Homemade 1.5mm aluminum case?

[buLL]

Hey guys.

Me and other people from Brazil are trying to design a case, but the problem is, it is very difficult to find metal shops in Brazil that do prototypes for small quantity orders.

So I was wondering, is there a way of dealing with 1.5mm aluminum at home? The cutting is propably harder, but we have plenty of shops that do aluminum laser cutting here, so thats no problem. The hard part is finding one that do the bendings and assembly at a cheap price.

Is there a cheap and easy way to bend 1.5mm aluminum at home, with some accuracy? If yes, could you send me a tutorial?

Thanks

 

[zovc]

I don't have any tutorials handy, but are you able to get your hands on anything like steel fabricated with a 90 degree bend in it?

A long and sturdy enough piece of steel should be able to function as a template/guide for you to gently hammer a pretty accurate bend. If you're only looking for 90 degree bends, that should at least work well enough for prototyping.

 

[buLL]

I don't have any tutorials handy, but are you able to get your hands on anything like steel fabricated with a 90 degree bend in it?

A long and sturdy enough piece of steel should be able to function as a template/guide for you to gently hammer a pretty accurate bend. If you're only looking for 90 degree bends, that should at least work well enough for prototyping.

Thats a good idea, I didnt think on that, thanks man. If someone has other tips, feel free to post it

 

[Karamazovmm]

Now that's one thing that I would like to see!

Show us the way man!

 

[Josh | NFC]

What's your budget? And how long of a bend do you need?

Hammering aluminum does not work great, and you can't heat it before bending unlike steel.

I would recommend switching to mild steel 1.29mm thick and then you can bang on it all you want. If you want to spend about $300 you can find a small brake which can maybe do a fold about 5" long transverse with some accuracy for 1.5mm aluminum, but you will probably want to mod the dies by welding some stainless rod across them. But doesn't hurt to try first.

 

[buLL]

What's your budget? And how long of a bend do you need?

Hammering aluminum does not work great, and you can't heat it before bending unlike steel.

I would recommend switching to mild steel 1.29mm thick and then you can bang on it all you want. If you want to spend about $300 you can find a small brake which can maybe do a fold about 5" long transverse with some accuracy for 1.5mm aluminum, but you will probably want to mod the dies by welding some stainless rod across them. But doesn't hurt to try first.

Nice, good tip Josh. My budget is about 300 dollars, but with all included (sheets, laser cut, and bending). Its actually a very simple case (https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/extremely-cheap-and-simple-tiny-lp-case-3-9l.1751/). Only need the bending to screw all parts of the case together. I just mentioned aluminum cause its the most common metal used in cases, but any type of metal would work.

 

[Josh | NFC]

Oh ok neato. Yeah, I'd go with steel. It is very easy to work with, cuts well, you get a couple "do overs" and it is cheaper than AL (some exceptions). Plus your laser people will love you as it cuts much faster and cleaner than aluminum and you can use a less powerful machine--so it should be cheaper to cut.

Peace!

 

[buLL]

Oh ok neato. Yeah, I'd go with steel. It is very easy to work with, cuts well, you get a couple "do overs" and it is cheaper than AL (some exceptions). Plus your laser people will love you as it cuts much faster and cleaner than aluminum and you can use a less powerful machine--so it should be cheaper to cut.

Peace!

Awesome, thanks a lot bro!