Data Centers
Build Faster. Adapt Easier. Scale Smarter with Aluminum.
The rapid expansion of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure is placing new demands on data center design and construction. Speed to deployment matters. So do flexibility, scalability, reliability, and the ability to modify infrastructure as technology and capacity requirements change.
Bonnell Aluminum provides aluminum extrusion solutions for data center construction and infrastructure, including custom aluminum extrusions and TSLOTS modular T-slotted aluminum framing systems that help contractors, engineers, integrators, and data center operators build adaptable infrastructure quickly and efficiently.
From equipment framing and barriers to workstations, shelving, partitions, enclosures, and aisle containment systems, aluminum provides a lightweight, durable, corrosion-resistant alternative for applications throughout today's data center environment.
Why Aluminum for Data Center Construction?
Data centers are rarely static environments. Equipment changes. Capacity expands. Cooling strategies evolve. New technology requires different configurations.
Traditional welded structures can make those changes difficult, time-consuming, and expensive.
Modular aluminum framing provides a different approach.
T-slotted aluminum extrusion systems can be assembled, modified, expanded, relocated, and repurposed as requirements change—without the welding, grinding, and painting associated with conventional fabricated steel structures.
For data center builders and operators, that means:
- Faster assembly and installation
- Lightweight structural framing
- No welding or grinding required
- Reduced need for field fabrication
- Corrosion-resistant aluminum construction
- Easy modification and expansion
- Reusable structural components
- Reduced downtime during reconfiguration
- Greater flexibility as infrastructure requirements evolve
TSLOTS: Modular Aluminum Framing Built for Change
TSLOTS by Bonnell Aluminum provides a versatile T-slotted aluminum extrusion system designed for applications where flexibility and speed matter.
The concept is remarkably simple: aluminum extrusion profiles are connected using T-nuts, fasteners, brackets, and other components. Structures can be assembled using common hand tools rather than welding.
More importantly, the same structure can later be changed.
Frames can be expanded. Components can be repositioned. Sections can be removed. Existing material can be repurposed into an entirely different configuration.
For rapidly evolving data center environments, that flexibility can provide significant long-term value.
Data Center Applications for T-Slotted Aluminum
TSLOTS structural aluminum framing can be configured for a wide range of data center infrastructure applications, including:
Hot-Aisle and Cold-Aisle Containment
Create customized containment framing designed around the dimensions and operating requirements of the facility. Modular construction allows containment systems to be adjusted as racks, cooling systems, or layouts change.
Partitions and Barriers
Build lightweight partitions, equipment barriers, and separation systems without permanent welded construction.
Equipment Enclosures
Create custom aluminum framing around equipment while maintaining the ability to access, modify, or expand the enclosure later.
Equipment and Control Stands
Design structural frames and stands around the specific dimensions of controls, monitors, electrical equipment, or other data center infrastructure.
Workstations
Configure technical workstations around specific workflows and equipment requirements, then modify them as operational needs change.
Shelving and Storage
Create customized shelving, racks, and material storage systems that can be expanded or reconfigured rather than replaced.
Equipment Support Structures
Develop custom framing for specialized data center equipment where standard off-the-shelf structures may not meet dimensional or functional requirements.
Designed for Faster Data Center Builds
Speed matters during data center construction.
TSLOTS eliminates several steps associated with traditional welded structural fabrication. Components can be cut to size and assembled with mechanical fasteners, eliminating the need for welding, grinding, and painting.
That can help contractors and integrators:
- Reduce fabrication time
- Simplify on-site assembly
- Make field modifications more easily
- Reduce specialized labor requirements
- Respond faster to design changes
- Accelerate installation schedules
When specifications change during a build, modular framing can also be adjusted without starting over.
Built to Adapt After Construction
The advantages of modular aluminum construction continue long after commissioning.
Data centers constantly evolve as computing density, cooling technology, power requirements, automation, and equipment configurations change.
A welded frame was built for yesterday's requirement.
A modular T-slotted aluminum frame can change with tomorrow's.
TSLOTS structures can be disassembled, repositioned, expanded, or repurposed using many of the same components.
That adaptability can help reduce:
- Replacement costs
- Construction waste
- Facility downtime
- Modification time
- Future capital requirements
Instead of replacing an entire structure when requirements change, operators may be able to modify what they already have.
From Standard Profiles to Custom Aluminum Extrusions
Not every data center requirement can be solved with an off-the-shelf profile.
That's where the relationship between TSLOTS and Bonnell Aluminum becomes particularly valuable.
Bonnell is an aluminum extruder - not simply a reseller of structural framing components. That gives customers access to both an extensive selection of existing TSLOTS profiles and the ability to develop custom aluminum extrusions for specialized data center applications.
If an existing profile doesn't solve the problem, Bonnell can work with customers to explore a custom aluminum solution.
This creates a broader range of possibilities for engineers and data center designers looking to optimize:
- Structural performance
- Weight
- Component integration
- Assembly
- Cable and equipment management
- Space utilization
- Manufacturing efficiency
- Long-term adaptability
Vertical Integration from the Extruder
One of the most significant differences between TSLOTS and many modular framing systems is where the aluminum comes from.
TSLOTS is manufactured by Bonnell Aluminum.
Bonnell's vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities provide greater control over the process from aluminum extrusion through fabrication, finishing, packaging, and delivery.
For data center projects, vertical integration can provide important advantages:
- Greater control over extrusion quality
- Consistent profiles and finishes
- Access to both standard and custom shapes
- Reduced dependence on outside extrusion suppliers
- Greater manufacturing flexibility
- More responsive production
- Streamlined project fulfillment
For large-scale or repeat data center construction programs, that manufacturing control can become particularly important.
Design Before You Build
Modularity starts with good design.
TSLOTS' TBUILD™ web-based design software allows users to create and modify T-slotted aluminum structures using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
Designers can develop a structure, make changes, generate a bill of materials, and obtain real-time pricing before construction begins.
For data center contractors, engineers, and integrators, that means the ability to evaluate different configurations before material reaches the jobsite.
One Aluminum Partner. More Data Center Possibilities.
Data center infrastructure will continue to change.
The materials used to build it should be able to change with it.
Bonnell Aluminum combines custom aluminum extrusion manufacturing with TSLOTS modular T-slotted structural framing to provide flexible aluminum solutions for today's data centers - and whatever those facilities need to become tomorrow.
Whether the requirement is a simple equipment frame or a customized structural solution, Bonnell and TSLOTS can help move the project from concept through manufacturing and installation.
What Do You Need to Build?
Explore how TSLOTS modular aluminum framing systems for data centers can help reduce construction time, simplify future modifications, and create infrastructure designed to evolve. Explore TSLOTS Data Center Solutions