Strut Aluminium Profile 45×60 mm 4-Slot Column T-Slot Extrusion

OEM / ODM Available Free Sample Available ISO 9001:2015 EN 755-9 RoHS REACH

45 x 60 mm four-slot rectangular T-slot strut aluminium profile in 6063-T5, about 3.3 kg/m, used as a column. Four 8 x 8 mm slots on a 33 mm pitch, M10 slot nuts and a O 12 mm centre bore tapped M14 for end-wise bolting to base and top plates.

Wholesale Price $4.05 - $6.20 / m per m

Material	Aluminium
Alloy Grade	6063-T5
Temper	T5
Section Size	45 x 60 mm
Slot	8 x 8 mm groove, M10 slot nuts, 4 faces, 33 mm pitch
Length	6 m stock, cut to drawing to plus or minus 0.5 mm
Tolerance	EN 755-9 / GB/T 6892, wall plus or minus 0.15 mm
Surface	Mill finish / clear anodised / black anodised
MOQ	400
Lead Time	22-32 days after deposit for mill finish
Loading Port	Qingdao / Shanghai
Supply Ability	350 t per month
Payment Terms	T/T 30% deposit + 70% before shipment \| L/C at sight
Trade Terms	FOB \| CIF \| EXW
Certifications	ISO 9001:2015 \| EN 755-9 \| RoHS \| REACH

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Column section · 45 series

A 45 x 60 four-slot strut profile is a rectangular T-slot aluminium extrusion measuring 45 mm by 60 mm, with four 8 x 8 mm slots on a 33 mm pitch, M10 slot nuts, a O 12 mm centre bore tapped M14, and a weight of about 3.3 kg/m. It is a column section rather than a beam section: its job is to carry a vertical load and hold a frame square, not to span a gap.

The number that governs a column is not its compression area, it is its buckling load. At about 12.2 cm2 of aluminium the section would squash at roughly 200 kN, but a 2 m column with pinned ends buckles at about 54 kN about the 60 mm axis and only about 36 kN about the 45 mm axis. Buckling therefore governs by a factor of more than five, and the weak 45 mm direction is the one that decides the design. A 45 x 60 column is only as strong as the bracing that stops it bending in its narrow direction.

45 x 60 four-slot column section: 45 mm by 60 mm envelope, 33 mm slot pitch, 8 x 8 mm slot grooves taking M10 slot nuts, O 12 mm centre bore tapped M14, about 3.3 kg/m.

A tall narrow section is a column, not a beam

The instinct with any rectangular section is to lay it on edge and treat it as a beam. That is the right instinct for a 40 x 60 cross member and the wrong one for a 45 x 60 column. A column fails in a different way: it is pushed along its own length, and the failure mode is sideways buckling rather than bending between supports.

The consequence is that the two dimensions of a 45 x 60 are not interchangeable in a column. The 60 mm dimension gives about 31 cm4 and the 45 mm dimension about 21 cm4. A column braced in one plane only will always buckle in the other, and on this section that is the 45 mm plane. Sizing the column from the strong axis and forgetting the weak one is the single most common error on this member.

Property	45 x 45 standard	45 x 60, weak axis	45 x 60, strong axis
Envelope	45 x 45 mm	45 x 60 mm	45 x 60 mm
Second moment of area	approx. 15.5 cm4	approx. 21 cm4	approx. 31 cm4
Weight	approx. 2.55 kg/m	approx. 3.3 kg/m	approx. 3.3 kg/m
Euler buckling load, 2 m pinned	approx. 27 kN	approx. 36 kN	approx. 54 kN
Compression area	approx. 9.4 cm2	approx. 12.2 cm2	approx. 12.2 cm2
Squash load, 6063-T5	approx. 160 kN	approx. 200 kN	approx. 200 kN

Buckling, not crushing, sizes the column. At 2 m the section buckles at roughly a quarter of the load that would crush it. Working loads must be taken from the buckling figure and a factor applied on top, never from the squash load. The numbers here are elastic Euler values for a pinned column and are meant for comparison, not as a design certificate.

Compression plus bending in two directions

Most real columns do not carry pure compression. A guard rail, a conveyor thrust, a cantilever arm or an unbalanced load puts a horizontal force into the column, and that force bends it. The design check is then an interaction: the axial load uses part of the capacity and the bending moment uses the rest, and the two are added as ratios.

On a 45 x 60 the interaction is asymmetric in a way that is easy to miss. A horizontal force along the 60 mm direction bends the column about its strong axis and is cheap to resist. The same force along the 45 mm direction bends it about the weak axis and costs roughly 50 per cent more stress for the same load. That is the mechanical reason the column has to be oriented deliberately rather than dropped into the layout.

Axial load: taken on about 12.2 cm2 of aluminium, checked against buckling rather than squash
Bending about the strong axis: about 31 cm4, the direction to arrange horizontal loads into where the layout allows
Bending about the weak axis: about 21 cm4, and the direction that decides most columns
Bracing: a mid-height beam, a diagonal or a panel is worth more to a 45 x 60 column than any increase in wall thickness

Which face goes where

A 45 x 60 has two 60 mm faces and two 45 mm faces, and each face carries one slot on the 33 mm pitch. Which face points outwards is a design decision with three consequences: what can be mounted on it, which way the bolts go in, and which axis the frame’s horizontal loads bend.

The 60 mm face: mounting and bendingThe wide face is the one to point at the load. A bracket, a panel block or a hinge mounted on a 60 mm face has more material around the fixing and pulls on the strong axis. Point the 60 mm faces at whatever pushes the frame sideways.

The 45 mm face: beams and bracingThe narrow face is where the horizontal members arrive. A 45 x 45 beam butts cleanly against a 45 mm column face with no overhang, and a beam bolted across the narrow direction is also acting as the brace that stops the weak axis buckling.

The end face: the tapped boreThe O 12 mm centre bore runs along the length of the extrusion, so it is tapped at the top and bottom of a column, not on the sides. A column is bolted endwise to a base plate or a top plate through that bore, or through the four slots for a side-mounted foot or levelling foot.

Mixing a 45 x 60 column with 45 x 45 beams

Decide the column orientation before the layout Mark the 60 mm faces on the drawing as the faces that take the horizontal loads. Every later decision, panel position, bracket type and bolt direction, follows from that choice, and reversing it after the cut list is written means new drawings.
Set the frame out on the 33 mm module The column and the beam share the 33 mm slot pitch and the M10 slot class, so M10 slot nuts and angle brackets work on both. Keep the frame grid on the 33 mm module and the beam slots will line up with the column slots without a single drilled hole.
Detail the beam-to-column joint to the column face A 45 x 45 beam against a 45 mm column face needs no plate overhang, which is why the narrow face is the natural one for beams. Against a 60 mm face the beam leaves a 15 mm strip of column showing on one side, which is acceptable but should be intended.
Brace the weak axis with the beams themselves A horizontal beam bolted to the 45 mm face at mid-height shortens the column’s buckling length in the weak direction. Where a frame has a mid rail, it is already doing structural work; where it does not, the column is 45 x 60 for nothing.
Keep the foot detail separate from the column slot Columns carry compression and bending into the floor, so the foot is usually a base plate bolted through the end bore rather than a slot-mounted foot. Slot-mounted feet are for frames that only have to sit flat.

Automation cell frame using 45 x 60 column sections with horizontal 45 x 45 beams as weak axis bracing — 45 x 60 columns in service: the column carries the vertical load and the horizontal members brace it in its narrow direction, which is what actually sets the capacity.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use 45 x 60 as a beam instead of a column?

You can, and on edge it gives about 31 cm4, which is respectable. But if the member spans rather than carries, a 45 x 60 laid as a beam should be compared against a deeper section first, because depth buys stiffness far more cheaply than width.

What load can a 45 x 60 column carry?

At 2 m with pinned ends the elastic buckling load is about 54 kN about the 60 mm axis and about 36 kN about the 45 mm axis. Design loads must come from the weak axis figure with a factor applied. Send the height and the bracing arrangement and we will confirm.

Why is the weak axis so important?

Because a column fails by buckling sideways, not by crushing. The 45 mm direction is about 50 per cent less stiff than the 60 mm direction, so it always governs unless it is braced. A mid-height beam or a panel usually fixes it at no extra material cost.

Do 45 x 60 and 45 x 45 share accessories?

Yes. Both sit on the 33 mm slot pitch and use M10 slot nuts and the same O 12 mm centre bore, so nuts, brackets, plates and feet interchange. Only the end face dimensions differ, which affects the plate or bracket chosen at a joint.

Can you supply it cut, tapped and machined to a drawing?

Yes. We cut to plus or minus 0.5 mm, deburr, tap the O 12 mm centre bores at the column ends, drill and counterbore to drawing, and supply mill finish, clear or black anodised, bagged by assembly.

Send the column height and the bracing, we will check the weak axis

Tell us the column height, the bracing arrangement and the horizontal loads. We will check buckling on the 45 mm axis, confirm which face should point at the load, then quote the columns and the matching 45 x 45 beams cut, end faced, tapped and bagged by assembly with FOB pricing.

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