“I have used this material in other applications and it is industrial caliber, strong and versatile. I can attest it holds up for years of use.”
— Jon Heller from San Diego
“This is one of those “why didn’t we think of this before” things. It looks like you are using the 80/20 system. I’ve encountered it in my past mechanical engineering work; but never had a project it was suitable for. So I never learned the system and all it’s capabilities and hardware variations. Looks like you did and discovered something.
Now the rest of you guys may thing the way I’m “gushing” over Dennis’s offerings because he’s a friend or business associate or I owe him some big favor. I’m none of that. Never heard of Dennis before I saw his video.
I’m a retired BSME and for 40 years and engineering mechanical precision was my bread and butter...
This product line of extruded aluminum structural components for building custom machinery structures was created and went to market some 20 odd years ago. 80/20 is the best of the best. It is not cheap. The structures are as good mechanically as welded steel, are lighter, disassemble easier and don’t require a full metal fabrication shop with a paint booth. IMHO it is superior to unistrut steel benchwork systems. It does have some imitators that picked up on the expiration of the original patents and are probably cheaper and less versatile. I’ll leave it to Dennis if he wants to comment on relative costs.
My take is we in model railroading mostly grew up with the idea that we bought our train models and the track and them built our layouts out of stuff you buy at the hardware store/lumber yard. Usually that part was supposed to be as cheap as possible so we could afford more trains. So we grow up, get good jobs and now can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars a year on a hobby that has become a big part of our lives. We live in quarter million dollar homes, buy $2000 pieces of furniture and still scrounge up the cheapest materials for building our layouts. And curse their shortcomings. Including the problems with trackwork that needs to be precise; but isn’t because of crappy foundations.
I will suggest this: Work with Dennis.
I hope he can make a venture out of this that will motivate him to stay with it. The 80/20 system is complex and requires some decent engineering design knowledge to use effectively and economically. You can prowl eBay and try to score some pieces and do it yourself. But experience with the stuff and the ability to buy material in quantity, like Dennis should, won’t come cheaply.
Personally I feel that a primo lift gate or cassette system for a layout is worth more than a pile of brass locos that sit in the roundhouse or in a box on the shelf. Besides, the 80/20 structures have a certain industrial/modern decorator chic to them. That’s got to be worth something to the home architectural/capital expense committee.”