Vertical Tracks for Forklift

[asid61]

Originally Posted by Michael Hill

If only we could find 1/16" wall east of the Mississippi....it is a REAL struggle to find that stuff. There was a thread a while ago that was looking for sources for it, but all of those seem to have dried up. Does it even qualify as COTS anymore if we can't get it? It shows up in some catalogs, but if you call them up, they just don't carry it. Alro said the only way we could get it would be through a custom mill run...

Check your local metal shops if you haven't already. We get our stock from Alan Steel, although I want to investigate that place the Poofs use in the offseason.
This place has 2 x 1 x 1/16" but it's 6063, not 6061: metalsdepot.com part# T321116.

[MichaelBick]

Originally Posted by asid61

Check your local metal shops if you haven't already. We get our stock from Alan Steel, although I want to investigate that place the Poofs use in the offseason.
This place has 2 x 1 x 1/16" but it's 6063, not 6061: metalsdepot.com part# T321116.

I definitely would recommend against using 6063. It almost seems like a completely different material

[jimwick]

We are using 80/20 for the vertical rails. Our traveling element uses skateboard bearings.
The whole thing works smooth as ice and was easy to build. Can easily lift 4 totes and a bin. Very successful so far.

[nuclearnerd]

Originally Posted by MichaelBick

I definitely would recommend against using 6063. It almost seems like a completely different material

We've got the worst of both worlds The only thing in stock in town is 1/8" wall 6063. For comparison, Versaframe (3/32" wall, 6061) is 60% stronger and 20% lighter by my calculations. (Although the thicker wall tube is 18% stiffer.)

The downside of Versaframe is that it costs about double what the 6063 costs from Metal Supermarkets (on a per-foot basis), only comes in 5' lengths, and has a shipping delay. But considering the extra strength and the usefulness of the pre-drilled holes, Versaframe is worth the premium for critical parts IMHO.

/derail

[Michael Hill]

Originally Posted by asid61

Check your local metal shops if you haven't already. We get our stock from Alan Steel, although I want to investigate that place the Poofs use in the offseason.
This place has 2 x 1 x 1/16" but it's 6063, not 6061: metalsdepot.com part# T321116.

Yeah, I wasn't kidding about the east of the Mississippi thing. Don't use 6063. You want 6061-T6. I've called about 2 dozen metal suppliers. It's really not as common as you think it is. And I checked some major manufacturing areas. I found only one in Cleveland and they were wanting $11.50/ft, which is ridiculous. Dayton is a no-go and so is Cincinnati and Columbus. I had to laugh at a comment in the thread for it that it should be available at any decent metal supplier. If it's not available in major manufacturing cities like these, then someone is a bit deluded.

Also, the Poofs get their 6061-T6 from Coast Aluminum.

[nuclearnerd]

We're using these:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#6738k41/=vnxcue
http://www.pbclinear.com/Download/Da...ear-Guides.pdf [pdf]

They're kind of expensive at $60 each roller (for four), plus another $80 per rail but they will save us a ton of headache. I know from experience that linear bearings are hard, and bad bearings make it harder This way, the elevator can tolerate some unbalanced loading, has zero slop, goes together easily (with versaframe) and slides with low friction, even under load.