newly founded Gladiator Cup. It doesn't matter if you have the most destructive bot on the planet, if it doesn't run reliably, your never going to get anywhere