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80/20 Aluminum T-slot Building Systems – Build your Idea

8020.net

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Re: 80/20 Aluminum T-slot Building Systems – Build your Idea

#11

Post by tinco »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #9

Intriguing. But the concept is new to me, and I found the site not very n00b friendly. My initial questions are: Can I use it to build a greenhouse? And how much would that cost? I couldn't find anything comparable, and left.

You could but it would be extremely expensive, and not as strong as a steel construction. If you are building a robot that tends to the plants in your greenhouse however, this is a great material to both build the skeleton of the robot, and the structure that holds your plants. It allows you to quickly prototype in a very precise and lightweight manner.

Re: 80/20 Aluminum T-slot Building Systems – Build your Idea

#12

Post by chiefalchemist »

tinco wrote: post #11
chiefalchemist wrote: post #9

Intriguing. But the concept is new to me, and I found the site not very n00b friendly. My initial questions are: Can I use it to build a greenhouse? And how much would that cost? I couldn't find anything comparable, and left.

You could but it would be extremely expensive, and not as strong as a steel construction. If you are building a robot that tends to the plants in your greenhouse however, this is a great material to both build the skeleton of the robot, and the structure that holds your plants. It allows you to quickly prototype in a very precise and lightweight manner.

Thanks. Still intriguing, but now for other ideas / projects. I wish the site was more transparent on their sweet spot.

Re: 80/20 Aluminum T-slot Building Systems – Build your Idea

#13

Post by kris_wayton »

542458 wrote: post #8
viciousvoxel wrote: post #5

Great to have another T-slot build system. Seems slightly pricier than Makerbeam but a lot more profile sizes and options in general. I wish there were more kits in their catalog.

80/20 has been around since the late 80s, and are kinda the “classic” brand-name in aluminum extrusions. Popular for trade shows and the like. They tend to be on the more expensive side compared to Misumi or other brands, but you can sometimes find them cheap used on Craigslist.

There's a US anti-dumping embargo on extruded aluminum, which seems to keep the price high.

Re: 80/20 Aluminum T-slot Building Systems – Build your Idea

#16

Post by pitched »

MengerSponge wrote: post #10
pitched wrote: post #4

The reason I haven’t used these for a few past projects is that they can’t quite hold up under human-scale weights (1). Would be awesome to have something like this but steel! 1: https://us.misumi-ec.com/pdf/fa/2010/p2433.pdf

I've used all kinds of 8020 frames for things much larger and heavier than humans. You just have to use larger cross-section members: https://www.facebook.com/229125947114533/photos/pb.100063454...

That’s what the chart I linked says. To stand on a 1m length suspended on both ends, a 2060 might work but a 2080 should be safe. That’s just a bit smaller than a much cheaper wooden 1x4 though.

Re: 80/20 Aluminum T-slot Building Systems – Build your Idea

#18

Post by toss1 »

pitched wrote: post #4

The reason I haven’t used these for a few past projects is that they can’t quite hold up under human-scale weights (1). Would be awesome to have something like this but steel! 1: https://us.misumi-ec.com/pdf/fa/2010/p2433.pdf

I've used 80/20 for a number of projrcts, but for a larger project I found this steel square/rectangular tube system from Flex Craft works well. No relation other than satisfied customer. The people are also great to work with.

[0] flex-craft.com

Re: 80/20 Aluminum T-slot Building Systems – Build your Idea

#19

Post by sschueller »

These types of aluminum extrusions have been used for many years (at least in Europe) in many industries to build all kinds temporary to more permanent structures [1]. Also the reason they ended up in 3d printers as they have been used in other CNC type setups.

Oddly enough the Wikipedia article is very thing and not even available in English [2]

[1] https://www.kanya.com/fileadmin/_processed_/3/1/csm_kanya-ag...

[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstruktionsprofil (German)

Re: 80/20 Aluminum T-slot Building Systems – Build your Idea

#20

Post by sschueller »

elteto wrote: post #17
rjohann wrote: post #14

I call it lego for the industry. Many 3d printer frames are made of it. Sim racing rigs are made of it.

I call it legos for adults, with the price tag and everything ;)

I would argue that LEGO is more expensive, way more expensive.
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