Aluminum framing in the UK


Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 26

Thread: Aluminum framing in the UK

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    England
    Posts
    384
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Aluminum framing in the UK

    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.

    Similar Threads:


  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1408
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    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



  3. #3
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    England
    Posts
    384
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    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



  4. #4
    Registered ImanCarrot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1468
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

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

    I love deadlines- I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.


  5. #5
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    England
    Posts
    384
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    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.



  6. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1408
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    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/bro...m+profile&Ntx=

    Best wishes,

    Martin



  7. #7
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    England
    Posts
    384
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

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

    Cheers for the link.



  8. #8
    Registered
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    thailand
    Posts
    1
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    it good



  9. #9
    Registered
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Denmark
    Posts
    607
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

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

    PS. Sorry for the late reply



  10. #10
    Community Moderator Al_The_Man's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    24216
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

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

    CNC, Mechatronics Integration and Custom Machine Design

    “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
    Albert E.


  11. #11

    Default

    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.co...jsp?sprache=EN

    Last edited by audioandy1762; 06-10-2008 at 04:51 PM. Reason: add more info


  12. #12
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    England
    Posts
    384
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    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.



  13. #13
    Registered
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    450
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    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.



  14. #14
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    England
    Posts
    384
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

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



  15. #15
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1602
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by daedalus View Post
    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



  16. #16
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    England
    Posts
    384
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    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 ?



  17. #17
    Registered
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    450
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    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.



  18. #18
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1602
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by daedalus View Post
    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!



  19. #19
    Registered
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    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.



  20. #20
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1602
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by simonp View Post
    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!



Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


About CNCzone.com

    We are the largest and most active discussion forum for manufacturing industry. The site is 100% free to join and use, so join today!

Follow us on


Our Brands

Aluminum framing in the UK

Aluminum framing in the UK