Check on the use of 2020/2040/2060 aluminium profiles for frame

[BaronVonVaderham]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to check with the more mechanical inclined of the use of 2020/2060 profiles works in the following construction. 

Here’s how the frame looks like. For reference, the distances between vertical supports are approximately 350mm, soo distances are relatively short

[Raisuli]

For what it's worth I used 1020 for the frame on my simpit.  A quick look at the specs tells me I can park both cars on the side panel supports and get less than 2mm of flex at the center because I end-posed it.  Based on what I see if you're using 2020 you could park your house on that.  2060 would be enough to park an aircraft carrier.  Maybe two.

It's going to be a lot of money for overkill, but if that works for you then awesome! 

<edit>

For fun I did a 350mm span fixed both ends with an evenly distributed load on 2040 horizontally.  Okay, maybe a carrier was an exaggeration, but with a 100,000kg load (more than a typical house) there was about 3.5mm of deflection in the middle of the span.  Two 1800kg cars parked together deflects it just over 0.15mm.

The same span in 1020 will have 1.65mm of deflection under a 3,600kg load.

All of this was because I got the idea from monster mounts (or whatever that is) and thought they were using far, far, (far) too much aluminum for the job, then I did the math.  Pretty sure their choice was all about marketing, not engineering.

Edited June 1 by Raisuli

[Nightdare]

5 hours ago, Raisuli said:

Pretty sure their choice was all about marketing, not engineering.

Yeah, at my job they installed pretty beefy electromotors in frames for assembly machines in 2020

if any flex it's usually due to the connectors/tions suffering from leverage forces on the frame, not the profiles themselves

[Raisuli]

9 minutes ago, Nightdare said:

Yeah, at my job they installed pretty beefy electromotors in frames for assembly machines in 2020

if any flex it's usually due to the connectors/tions suffering from leverage forces on the frame, not the profiles themselves

I was surprised at how stiff those profiles are.  Torque at the joints is the only enemy and used 1010 at the end of the side arms (and gusseted connectors) to manage that; not much load, but they keep the whole assembly rigid.  The robotics frame in building 9 at JSC in Houston is pretty much room sized with an overhead crane and still made out of mostly 2040 IIRC.

Extrusions are a brilliant solution to simpit frames, but expensive.  The bits and pieces and connectors and plates are worse than the profiles!

[Dogmanbird]

The bits and pieces and connectors and plates are worse than the profiles!

These are available fairly cheaply on Ebay and AliExpress, at least is is when ordering in Australia