prefab structures

[Damn True]

Looking for a source for some metal. I need a "tube" that is 12" wide with a radius on both ends.

Pretty much something like this but w/o the internal supports.


Any ideas as to where to find material like that?
Ideally, 10" and 12" wide would be best.

[Matt@RFR]

Unless there's some specialty supplier I'm not aware of, there is no such thing in standard rolled/drawn/extruded shapes. You could have custom aluminum extrusions done, but you better be talking about hundreds of thousands of feet.

What's the height dimension? How long do the pieces need to be? What material?

[Damn True]

Plain old sheet steel. I need a total of about 3'-4' linear feet of the stuff. I'll have to grab an exact measurement, but the height should wind up being about 1 inch.

So 1"x12" (2' worth) and 1"x10" (2' worth) and a simple radius on the ends.

[astroracer]

Agreeing with Matt on this one. The one you pictured is custom made from sheet metal. Bent on a break and then welded up the middle on the top side.
You could do this any number of ways, splitting a thin wall tube and stretching it with sheet metal would be one, but the pictured method is by far the easiest and there isn't a lot of welding to do the job.
Mark

[Damn True]

Cool, that's kinda what I thought.

Wish I still had access to tools to do this kinda stuff. It's times like this when I miss the Coast Guard the most. Having an entire aircraft maintainence facility at your disposal is RAD!

[wiedemab]

I'm not sure, but these guys might have something similar to what you are looking for. It wouldn't be seemless, but it would look basically the same.

http://www.drgas.com/store/home.php?cat=2

[Damn True]

Thanks weid,

actually, the photo I posted is from Dr. Gas's website. I'm not looking for an exhaust and I need the structure/tube w/o the internal supports you see in the Dr. Gas unit.

[Matt@RFR]

Would a profile like this be ok? If yes, I can get it quoted. If no and you need the full radius on the ends, you'll either need to find a press brake with 1"R tooling or someone with a slip roll with rolls smaller than 2" (good luck).

[Damn True]

Let me take some measurements and I'll let you know.

[wiedemab]

My bad. I figured my answer was too simple and that you all knew about Dr. Gas, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

[Camaro Zach]

there is no way you can make that shape out of one piece of steel with a conventional sheet metal brake. Your best bet is to take pre cut pieces (1 top and 1 bottom) to a shop and have them bend them into U's with whatever radius you want and then you take the pieces home and weld the 2 seams on the sides.

[toxicz28]

They do make a structural steel rectangular tube in both 10"x 2" and 12" x 2" weighing in at 14.53 and 17.08 lbs per foot respectively. The only problem is that they both have a minimum wall thickness of 3/16" (.1875"). I'm not sure what you're using it for, it may be too thick or too thin. Call a metal supplier near you that deals with structural steel.

Just a note, my reference book (catalog) is old enough to drink legally in the US, so things might have changed since then.

[Matt@RFR]

No, those sizes are still available, but still a minimum wall of .188". But you bring up a good point, I just assumed True needed something much thinner because of the picture he posted.

It's out there if you can use .188" wall True. Sorry for assuming.

[Damn True]

Less wall thickness would be better, and I do need radius/rounded ends instead of square.

I'll shoot you an email so you know where I'm going with this. Check your email.