Originally Posted by
johnnyhawkins
Hi all, I hope you can help!
I'm planning a router sled currently to flatten some large slabs, I'm thinking of using 20mm aluminum cross-rails within which the router would be attached. My question is with the amount of deflection that might be produced from these rails, I've done some calculations using round bar deflection calculators available online and I'm getting the results out to be around 25/26mm deflection for a 2m long rail.
However, this calculation is for just one rail, whereas the sled would have two, also a "point-load" probably isn't the right term for a router spread over 4 cars on 2 rails...
Also note that I don't necessarily require an exact answer to the calculation, my question is really, would 2 x 2000mm(length) x 20mm(diameter) aluminum rails, clamped at either end, support a 1/2" router plus a few components without a noticeable amount of deflection? I suspect they would sag a little but it's only a guess.
Your help is greatly appreciated!