You can't go wrong with stainless. It's an industry standard in food and medical. The 6061 aluminum that's being used is the cheapest aluminum alloy out there. It's also not very corrosion resistent, and a nice humid day or 2 can get the aluminum oxide growing on it pretty quickly. I do work for the largest robotics company in the world, and they anodize all of the 6061 that's used in there assemblies. They use 6061 because it's cheap, lightweight yet still very strong. I'd like to make end caps from stainless, but it's such a royal PITA to work with. I just repaired a bulk mixer for a local bakery, and I had to make 2 new 316 stainless shafts. I was ready to start drinking LOL!!! I hate how stainless keeps moving when you machine it.
On a better note, my new electronics showed up for my machines!!! I've got to make a schematic of what's in there now, and see where the new stuff is going. What a difference 11 years makes in electronics. The original drive board is like 10" X 10". The new ones are 2" X 2" and are completely optically isolated from the PC that drives them. No electricity can surge back into the PC, because there is an optical bridge in between. I wish I had more time to learn more about electronics, but 6 years of school was enough. Hoping to have some life in these things by the end of the week.
