80/20 linear motion?

[Andy Grady]

Originally Posted by Nitroxextreme

I have seen as well heard about the qualities of 80/20 and its linear motion ability.

We are looking into different methods of linear motion and when we came to 80/20 we could not understand how many teams have done it in the past.

We looked into their specific linear bearing(40-6800s if you have book) that use some sort of plastic to slide ontop of the rails, however we were worried alittle about binding as well as speed. We then came across their roller wheel assemblies(28-2200s in book) which seemed to have a wheel that ran inside the channel and looked like it would be both strong and fast, however we were worried about side load if just using a single wheel...hopefully we can get some to test.

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with these types of 80/20 linear motion

Also if there is some other way to make linear motion work with 80/20 that you have found to work

In the past we have run 80/20 lifts with a chain and sprocket system. Be careful about using the slide bearings that are commonly found. The higher your tower goes, and the more load at the end of sed tower, the higher chance of binding that the bearings carry. We had in the past constructed our own slide bearings out of lexan and tried a few other tricks to prevent binding and have been very successful. 80/20 is a great material for both simplicity of design and rigidity. I highly recommend its use for lifts.

[Ben Piecuch]

We have had great success with the 8020 linear slides in 2005. I would highly recommend them if you are looking for a light-weight, off-the-shelf solution. We used the 6760 (english dimensions) bearings, which proved to be very reliable and smooth over 3 or 4 competitions. I'm sure that many other teams (20 and 222 specifically) will agree with these statements.

I will issue a warning with these 8020 linear slides, be sure to loctite ALL of the screws/bolts in these bearings. The do have a tendency to come loose, which will cause the plastic slide to fall out the bearing. (Not good.) This event has happened to us, as well as a couple other teams. With this quick, and simple fix, you will find that these linear slides are a great product.

You can view pictures of our elevator from 2005 here. Feel free to ask any and all questions.

BEN