80/20 sliders

[neaanopri]

I'm from team 1389 and I'm wondering if there is anything sold which slides inside the grooves in 80/20. Our team would like to use this slider, if it exists, for our manipulator. We tried using the KOP sliders, but they have such diffucult dimensions that it is impossible to CAD them, plus they add weight while 80/20 is already a structural material. Thanks a lot!

[NorviewsVeteran]

Indeed there is- an entire chapter's worth in their catalog, which you can view here: http://8020.net/Catalog-Intro.asp

And here are some pictures of their linear bearings in various uses, also on 8020.net: http://8020.net/Solution-8.asp

Just make sure you order the right parts!

[EricH]

Contact team 357, or look at their article in the 2007 Behind the Design book. They molded a custom 80/20 slider that worked pretty well. It's purely inside the grooves.

[artdutra04]

You can also machine your own sliders out of Delrin on a milling machine.

[Creator Mat]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

You can also machine your own sliders out of Delrin on a milling machine.

If you have the capabilities I suggest you do this. The sliders from 8020 are very expensive ($40+ a piece). Plus it sounds cooler if you can say "ya we made these custom sliders ourselves".

[LLogan]

Pages 500-531 have everything you need.

Our team is using lots of 6730's. They are almost frictionless. Hope that helps.

[Mr_I]

Slightly more friction than other methods but definitely cheaper: We discovered this week that #35 chain can be "threaded" between two pieces of 8020, and can provide a rather smooth movement between them. We're investigating using a 4' tall piece of 8020 as the lifter track, and mounting a 1' long piece of 8020 to the chain, which would serve as the mount for the tube handler. By looping the chain around a pair of sprockets, we can pull the chain and move the mount almost 4' up or down.

Picture will follow if it works.

[ktress357]

Hi, I'm from team 357 and we did just this in 07. We molded a custom slide which we called jester glide. If you contact my team I'm sure we may be able to help you out.

[Jstack14]

Though it is too late our highschool got a mill this year and we designed and milled our 80/20 slider. For us, it takes a little while to make one, but it is awesome to say we created our own. They are made of delrin and they work fantastically!