sheet alum build, keep sheet or cut strips

2cent

Well-Known Member
i have these 3mm thick sheets, and 14 4 ft strips to mount, between each strip is 20mm gap, (only 9 on pic i know i ran outa patience _)
i was thinking to remove that gap, i can mill them off easily,

as a full sheet i was advised that the heat will build up, so i will be cutting today,
im thinking to leave a strip in the middle joining them all for a more rugged build , to attatch the driver to a u channel ontop,
instead of cutting strips and rejoining them i have enough edge spare to create a frame, and good grab for the angle hangers

like this ,
my design look alreet to yall?

qffqqfqf.pngdddww.png
 

2cent

Well-Known Member
WOW!!!! That milling machine must have a very deep throat & one hell of a table to be able to mount that sheet of aluminum!
Would love to see the setup!
Got a pic of the mill?
haha. with alluminium you would be surprised how easy it is, up to 10mm you can use a jigsaw easily enough, and neat too, 3mm max can be done with a scraper and a stanley knife,
can also use small bench circle saws with carbide alum cut blades but they vibrate n bounce i find,


routers are also very good but warp the thin stuff so 1/4mm lots of small passes,
this i use a mix of router pass to reduce 1mm down like tracing outlines and set a neat edge and then will get jig sawed out along a fence, fast file any edges off and give em a rub down . could just use the cnc but i can beat it on time and neatness , the eye wins every time 1hr a sheet ,
also thinking to gap every 2nd led instead after talking to rocket

alum is fun to work with, steel is the bitch .
 

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
haha. with alluminium you would be surprised how easy it is, up to 10mm you can use a jigsaw easily enough, and neat too, 3mm max can be done with a scraper and a stanley knife,
can also use small bench circle saws with carbide alum cut blades but they vibrate n bounce i find,


routers are also very good but warp the thin stuff so 1/4mm lots of small passes,
this i use a mix of router pass to reduce 1mm down like tracing outlines and set a neat edge and then will get jig sawed out along a fence, fast file any edges off and give em a rub down . could just use the cnc but i can beat it on time and neatness , the eye wins every time 1hr a sheet ,
also thinking to gap every 2nd led instead after talking to rocket

alum is fun to work with, steel is the bitch .
Aluminum is fun to work with, until you gotta weld it. Nasty smoke when you mig weld it.
 
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