Chassis Material preferences

[MrBreeze]

Planning for a 5F2A build.  Looking at available chassis.  There is steel with chrome plating (18ga) or a stainless steel polished (16ga) available.  Im thinking which ever looks better is what I want but want some opinions.

[rake]

Will you have to do any mods to the chassis? Stainless eats drill bits for breakfast. 

[MrBreeze]

Was thinking of possibly modifying the power cord connection to use an EIC computer receptacle so the cord is removable.

[uki]

Aluminum is a very easy to work with, it is possible to easily bend and drill. Very good conductive!

[scstill]

these are highly recommended
https://enclosurehub.com/collections/hammond-enclosures/products/aluminum-chassis-1444-series-aluminum-body-walnut-side-option

[HotBluePlates]

... Looking at available chassis.  There is steel with chrome plating (18ga) or a stainless steel polished (16ga) available.  Im thinking which ever looks better is what I want but want some opinions.

Steel is strongest, and looks the best over the longest time.

But steel is hard to drill/modify if you need to change things.  Aluminum is easy to drill, file, etc.


Better have all your ducks in a row if you go with steel, or have good tooling available.

[DummyLoad]

Cutting a chromed plated steel chassis can potentially cause the chrome to blue, it is harder to cut, needs lubrication when cutting for clean cuts. Aluminum is easier to work with, aluminum alloys are better conductors, however steel offers better EMI shielding overall.

Tit-4-tat - Buy what'll work for your application/use, but more importantly, what's available.    


--Pete

[MrBreeze]

I was only looking at chassis that were printed and pre-punched for the 5F2A instead of a blank chassis.  Haven't found any aluminum 5F2A chassis.  Between the chrome plated and stainless, in the long run it seems stainless would be the sturdiest, longest lasting and no need to worry about chrome flaking off.  I understand it would be the hardest to modify though.

Looked a what it would take to revise the standard power cord hole to an IEC receptacle.  I like the idea of using the Hoffman receptacle that needs a 1.06 x 1.22 inch rectangular hole.  I contacted a local metal fabricator and he said you could fairly easily use a Dremel cut off wheel to cut thru 16 ga stainless for a rectangular hole.  I'd use cobalt drill bit for the two attachment holes.   Does this seem reasonable?

[DummyLoad]

TiN bits work as well. The Dremel tool will work fine on stainless. Aluminum 5F2 chassis are available, just not with a North American. 

5F2 Aluminum Chassis




--Pete

[PRR]

...aluminum alloys are better conductors....

No. Well, yes, you are right, but in the thickness you need to survive throwing the amp in the van either/any metal is a "perfect conductor" for our purposes.

[MrBreeze]

...aluminum alloys are better conductors....

No. Well, yes, you are right, but in the thickness you need to survive throwing the amp in the van either/any metal is a "perfect conductor" for our purposes.

PRR and DummyLoad are you talking about electrical conductivity as a ground or thermal conductivity as a heat sink?

[sluckey]

They are talking about electrical properties.