Aluminium vs GRP for console and bench seat etc

[Takson]

I am in the process of buying my first project rib. It needs a new floor, and I am planning on changing the layout.

I like the look of some of the more industrial or military style consoles, and have experience of fabrication in both steel and aluminium.

I am considering making my own console and seats etc for it.

Apart from potential higher cost of materials and time taken to fabricate, are there other factors I need to consider, like earthing or corrosion etc?

[GuyC]

There certainly no reason not to build a console out of aluminium.

I'd suggest using marine grade aluminium - 5083 for plate and 6082 for extrusions.

Use Duralac or similar when bolting stuff to it.

If you have any GPS receivers, you'll need an external antenna as the aluminium will block the signal.

You could consider anodising the whole thing.

[jeffstevens763@g]

i had these ali bases made for my suspension seats powder coated no earth bonding just sat on sikaflex with ss screws insulated with sikaflex no issues. i couldnt find a glass fiber base to suit my needs so this was the way to go the beauty is you can have just what you want. the only thing to watch is you have a good clean radius on all edges so the coating adhere's i also ground the welds back too for the same reason

[Takson]

Thank you very much for the replies. Very useful information from both.

[Takson]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

i had these ali bases made for my suspension seats powder coated no earth bonding just sat on sikaflex with ss screws insulated with sikaflex no issues. i couldnt find a glass fiber base to suit my needs so this was the way to go the beauty is you can have just what you want. the only thing to watch is you have a good clean radius on all edges so the coating adhere's i also ground the welds back too for the same reason

Those look great, btw.

[GuyC]

You could vinyl wrap if you don't want to paint.

Agreed that the bases look very nice.

[kalin]

What thickness is best for console building

[GuyC]

3mm is probably a good compromise between weight and robustness. I'd suggest putting a vertical stiffener in every 500mm or so. You will probably be putting horizontal stiffening in to support shelves which will break up the panel size. You can glue stiffeners in if you use Sika 292i or similar although I've put bolts through the ends to reduce the risk of peeling. Glueing helps to reduce the distortion caused due to welding.

I haven't done any calculations to support what I've said above. It just seemed about right.

[Takson]

Thank you. That was going to be my next question too.

[jeffstevens763@g]

My bases were 5mm for info