Aluminum enclosure

[DS12]

I noticed on the Skytrak site they have a $4k enclosure made out of the square aluminum tubes. I like the idea of an aluminum enclosure due to it being lightweight to move easier, but would you be sacrificing a significant amount of strength just for a little bit of weight savings? I would not buy the Skytrak version because I think the price is excessive, but was curious on everyone's take on using aluminum. I'm guessing there's a reason a lot of enclosures use/recommend steel.

[Kmurray]

I am planning on modding my 33 mm steel tube cage to stiffen it up at little and remove a small amount of sag in the span of the length. My plan is to use aluminium tube to reinforce the roof area and pole mounted projector structure.. I think it is a great idea to use aluminium box or rectangular sections in larger enclosures because they will always be stiffer than tube with corresponding wall thicknesses.I think that steel tube is more readily available to non commercial users which is why steel is more common. Fittings to achieve the angles required in an enclosure are easily available in steel tube diameters , I haven't seen equivalents in box or rectangular sections available where I am in Europe. Aluminium is also lighter per meter length so benefits would be in shipping costs and for my specific install, reduce the weight of the pole mount ,which can help reduce sag when mounting a heavy projector.

Good spot...perhaps we will see more rectangular or square connection fittings on the market in the future....

[petroche]

In my experience, if you take an aluminum box section and a steel box section of exactly the same size then the aluminum will deflect (sag) considerably more than the steel. If you are replacing a steel round section (pipe or EMT) with a square aluminum section you may be ok. I would check it out before committing.

[Jay28]

I decided against a metal frame and built one with 2x4 wood. Very rigid as long as you use enough cross beams on the sides and top.
Also makes it easy to add panelling.

[DS12]

My initial thought with the aluminum was to use that for easier mobility or tear down and assembly because of its lighter weight. I am not planning a huge cage like the one on the Skytrak site.

[jasonreg]

I decided against a metal frame and built one with 2x4 wood. Very rigid as long as you use enough cross beams on the sides and top.
Also makes it easy to add panelling.

I used wood as well. Working really well.

[bogey]

I built my 10x10 enclosure out of EMT conduit. With the screen and net mounted, it is still really easy and light to move around, even by myself. Also, super cheap to make!