Aluminum framing in the UK

[daedalus]

just to add one more, check http://www.aluminium-profile.co.uk/, it links through to kjn, a company that stocks most if not all of the rexroth range. There prices are pretty good, and they have online ordering / catalog.

I have bought a few projects worth of extrusion from them, and if you call up they will do cut to size sections (which is a real time saver). Also although i havent had need for it, they do do design from sketches, and assembled units.

Edit: one thing to note about the various suppliers of extrusions is that they are NOT compatible, accessories do not always fit other brands of extrusion. Ive used 3 different types so far, and bosh rexroth is probably my favorite in terms of accessory range.

[yngndrw]

Their prices seem a lot cheaper than the other companies so cheers for the link. I'll look into them.

[digits]

Originally Posted by daedalus just to add one more, check http://www.aluminium-profile.co.uk/, it links through to kjn, a company that stocks most if not all of the rexroth range. There prices are pretty good, and they have online ordering / catalog. I have bought a few projects worth of extrusion from them, and if you call up they will do cut to size sections (which is a real time saver). Also although i havent had need for it, they do do design from sketches, and assembled units. Edit: one thing to note about the various suppliers of extrusions is that they are NOT compatible, accessories do not always fit other brands of extrusion. Ive used 3 different types so far, and bosh rexroth is probably my favorite in terms of accessory range.

I got most of my extrusion from Marchantdice (www.marchantdice.com) but I believe they get it from Hepco. I didn't get delivery anywhere like on time - but I may just have been unlucky - apparently Hepco 'forgot' to cut my order and then the courier managed to send the box with all the fixing elements to another depot, so I had to wait another few days for that to be delivered.

Anyway, once bitten, twice shy - my next order went to KJN Ltd (www.kjnltd.co.uk) - and it went a lot more smoothly. They advised me that they didn't have quite enough brackets in stock, but gave me an accurate estimate of when they would have them, and then rung me to arrange delivery at their cost to a location of my choice (to work, even though the bulk of the order went to my home). I also like the KJN/Bosch brackets better than the Hepco ones, and they are compatible with the other profile. That said, the Hepco profile is nicer - there's more contact area on the faces of the profile and it has round M12 through holes wheras the Bosch has odd, square holes.

My top tips - get everything cut to length - even the simple cut service gives nice clean cuts to about +/- 0.5mm accuracy, and you don't pay for any offcuts. I'd be tempted to get critical pieces milled to dimension if if isn't too expensive, and you really don't want to have to hand-tap the Bosch profile - if I'd known what a pain it is, I'd have had them do it! Also, while expensive, T-bolts are much more easy to use than T-nuts - you can see the orientation of the T-bit from a groove on top of the bolt, and you can use a torque-wrench to do up the nuts. You can always make your own with T-nuts, threaded rod and superglue though

[yngndrw]

Cheers for the links and advice, I will look into those.

A bit weird that a company could "forget" to cut an order though, atleast they were honest I guess ?

[daedalus]

digits are you meant to tap the profile? I only ask because we never bother with rexroth, just drive the bolts in the end and self tap, there isnt much material to displace.

[digits]

Originally Posted by daedalus digits are you meant to tap the profile? I only ask because we never bother with rexroth, just drive the bolts in the end and self tap, there isnt much material to displace.

I think you can use special self-tapping screws for low-strength applications, but for max strength, you just use M12 bolts, and these require tapping first.
This is not something I'm keen to try again - I broke a hand tapping tool and put my back out the first time I tried it!

[simonp]

We have a supplier of the Bosch Rexroth extrusion next door to our company: www.steelinnovations.co.uk
They do both the traditional welding and fabrication and the modular profile system, so you can get their advice on the best solution for your project.
I have to say though... the Rexroth profile system is genius! You can knock up fantastic looking machine guards and enclosures in a fraction of the time it takes to fabricate them out of box section and mesh.

[digits]

Originally Posted by simonp We have a supplier of the Bosch Rexroth extrusion next door to our company: www.steelinnovations.co.uk They do both the traditional welding and fabrication and the modular profile system, so you can get their advice on the best solution for your project. I have to say though... the Rexroth profile system is genius! You can knock up fantastic looking machine guards and enclosures in a fraction of the time it takes to fabricate them out of box section and mesh.

IMHO it's also pretty damn good for building the machines themselves - just don't skimp on the brackets, and use the deflection calculators to size your profile correctly.

I'd also recommend (again) that you plan your machine and get everythig delivered cut to length - you can then errect accurate megastructures in minutes!

I think I'd also consider buying some of the T-slot cover strips for any part of the machine that's in the way of chips and coolant - you would be amazed how full they get!

[martinw]

Originally Posted by digits .....you can then errect accurate megastructures in minutes!

Dear digits,

It sounds like the thrill of Meccano! I'm drooling....

Best wishes,

Martin

[digits]

Originally Posted by martinw Dear digits, It sounds like the thrill of Meccano! I'm drooling.... Best wishes, Martin

It's a lot heavier though - and even more expensive! LOL

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