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Any tips for T-slot cart building?


Derek H

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So after pouring over countless T-slot cart designs I’m about to put in my own order with 80/20 for a custom cut and milled kit to build a smallish, collapsible follow cart. Wondering if any of you who have done the deep dive into extruded aluminum T-slot contraptions would have any general advice? Things to watch out for or design mistakes to avoid? Connectors you hated? 
 

Some specific questions I have..

 

how does the anodized black framing stand up to wear and tear?

 

 Anyone use the “Central connector”?

 

 Thanks!

 Derek

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I avoided the central connector. Having never used it, I don't trust it. I can't find a spec on its load rating.  I wanted everything rock solid without me worrying about failure. Hopefully, someone can provide some assuring stories about how well they work. I mostly used 4-hole inside corner gussets in compression. For lighter things I used 2-hole inside corner gussets. As you probably noticed, many people go with the flat plate joining plates.

 

Crank down the screws. I had a couple come loose.

 

Anodizing is pretty tough stuff. I went with black. No problems

 

No matter how long you study it and design it, you will want to redesign it or add to it. That's the fun thing about t-slot. It's so versatile.

 

Go with the biggest  diameter wheels you feel comfortable with. The bigger, the smoother, especially if you get onto a lawn or a field.

 

Don't forget wheel locks.

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I’ve used both external fasteners such as the L and T plates and also the standard end fasteners. Both have held up well. I’ve never had an end fastener fail. I’ve also never lost a bolt from any of my fasteners. I usually just order lengths and cut my own and invested in the jig to drill the holes for the end fasteners. If you have any basic machine skills you can bore and thread the extrusions for the end fasteners. It’s pretty quick and easy and the end fasteners are way cheaper than the external fasteners.

 

Make sure you get all of the pieces into the slots before assembling because it’s a pain when you realized that you missed one. They do have roll in nuts which are great for later adds you weren’t planning or if you want to move stuff around like hooks, or whatever you can imagine mounting to your cart.

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On 9/7/2020 at 11:48 AM, Derek H said:

So after pouring over countless T-slot cart designs I’m about to put in my own order with 80/20 for a custom cut and milled kit to build a smallish, collapsible follow cart. Wondering if any of you who have done the deep dive into extruded aluminum T-slot contraptions would have any general advice? Things to watch out for or design mistakes to avoid? Connectors you hated? 
 

Some specific questions I have..

 

how does the anodized black framing stand up to wear and tear?

 

 Anyone use the “Central connector”?

 

 Thanks!

 Derek

Derek, The black anodizing is relatively durable in my opinion. I will soon be selling a very amazing and versatile 80/20 based cart I have been refining for over 3 years. I have a B.S. degree in architecture and 3 years experience working as a structural engineer for Skidmore. Owings & Merrill, designers of Sears Tower in Chicago. I have been involved in audio/video production since 2009.
 

I assume you are using 15 series in order to be able to use those connectors?

 

i know 80/20 is pretty expensive with their milling charges. Their connectors are very expensive too so I designed some of my own I believe are patentable which I will soon file for a patent on. Mine are easy to install and at a minimum are twice as strong. Are you using any rack mount gear? Are you wanting to be able to check as baggage with an airline?

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Hi indiefilm,

 

 Yes, 80/20s milling fees and connector prices are high ($3.70 per hole for drilling and counter sunk panel holes!). But what are you going to do? I don’t own the tools or have the space to do that work myself. I could get my hand drill and wood working clamps out and make the best of it but it would take ages and it would be a mess. And my kids would learn too many new words...
 

Even with all that the total price of this cart should be slightly under an off-the-shelf magliner or backstage camera cart and hopefully suit my needs better and allow mods easier. 
 

I’d be curious to see your designs but sounds like you’re not ready to release it into the wild quite yet. DM me if you like. Or email at hansonsoundcorp at gmail. 

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I’ll add that no, for this particular cart I don’t need it to fly as checked baggage. I just want it to break down to just a few pieces so it can be transported in a car and quickly put back together again. We’ll see if I can pull that off. 
 

if I need a cart that I can check in on a flight I’d take my Kartmaster though I’ve never found a good way to bring the shelves along. It’s too bad that Remin never made a version 2.0 of the Kartmaster because it’s a great design and built like a tank. Mine is second hand (thanks Alex) and still going strong. I wish it were not quite as long, a little taller, had a better shelf with a lip all around and bigger wheels. But still, it’s my go-to corporate job cart when it’s just me and I need to bring in c-stands, blankets, etc and it’s all nice office building floors ;)
 

 

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7 hours ago, Derek H said:

Hi indiefilm,

 

 Yes, 80/20s milling fees and connector prices are high ($3.70 per hole for drilling and counter sunk panel holes!). But what are you going to do? I don’t own the tools or have the space to do that work myself. I could get my hand drill and wood working clamps out and make the best of it but it would take ages and it would be a mess. And my kids would learn too many new words...
 

Even with all that the total price of this cart should be slightly under an off-the-shelf magliner or backstage camera cart and hopefully suit my needs better and allow mods easier. 
 

I’d be curious to see your designs but sounds like you’re not ready to release it into the wild quite yet. DM me if you like. Or email at hansonsoundcorp at gmail. 

Thanks for your email. I will email you. Always looking for more input on the various features people want. This cart is unlike any other and more flexible as to setup than anything on the market, otherwise why bother.

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On 9/11/2020 at 6:26 AM, Derek H said:

Hi indiefilm,

 

 Yes, 80/20s milling fees and connector prices are high ($3.70 per hole for drilling and counter sunk panel holes!). But what are you going to do? I don’t own the tools or have the space to do that work myself. I could get my hand drill and wood working clamps out and make the best of it but it would take ages and it would be a mess. And my kids would learn too many new words...
 

Even with all that the total price of this cart should be slightly under an off-the-shelf magliner or backstage camera cart and hopefully suit my needs better and allow mods easier. 
 

I’d be curious to see your designs but sounds like you’re not ready to release it into the wild quite yet. DM me if you like. Or email at hansonsoundcorp at gmail. 

Did you get my email?

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/7/2020 at 8:07 PM, ryanpeds said:I usually just order lengths and cut my own and invested in the jig to drill the holes for the end fasteners. If you have any basic machine skills you can bore and thread the extrusions for the end fasteners. It’s pretty quick and easy and the end fasteners are way cheaper than the external fasteners.

I usually just order lengths and cut my own 

Are you referring to lengths of the t-slot framing profiles?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cool, which caster did you select?

6 hours ago, Derek H said:

I got all the stuff I ordered last week plus picked up an order from McMaster for casters and miscellaneous hardware. 
 

hoping to start building this weekend sometime. 

Curious, do they charge the same for just drilling a round hole as for making a threaded hole or a complex CNCed  hole?

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I don’t have the part numbers handy but just their standard 10” pneumatic casters. Two rigid, two swivel with foot brake. 4x4.5” plate mount I think. 
 

I think 80/20 charges less for a smooth drill through hole. I think it’s called an access hole in their parlance. 

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Amazing weather today.. finally found some time to dig into this cart project. Here’s about 3 hours work. 
 

First impressions... I like this T-slot stuff. Seems slightly fiddly at first but then gets really solid as you tighten things up. Pre-loading the hardware on things is the way to go. The panel material is called Alucobest and seems very solid. Basically a solid 1/4” slab of some kind of heavy duty plastic with very thin aluminum cladding on both sides. Hope it never catches fire cause I’m sure it will give me cancer. 
 

All of 80/20’s cuts and milling work was spot on and everything fit together easily. 
 

I used ‘central connectors’ in many places and I like them. They require special milling and you have to go through a distributor. Which I would recommend doing anyway. 
 

Sometimes it would be worth the extra money for the T-nuts with little spring balls to hold them in place... wasted a good chunk of time trying to locate the nuts just right for the bottom panel. 
 

Price came out to about the same as a converted magliner junior but I like this better and it has 10” wheels all around. Basically I wanted a camera case style cart but with modularity and my exact dimensions and I think I achieved that. 
 

Though not in the budget this year, the dimensions have rack drawers in mind and could be installed to either or both the long side and short side. 


Cheers,

DH

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