iFarted 80/20 pin sink fixture

IFARTED

IFARTED

Well-Known Member
I am throwing around ideas in my head for ideas on how I can make a simple clean pin sink fixture i decided to go with a 80/20 extruded aluminum because I already had it and also it makes building a frame simple but what I would like to do is make a frame using this material then make a top and bottom cover with machined openings similar to pacific light. I saw videos on growmau5 machined bracket plates and also saw the new fixtures that pacific was doing with the pin sinks and wanted to combine the two great ideas. I only have plans to do a 2 cob fixture as I want to keep it very simple and also I don't have many pieces of 80/20 around so I'm going to make use of what I have. I could order more but I'm a big fan of just 2 cob look and this would be more of a veg light in a small space. I have the idea to use 1/8 thick aluminum sheet on the top and bottom and use the same material to cap off the ends as well. Also add a potentiometer and plug input. So far no ideas are for sure but this is the direction I plan to take. I really feel the 80/20 stuff will take diy to the next level as they make all kinds of shit with this stuff already why not try it with pin sinks. I also noticed growmau5 is building a epic light fixture already and I'm excited to see what great new ideas he has using 80/20. This will be a slow build as I'm still in the process of getting all the parts I need.


Here are pics when I first setup this small coral tank years ago before this stuff was used for aquarium stands. It had removable pannels to get to the sump and the complete setup was very custom. Basically saw this stuff being used in another application and said why not try it as a aquarium stand at this time they were limited on accessories and brackets so a lot of it needed to be machined for the hardware to fit unless you wanted to pay them to do it and didn't just bolt right up like it is now it wasn't hard just a pain. I also noticed the price of this stuff seem to have also gone up over the years you would think it would go down in price as it seem to grow in popularity but I'm guessing there are only a couple companies selling this shit so they can charge whatever they want.




 
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sixstring2112

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
sweet,i bet @Growmau5 can throw some ideas at this project.your last build shoulda been blueprinted and massed prduced imo,top of the line work.and i still crack the fuck up every time i read your screen name lol
 
Growmau5

Growmau5

Well-Known Member
holy shit dude, I didnt know you were "this guy"! your 80/20 stand photo is all over the reef blogs and forums, thousands of reposts of this image (above). Thats ur work?

You only need 2 brackets? to get started.

I can't get time on the water jet machine until June 22nd. That is the soonest reservation I could make for a half day, since I share the machine with dozens of other members at the makers space. But Like I mentioned in our private message, Ill be doing a run of at least 70 brackets: 5052 alum, 0.063 thick (0.40 is way to floppy). RIU people will get first dibs. I dont know if I will be able to afford to give them away for free, but if everyone who wanted them was willing to pay shipping and a couple bucks per bracket, I could swing that.

I like what you are doing here & I am excited to see what you come up with, especially after seeing how incredible your last build turned out. cheers
 
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IFARTED

IFARTED

Well-Known Member
Growmau5 said:
holy shit dude, I didnt know you were "this guy"! your 80/20 stand photo is all over the reef blogs and forums, thousands of reposts of this image (above). Thats ur work?

You only need 2 brackets? to get started.

I can't get time on the water jet machine until June 22nd. That is the soonest reservation I could make for a half day, since I share the machine with dozens of other members at the makers space. But Like I mentioned in our private message, Ill be doing a run of at least 70 brackets: 5052 alum, 0.063 thick (0.40 is way to floppy). RIU people will get first dibs. I dont know if I will be able to afford to give them away for free, but if everyone who wanted them was willing to pay shipping and a couple bucks per bracket, I could swing that.

I like what you are doing here & I am excited to see what you come up with, especially after seeing how incredible your last build turned out. cheers
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Yes that's me I was heavy duty in the reef hobby for years or custom modern style aquariums in general. I have done other bad ass aquariums as well. I've kinda slowed down I got into other things. I can't afford to get into to many hobbies at one time lol.

Yes I actually only need 2 brackets to get started lol. The end caps will be alum plate drilled and the top and bottom is plate as well and the pin sinks will be mounted to the top plate using a small .25 or .5 inch alum angle that will be mounted on the inside of the plate so it's not as noticeable. Then on the bottom it will be a plate as well just have 2 large openings for the reflector. Plates will be held down with simple t-nuts and screws. The driver and potentiometer etc will be screwed down on the plate itself as well. Super simple the only thing that may be a challenge is cutting the circle pockets for the openings but that's about it. Very simple and sleek. So yea 2 pieces lol
 
IFARTED

IFARTED

Well-Known Member

140mm pin sinks because I'm going passive cool.

1.5 inch angle


Better view of bracket used with "clip in" t-nuts
I decided to use the clip in type with a spring hold down because I used the other non spring type and they just slide around and piss you off. This type allows sliding but has the spring feature that only moves when pushed.



Mounted using corner cube type holder that is keyed I had to machine down the top and bottom keys as I have plans to put a top and bottom plate.

This is where it's at so far...more to come
 
IFARTED

IFARTED

Well-Known Member
ReddEyez said:
Man that is going to be nice! Thank you for sharing, great job.
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Yup I hope so I'm kinda throwing around ideas in my head...to cover ..not to cover. I'm worried about driver heat. If I do cover I'm going to need to add vent slots for sure. I may still cover it but leave the driver on the outside? I'm going to ponder this for a couple days. The reason I wanted to cover it was to hide everything wires etc..maybe driver on outside and add a junction box
 
Greengenes707

Greengenes707

Well-Known Member
IFARTED said:
Yup I hope so I'm kinda throwing around ideas in my head...to cover ..not to cover. I'm worried about driver heat. If I do cover I'm going to need to add vent slots for sure. I may still cover it but leave the driver on the outside? I'm going to ponder this for a couple days. The reason I wanted to cover it was to hide everything wires etc..maybe driver on outside and add a junction box
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What driver?
 
IFARTED

IFARTED

Well-Known Member
Decided I'll probably stick to what's planned but I will make a cutout on the top and bottom of the driver the label will be seen but that's not a big deal. It will sit almost flush on both top and bottom. I was going to add a bunch of slots it but i felt if it was completely open it would be better. My priority is longterm functionality then looks but looks being very close 2nd. I highly recommend this 80/20 stuff so much flexibility and super clean and if you don't have access to a saw everything can be cut or pre machined when you buy it. If you want to expand you can just bolt up additional lights. It even comes in black! :hump:
 
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Malocan

Malocan

Well-Known Member
IFARTED said:
Thanks it's turning out much better than I thought. I'm happy I had that extra 80/20 stuff around still.
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Hello IFARTED,
pretty nice work, so clean. I would like to know how you made this cutouts in the bottom and top cover :confused: you have a cnc router ?
 
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