How brittle are SES brackets?

Lynxmotion Servo Erector Set
1

Gentle persons:

I thought I saw somewhere that SES sheet-metal parts are machined from 6061 aluminum but now I can’t find where.

For my ongoing design, I think I am going to need some 30deg connector brackets. Rather than fabricating* my own, I could imagine either putting a 30deg bend in the ASB-18 or reducing the 45deg bend in the ASB-07 to 30deg. At a guess, the ASB-7 is already somewhat work hardened at the bend, so the ASB-18 seems a better choice.

Am I overlooking something?

Regards,
Kent

*The secondary motto of my days as a research engineer was “never make what you can buy.”

The primary motto was, “if your boss is happy, you have a chance of being happy, but if he is unhappy, you have no chance.”

2

SES brackets are made from 5052 H32 1/4 hard. They are not machined and surely not from 6061 as it’s not very good for bending.

3

Thanks, Jim. I admit I was curious how you bent 6061 (but then heat treatment was always the secret sauce my master machinist said he used when I’d ask him how he managed to deal with one alloy or another). I guess I noted “6061 T6” in the descriptions of the various lengths of aluminum tubing and it got stuck in my brain.

It’s time for me to put my money where my mouth is. I’ll submit an order over the weekend for a basic set of parts to play with :smiley:

Regards,
Kent