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Earlier quoted context omitted.
The coolest part (pun intended) is how they cool the semi-melted aluminum after extrusion, in long tanks of water, that have no sides, the sides are made from water pressure made from directing water flow.
Please provide a link, this sounds insane
However, I can't find it anywhere in North America.
The cost of pushing aluminium through an extrusion die is nearly zero. The die cost isn't much anymore in the world of cheap CNC machining. And the R&D costs for coming up with the shape shouldn't be high (and already paid off years ago).
So why is that stuff still so expensive??
I want this, but I don't want to pay much more than the raw aluminium cost. The cost of pushing aluminium through an extrusion die is nearly zero. The die cost isn't much anymore in the world of cheap CNC machining. And the R&D costs for coming up with the shape shouldn't be high (and already paid off years ago). So why is that stuff still so expensive??
Whenever two or more engineers get together to design something, 80/20 is there in spirit at least.
I want this, but I don't want to pay much more than the raw aluminium cost. The cost of pushing aluminium through an extrusion die is nearly zero. The die cost isn't much anymore in the world of cheap CNC machining. And the R&D costs for coming up with the shape shouldn't be high (and already paid off years ago). So why is that stuff still so expensive??
I want this, but I don't want to pay much more than the raw aluminium cost. The cost of pushing aluminium through an extrusion die is nearly zero. The die cost isn't much anymore in the world of cheap CNC machining. And the R&D costs for coming up with the shape shouldn't be high (and already paid off years ago). So why is that stuff still so expensive??
Bosch Rexroth.
Bosch's extrusion profiles are what people at big co's who need stiffness and don't care about price tag will buy.
My guess is that Bosch warps the whole market up and the competion follows.
When I was a teenager I used to improvise prototypes at home with those generic Meccano sets (small prototypes where the stifness of extrusion frames wasn't needed). Is there any modern equivalent? If I look for Meccano nowadays it seems to have gone the way of Lego, where you only have prescribed construction sets, haven't found generic parts sets. Is there any modern equivalent of Meccano for such an application?
Things like https://www.amazon.com/fischertechnik-Creative-Box-Basic-Plu...
And while many of the kits are "you can build this"... the interesting stuff is at https://www.fischertechnik.de/en/simulating - things like Training Factory Industry 4.0 24V with PLC connection board https://www.fischertechnik.de/en/products/simulating/trainin...
If 80/20 is new to you, then you might also be unfamiliar with its steel channeled cousin, Unistrut. https://www.unistrut.us/ Unistrut is used extensively in the US to build support structures for electrical switchgear and process equipment. You can get grades suitable for outdoor and corrosives exposure. Unistrut is the Kleenex term, there are a number of work-alike / fit-alike systems. Then for round tube, there is…
For lighter duty, there is maker pipe: https://makerpipe.com/ . it's nice because the bulk of the system is electrical conduit, which I think is one of the cheapest type of beam/tube available.
There have been pretty serious PVC conduit shortages for the last year or two. In construction projects I've worked on, they've had to uprate to (much more expensive) fibreglass conduit as PVC was simply not available.