T-Slot / V-Slot
T-Slot has been around for many years. It has matured to a solid building system using in industry and by hobby engineers to build everything from machine enclosures to CNC machines, 3D printers and robots! It is strong enough to withstand many industrial stresses and modular enough allow for universal designs.
The T-slot system consists of extruded aluminum of various sizes with a “T” shaped slot on one or more of its sides. The shapes, sizes and designs may be different, but the “T” slot is common to all. The “T” slot allows of a variety of hardware to be connected to the extrusion so that complex structures can be constructed.
Types of T-Slot
There are many types of T-Slot available on the market. Some of the most common for small scale engineering include:
- V-Slot
- MakerBeam
- OpenBeam
- MicoRax
As show above, these 4 type range from 10mm to 20mm square profile. Each profile has its unique features, but all share the “T” slot function.
The profiles are not limited to square. V-slot, for example, comes in 4 sizes 20x80mm, 20x60mm, 20x40mm and 20x20mm :
Some manufactures produce larger square and other shaped profiles:
MakerBeam can fit a screw into its T-slot:
MicroRax is small, light and uses t-nuts and screws:
OpenBeam can fit a standard nut into its t-slot:
V-Slot uses t-nuts and is different from the other profiles because has “V” grooves that fit special “V” wheels and allow for easy linear motion:
Above are four different approaches to T-slot, there are in fact many more.
