I came >< that close to buying extrusions to make heavily machined cylinders 12" OD x 10" ID with an array of axial holes.
At that time, 30 years ago, the biggest extrusion press in the world was in Arkansas and could make a part no larger than 13" diameter directly. (Wider flattish parts could be extruded in circular form and then flattened.) So we could get the parts made by that source, and maybe a couple of others.
The minimum buy was 5000 lb. of product, which was about as much as we needed, so it would have been worthwhile to fire up the press and prepare the billet.
The tooling was surprisingly inexpensive; in our case about equivalent to the cost of making a half dozen or so of our parts from billet.
In the particular case at hand, the total cost of the lot of parts we needed came out within a few pct of continuing to machine them from billet, so the boss elected to not try something that was new to us.
I'm currently working on a boring machine. I want the machine to be enclosed by aluminum tslotted extrusion with clear polycarbonate panels. The main purpose of the panel is to contain lubricant fluids. As far as issues go, I am referring to strength, vibration, and cost. Any experience here?
You can get extruded aluminum in fairly high grades/strength if it's heat treated after extrusion so that shouldn't be much of an issue as long as you pick your extrusion carefully.
I personally would want the interior of the enclosure to not have cavities or horizontal surfaces that could trap chips, making it harder to clean the machine. ... i.e., t-slots.
In my past I have worked alot with the extruded aluminum you speak of. The cost of the extrusion is minimal, with that said the significant cost is the fastening systems provided by the extrusion company. I.e. the gussetts and T-bolts. Also as stated previously be aware of chip accumulation inside the guarding and note that hot chips will melt clear polycarbonate panels if they stay in contact with the material for any length of time. Good Luck
