Arjan Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 It never ever ceases to amaze me what sort of knowledge & skills are around on this forum... I may come with this kind of question for my roof 0 however, that is to be horizontally lifted - not hinged.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocklandjohn Posted April 1, 2019 Author Share Posted April 1, 2019 12 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: What about 2020 aluminium extrusion or similar, tonnes of that being used in 3D printers (google makerslide for examples), much lighter and you can get all the bearings, brackets, etc. to match it. KJN do Rexroth and "almost" rexroth in a variety of sizes mail-order cut to length, it's surprisingly strong (and has well defined specs so you can work it out properly). Just had a look - wow - what a flexible material. One thing not immediately obvious (to me) from looking at various videos - so far all the wheels running on the tracks are in the horizontal plane, is it possible to reorientate to the vertical? Or is the load bearing capacity so high that the H orientation has the capability (depending on wheel type?)? I found ASL (Amber Spyglass) who stock it but unhelpfully they don't have images of much of the stuff they sell so really hard to figure it out 'visually'. Any idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocklandjohn Posted April 25, 2019 Author Share Posted April 25, 2019 Right, after a lot of contemplating and considering the various options I've come back to a straight lift, with a longer actuator - 800mm right at the rear. Mainly because its 'easier' in that once I've messed about cutting holes it should fit and work, whereas the alternatives I've considered above require far more careful engineering and fabrication, which I'm not set up to do (current work is being done on a pair of dustbins!). Assuming that the actuator will actually fit in the space I have available and the 800mm size can cope with the weight, can anyone well versed in physics give me a steer on weight calculations. Existing lifting section of the roof is just over 100 lbs. The additional hard sides and rear end I'm adding are coming in at 100 to 120lbs. So it looks like the combined roof/sides are in region of 250 lbs max. Am I right that with the hinge at one end the lift required is halved? So with two actuators it'll be halved again for each actuator's force requirement? I'm assuming that with the actuator on a pivoting bracket at each end the force-loading when the actuator is starting vertical and finishing about 4 or 5 inchs off the vertical axis is still going to be within their capabilities? So would a pair of 1000 Newton actuators be ok, or do I need to go to the next size up which appear to be 3000 Newtons? Here's what I'm contemplating and also where I'm at with the construction: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocklandjohn Posted April 25, 2019 Author Share Posted April 25, 2019 PS - I'll be putting a full explanation of the construction and all the messing about on the original build thread for the roof so its all in the one place, with lots of pictures, well except for pictures of the 10 foot sheets that unfortunately 'escaped' from the pallet I built on the roof to bring them back from Glasgow. Despite my meticulous planning the wind got under the middle and lifted causing the front edge to escape pulling off the second wooden cross strap holding them down and the three sheets folded over 3/4 of the way to the back at the next cross strap and ended up banging on the road behind me (A82 Gt Western Road!)!! A hasty reattachment was required and taking photos was low on the list of priorities! The wind was blowing, the sheets were so buckled I could not get them back onto the pallet so had to dismantle and rebuild it on the verge with the sheets turned over. (Then I had to go back and buy another three sheets!) The ally suppliers were very amused when I went back, but having watched me spend 30 minutes screwing it all down on the roof before I left them were surprised I was so unfortunate! Guy who helped me said a few days earlier a lad turned up to collect an 8x4 ft 3mm ally sheet, with a Nissan Micra, they watched him put it on the roof, windows open, and several bungees wrapped over it. He was intending going 60 miles with it! They refused to let him leave the premises with it, and he was really Mildly miffed off! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger110 Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 The little mishaps are what make the journey to the finished product so memorable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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