Time for some updates!
After thinking a lot about how I should get started on the laser cutter project I have made some progress. In this post I will write about the framing for te cutter and where to get the pieces.
The original project at buildlog.net specifies Misumi extrusions. The only problem is that the European branch of Misumi doesn’t want to sell anything to private persons. neither to resellers. We’ll get back to that in a bit.
finding other companies that sells aluminium extrusions is a somewhere between hard and difficult. There are a few companies in Denmark which distributes the Maytec line of extrusions. A funny note is that both Maytec and Misumi is produced in Germany. I’ve found 80/20 distributors in the UK as well, but haven’t figured out entirely if they will work as a replacement.
Back to the Maytec profiles. They have all that is needed to produce the exact same pieces as the original profiles, however the profiles are not offered in cut lengths meaning that I would have to order the profiles in 6m pieces. Not optimal. Fortunately I work in a company with a very well-equipped machine shop so I could get them to cut the pieces. Corner brackets and T-slot nuts are also available. I’ve made a complete list of what to order here:
| Extrusion | 20*20 | 1.10.020020.43LP |
| 20*40 | 1.10.020040.43LP | |
| Nut | M5 | 1.31.HM5 |
| Angle | 1.46.204.1720.1 | |
| Handle | 1.61.20.2 | |
| Hinge | 1.62.12.12032 |
This list should be equal to the Misumi parts but since I haven’t ordered these parts I can’t know for sure if they will acutally work as a direct replacement. I would order from Walbom A/S. I haven’t contacted them about their pricing for cut lengths but I know that they charge 60DKR/m (which is what Maytec states in their catalogue). In total a price of about 1800DKR (Ex. VAT)
Alright, back to Misumi as I promised. The main reason not to choose Misumi is that they don’t want to deal with private persons. That is really a shame since they offer cut lengths of their profiles. Also, the order numbers are 1 to 1 matches with the original project making ordering very easy. Again I’m very fortunate to have a dad who has a small company so I can order parts through him. I might be violating Misumis terms of service but They get their money and I get my extrusions. From where I see it everybody’s happy.
Fast forward to yesterday. I’ve ordered the parts and have been waiting. then:
Two very clean boxes arrive. UPS delivery was 15€ from Germany. Delivery (and probably the cutting of the profiles) was done from the 19th to the 26th. I ordered friday and got the delivery on thursday so less than a week for custom made parts. Not bad.
Having a closer look at the contents:
Again, very neat wrapping. The different parts are all individually wrapped which supports the thought of the parts being made when I place the order. I think Mismu has some long extrusions (6m is the max length available for ordering) and a computer controlled precision saw. the online order form allows for a cut length with a tolerance of 0.5mm. Also a lot of different options are available when ordering online.
And last, A close look at one of the labels on the parts:
of course the obvious info like what is inside the package and how many pieces but also the company who ordered the package (in this case my dads company name) and the customers order reference number! look for ‘HPN/181-13’. Really nice! I know, probably just a side effect of the internal ordering system but a cool ‘feature’ if I ever was to order parts for multiple projects at the same time.