sheet alum build, keep sheet or cut strips

[2cent]

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?

 

[OSBuds]

mill them

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?

 

[2cent]

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 .

 

[unkibunki]

Don't cut any holes in the the sheet. More mass, better heat sink.

 

[Hollatchaboy]

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.

 

[Rocket Soul]

Don't cut any holes in the the sheet. More mass, better heat sink.

I agree, the less you cut away the better but I'd defo do some holes for air movement. You don't have to mill the entire space between 2 strips to achieve what you want.

 

[2cent]

I agree, the less you cut away the better but I'd defo do some holes for air movement. You don't have to mill the entire space between 2 strips to achieve what you want.

Done was fun. Another 2 pannelz to go woo