MakerSlide

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MakerSlide
MakerSlide Rendering.jpg
MakerSlide
Status Released
Designer Barton Dring
License CC BY-SA 3.0
Website http://www.makerslide.com/

MakerSlide is an Open Source aluminum extrusion for simple linear motion. MakerSlide is used on several popular machines such as the BuildLog 2.0 Laser Cutter and the ShapeOko.

MakerSlide is a combined framing and linear bearing system. It allows you to quickly create projects that use linear bearings, such as CNC machines. It is based on a standard 20mm x 40mm T-slot extrusion profile. This means you probably won’t have to do any drilling and tapping and there are hundreds of accessories such as brackets and hardware options already available. Also, a lot of CNC specific items like motor and idler pulley mounts can bolt right on. Countless projects have been created including 3D Printers, milling machines, laser cutters, assembly equipment, 2D drawing machines and camera sliders.[1]

MakerSlide is currently available from Inventables.

Design Features

From the MakerSlide website: http://www.makerslide.com/

  • Basic Profile - The idea was to make the profile directly compatible with existing extrusions. This allows us to tap into thousands of readily available accessories like brackets, hinges and t-nuts. These extrusions are available from multiple vendors world wide.
  • V Location - The center of the V was centered on the edge of the extrusion. This moves it away from the t slot enough that you can place a mounting bracket on that surface. The location also makes alignment and design easy because it is an easy plane to reference.
  • Open Side - The side with the v grooves was left flat without any radius to the V. This allows a plain 20x40 extrusion to butt into the MakerSlide extrusion. That is a design feature that I found essential in many design ideas.
  • One V Face Groove - The face with the V on it went through several iterations. For ultimate strength in compression, you would want it flat, without any slots, but the slots are very handy for mounting items in designs. I decided to leave one slot. The MakerSlide design is based on the fact that one side of the carriage has fixed wheels. This is the reference side. The other side wheels move in to tension the system. You want the fixed wheel side taking the greatest load where it was not symmetrical. There are drill guides along the flat faces, but the whole concept of MakerSlide is rapid design with minimal drilling and tapping. In reality, even the slotted side is quite strong anyway.
  • Wheel Spacing - The height of the V was chosen to make it compatible with the existing, separate rail and extrusion system that many people use including the 2.x laser.

Download

MakerSlide is an open source hardware component. Please see License section for more details.

Here is the CAD Data:

License

MakerSlide by Barton Dring is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://www.makerslide.com/

References