Hi,

I'm interested in getting hold of some metric 80/20 (Or any other brand which is as good, as long as it's made of metal, has T slots and is in metric.) in the UK. (Northwest.) The 80/20 site lists http://www.westgroup.co.uk as the only UK distributer, but on their site it seems that they have stopped distributing it.

I'd also like to be able to order online. Any suggestions as to where I can get hold of some ? Suggestions on other brands aswell ?

Cheers.

Dear yngndrw,

RS almost certainly stock the type of stuff you want, also Farnell.

RS...
rswww.com

Farnell ? well just Google.

You will be appalled at how much the stuff costs fom UK stockists. It could well be worth importing it from the US, even if you do not need very much.

BTW, Farnell and RS are absolutely top dollar, and better men may know alternatives.

Best wishes,

Martin

Thanks for your reply, I will look into them both.

I thought that RS only stocked electrical supplies.

For anyone interested, in RS it's under:
Workshop and Site Equipment -> Steel Tube and Aluminium Structural -> Bosch Basic Mechanical Elements

RS are very good on quality and delivery, I also use J&L Industrial Supply www.jlindustrial.co.uk

I can't find it in Farnell or JL Industry. Can you direct me to the correct category ?

In RS, it seems to cost around £10 per meter. (In three meter sections.) Bit much but probably cheaper than getting it machined out of raw aluminium.

Dear yngndrw,

Yes, it was pretty deeply hidden on the Farnell website, but if you search on "aluminium profile...

bingo!

http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/search/browse.jsp?N=500005+1000601&Ntk=gensearch_001&Ntt=aluminium+profile&Ntx=

Best wishes,

Martin

Ah, I was searching for T-Slot and 80/20. That search doesn't find it on JL Indusry however.

Cheers for the link. :)

it good

www.metallstore.de has lots of types. The problem is that they are located in Germany.

PS. Sorry for the late reply

Misumi has a presence in the UK, I believe it is in Milton-Keynes.
The N.Am service is excellent.
Al.

Hi

Here is another UK supplier


http://www.mbsitem.co.uk/


Regards

Andy

PS Here is a link to the online catalogue

http://catalog.item-international.com/Onlinekatalog/index.jsp?sprache=EN

Thanks for the links guys, quite a few different extrusion systems out there. I'm currently looking into getting my CNC built from welded stainless steel box section, will have to see what the price of that is - May work out cheaper for something which is more rigid.

Shame that MetallStore.de doesn't have an English text option - Looks like it has a nice selection of stock metal.

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.

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

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 ;)

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 ?

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 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!

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.

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!

.....you can then errect accurate megastructures in minutes!



Dear digits,

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

Best wishes,

Martin

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

I'm with 80/20 Surplus on the internet at http://stores.ebay.com/8020-Inc-Garage-Sale?refid=store. We don't actively seek overseas sales but will certainly work with anybody that can handle the significant shipping expense. If you're interested in purchasing items in our eBay store just let me know. Provide your eBay User ID and we'll add you to our Exemption list which will allow for overseas purchase.

If you're interested in working with a distributor try this link:
http://www.aep-ltd.co.uk/compressors.htm

AEP is a subsidiary of the West Group. It is the West Group subsidiary that represents 80/20 in Great Britain. In fact, a few of their employees just attended training sessions at our US facility. Your contact for AEP is:

David Harris
The West Group Limited
Devonshire Road, Heathpark,
Honiton, Devon EX14 1SG
01404548000
01404548005 (Fax)
dharris@aep-ltd.co.uk

If I can be of any help feel free to contact me via email: mmeyer@8020plus.com.