Having looked at the price of UHMW sheet I think that route is not feasible, as it would seem to increase the budget of the entire project by about 200%. However, I think that the general idea is sound, and that guides made of ~25mm ply, with UHMW friction surfaces would work well. Thanks.
Roller guide for foldaway bed
- Thread starter typonaut
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Having looked at the price of UHMW sheet I think that route is not feasible, as it would seem to increase the budget of the entire project by about 200%. However, I think that the general idea is sound, and that guides made of ~25mm ply, with UHMW friction surfaces would work well. Thanks.
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I think my final solution would be to get a cheap fold down bed mechanism mounted to the back of your bed frame.
I would remanufacture the desk to roll out of the way, and the bed could fold down to resemble a standard bunk bed.
Although we do not know how regularly you want to use this spare bed. There is a compromise between effort of preparing the bed and cost that only you can judge!
I would remanufacture the desk to roll out of the way, and the bed could fold down to resemble a standard bunk bed.
Although we do not know how regularly you want to use this spare bed. There is a compromise between effort of preparing the bed and cost that only you can judge!
Any standard memory foam mattress will do this.
D
Deleted member 174758
I don't recall saying buy a sheet - at one time we had a business where part of our income was derived in part from CNC machining of UHMW plastic (a side line from our main work of timber products), which we bought in full sheets (3000 x 1500 x 25 or 50mm thick) and it wasn't cheap then, especially the graphite-impregnated variety used on one repeat job we did. However, the people who sell it (and the same goes for the people who sell other industrial plastics such as Delrin, phenolic, PU, etc) always have an offcuts "box" which is generally a lot cheaper way to get trial pieces, etc. A regular job was replacement slide bearings for compactor bodies in refuse disposal trucks - some of them slide on four 3 x 2in L-shaped UHMW-1000 low friction bearings which carry about 12 tonnes and last about 2 years.
Maybe I was lucky - within twelve miles of where I live we have two major suppliers of UHMW plastics - Perplas (now Orthoplastics) and Quadrant (now Mitsubishi Chemical).
UHMW is ideal for either machining the tight bends, used in conjunction with steel tracks, or for making the followers used in a metal track. It wears well, and is self-lubricating. The one downside is that it generally has to be fixed mechanically (i.e screws, bolts, rivets, etc) because glues tend to give an unreliable bond
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Let’s put it another way, it is a lot more expensive than ply. Ply will give the required strength, the UHMW in a thin strip, will give the friction resistance. I had quick look online, people were quoting over £400 for 300*300mm sheets 50mm thick. The track is going to run the best part of a metre and a half, in a curve, so a fair amount of material would be required… x2.
But, like I said above, generally a good solution, and doesn’t require too much engineering.
Fair call. My customer's one allows items up to 30cm tall.
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Does the bedding face the wall or the room?
is it under or over the desk when in bed mode?
is it under or over the desk when in bed mode?
When in “storage” mode the “top” (mattress) faces the room. I wouldn’t expect the bed to be made up when in storage (might happen occasionally, but usually not). When in use the bed would be under the desk, probably about half protruding.
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So half the mattress is not useable?
No, the entire mattress would be usable, even if it were fully beneath the desk, because it is much lower than the desk. I would expect there to be ~400mm between the upper surface of the mattress and the desk. Not much, so half extends out to give a bit more room – perhaps that needs to be more…
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