Steel VS Aluminum

STEEL

Steel is heavier than Aluminum. Having your drive train built with steel, the heavy your robot gets. The more weight you add to your robot, the more friction the robot will have with the slick platforms.

Weight distribution adds friction between your robot and the platforms, considering the how slick the platforms are, and how big they are.

ALUMINUM

Aluminum is lighter than Steel. You should only use Aluminum for lifting mechanisms, because lifting steel is too heavy for motors.

FUNDRAISING IDEA - HOSTING YOUR OWN VEX TOURNAMENT

Hosting a tournament in your school cafeteria would (maybe) be free. have you ever clicked on an event on RobotEvents.com and looked at the Event Partner's (EP) registration fee? Vex teams can also host their own tournaments to get their fundings through their registration fees. The recommended capacity is 32 teams, and your [first time] event registration fee [for VRC] is recommended to be $25.

Cons

If you host an event for the first time, you'll have to consider either buying multiple field sets, or borrow from other teams. Field sets are very expensive and you should take a lot of considerations when looking into hosting a tournament.

What's the math?

All you need is basic math!

32 Teams * $25 (Per team) = $800 raised!

PROS

Hosting a tournament will raise funds for your club. VRC teams also consider hosting Vex IQ events because Vex IQ field sets are cheaper.