V-Slot its like T-Slot with built in linear rails!

Hey guys,
We here at the OpenBuilds Team have come up with a cool new tool for makers and we wanted to share it with the RepRap community!
In short, its an aluminum extrusion with a built in v groove for linear motion! It has a lot of cool applications as you can see here:
[www.kickstarter.com]
These are just the tip of the iceberg of things that can be done with this system.
We hope that all will benefit as a low cost completely Open Source alternative to T-Slot extrusions.
Designing and building linear actuators that are integrated into the structural frame itself is now a reality!
One of the many benefits V-Slot offers is its sleek, tight design with no protruding arrows or other obstructions to get in the way of an ultra-minimalistic low profile build. OpenBuilds V-Slot is sure to offer the most builder/designer friendly experience on the market.
The Internal V Track allows for multiple Dual V Carriage Mounting Configurations and Orientations while the same structure allows for the well known T-Slot type modular building systems.
We hope that you will help make this tool available to everyone by spreading the word and helping to bring V-Slot to the world!
Thank you
OpenBuilds Team

Pretty cool
Keeping the size of the rolling bearing assembly as small as possible is a must in my opinion for small 3D printer builds
It's no big deal on a big CNC router

The rollers on a V slot look to be much more bulky than a single T slot linear bearing
But as you mentioned in one of your videos, the price of T slot linear bearings is much higher.

The size of the machine would have to be increased to allow for the extra bulk that the V slot sliding assemblies need.

I like it, but was wondering if the rolling bearings diameter could be smaller?

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

Hello. Thanks for your reply and your input! As a matter of fact, we are working on a smaller wheel type. We have been working on creating the smallest possible carriage that we can that will ride on any 20mm width edge of V-Slot. So, not only can you use it on the 20 x 20, but you can also use it on the 20mm edges of the 20 x 40, 20 x 60, and 20 x 80 as well. You can see a couple of uses for that particular plate/wheel design on the KickStarter page gif. We are using it for some of the modular machines. We wanted to make it as small as possible so that it will work along the same principle as a block and rail system as well as being the mounting blocks for the modular system. It's very cool how quickly you can put together a machine using V-Slot as an actuator along with these mini carriages. It's like working with lego blocks. They just go together really quick.

Wow! You have been working on a lot of cool projects. I am going to check them out in more detail asap!

Thanks again,
OpenBuilds Team

I am currently putting together a T slot printer with linear bearings.
[forums.reprap.org]

The linear bearings are a bit of a pain to set up because they have to be shimmed to eliminate play

Your V slot system looks way easier to set up than linear bearings

You can see how sleek my T slot build is in the post I linked above, but I am not married to T slot linear bearings
I am definitely interested in your V slot system but want to keep the size of the rolling assemblies as small as possible for 3D printer usage.

Like I said above, this would not concern me for a CNC router build.

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

I know what you mean about having to shim the linear bearings. We ran into the same issue while working on an H-Bot design. They just had too much play in them to allow for any kind of precision when it came to an H-Bot. It was necessary that they did not wiggle at all on the rod.

Your T-Slot printer build looks awesome. We experimented a little with these linear slide bearings as well and moved from there to creating barrel type rollers that would ride in the extrusion but the barrel rollers allowed for too much play. Even if you made them friction fit, over time even if they are made from delrin, hdpe, didn't matter. Even tried high impact pvc. It just wears down and creates slop. We had the same problem with creating a V Wheel (which of course centers itself) but riding on standard extrusion just wore down and again created slop.

It turned out that the standard extrusion was just not designed for precise linear motion and in our case, it was a quest to find such a thing. It finally clicked. Quit trying to re-create the wheel design to fit in the rail and instead make the rail a perfect fit for the wheel. This is where V-Slot was born and it's been awesome ever since.

We still have plans like we mentioned earlier for smaller wheel designs in the works. These wheels will be solid and not have the internal V. They will take up much less room which will allow for smaller carriages. We can't wait to showcase them. The design work is done and prototypes are in. If all goes well, they will be added to our KickStarter as a stretch goal. This system is what will allow the V-Slot Actuator to be modular and create all of the quick builds machines that you can see on the KickStarter page. We haven't really let the cat out of the bag yet (well, I guess we have ) We REALLY want to make these happen so any and all support is appreciated. Please spread the word! Again, here is the link: [www.kickstarter.com]

Thank you so much,
Mark and Trish
OpenBuilds Team

I looked at your support options but none of them fit my build needs

I don't have any interest in the other size V slots, only the 20 x 20 single channel extrusions

I may be interested in support if I can see these smaller wheels in action on a piece of 20 x 20

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

We would love your support. We'll be posting pictures and additional details on the smaller wheels when/if we reach that point in the V-Slot KickStarter Campaign. It is set up as one of the stretch goals and we would like it to be a genuine surprise when it's released.

Thank you!
Mark and Trish
OpenBuilds Team

Cool, sounds good
Just reply back here when you have more info
thanks,
Doug

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

You got it. Thanks Doug!

Just throwing out ideas on how to make a super low profile bearing for your V slots

My CNC machine uses linear rails and linear bearings and this is where I got this idea
Instead of wheels, use ball bearings for an ultra low profile.

The images I attached are of the super precise and heavy duty linear bearings on my CNC machine
The V slot bearing does not have to be this massive

You would have to have ball bearings on 3 sides of your V slot extrusion

The balls would have to be large enough to span your gap and sit nicely into your V slot

here's some pics of my CNC machine linear bearings just for reference

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

How true are the various pieces of bar? In other words what kind of deflection or twisting is expected over a 300mm section of 20x20, 20x40, or 20x80? What about 600mm, 900, etc., how much does overall length affect the deflection or twisting?

I'm interested to get an idea of how scale affects the accuracy of a project built with V-Slot.

Fl0yd

EL34 - this is a really cool idea and something definitely worth trying out to see if it would work. Thank you so much for posting the idea and the pics!

Fl0yd - you can expect the same deflection you would receive on most other aluminum T-Slot extrusions. 8020 has a nice deflection calculator. You can find it here: [www.8020.net]

Thank you,
Mark and Trish
OpenBuilds Team

Yo Kram,
Here's my idea for a Linear ball bearing for your V-Slot

The balls will ride in a Delrin groove that stops short at the ends so the balls can't come out
the Delrin material sits in a groove in the aluminum angle pieces and top flat bearing piece
The angle aluminum is 1.5 inch and it would have to be shaped a CNC machine
The two angles are bolted to the top bearing flat piece
The two angles have slotted screw holes so you can move them in or out to set the balls at the right tension
The top flat bearing piece is threaded or may require a steel nut

I can machine the parts on my CNC machine as another fun project

I would like to have a small 8 to 12 inch chunk of your 20 x 20 to test my idea if possible
Let me know what you think

I had to downsize the image. See the attached image for a full sized image



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2013 03:38PM by EL34.

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

Wow! This is a really cool idea and I love how low profile it would be. We can definitely send you a sample. We just need to get through the KickStarter first to keep it fair. We really like the idea and think it could go far. We look forward to seeing how the results turn out.

Thank you,

Mark and Trish
OpenBuilds Team

Ok, sounds good
I have plenty of other projects going right now so no hurry

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

Sounds great! Thanks

My #1 questions is:

How do you plan on keeping the bearings in the delrin v-wheels? I have built a machine out of MakerSlide which is similar and works great except with my extruder mounted cantilevered after a few weeks of usage I need to re-seat the bearings before they fall out. I tried to put the lip on the side of the most force but that only wins half the battle.

It would be nice to see either a factory press fit v-wheel or the wheels have grooves so we can jb weld the bearings in place. It would need to be an internal V so when the jb weld adheres to the bearing the glue in the v would be retaining things.

If I noticed that the outer wheel was starting to walk it's way away from the inner bearing I would probably press it back into place and use a thin bead of RTV silicon or epoxy around the outer diameter of the bearing rather than trying to force adhesive into the center between the bearing and the wheel.
Most of the adhesive would just get wiped off when you pressed the bearing back into the wheel

I always use a more flexible two part epoxy for task like that
IMO, JB weld is too hard and brittle
I have had it crack on me many times because it is too hard

Just my .02 on JB Weld
Same with super glue, it's too brittle for many task





Just

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

Comment Removed:

I was at work when I read about V-Slot, just discovered the OpenBuilds store. They solved my problem by not even offering a single bearing v-wheel.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2013 09:42AM by uMinded.

Just wanted to let you guys know that we posted a few of the model files (SketchUp format) on Thingiverse to help get people started on designs. We have models of V-Slot and the universal gantry plate as well as another posting that has what we are calling the Mini V V-Slot Actuator.

We hope this will be helpful in creating a lot of machines. We have a few stretch goals in update #2 to help us accomplish the Mini V Kit. So, please check it out and share with your friends.

[www.thingiverse.com]

[www.thingiverse.com]

Thank you,

Mark and Trish
OpenBuilds Team

hey so what are the specs on the mini v rail? im building an h bot using your open rail, and at some point i plan on upgrading it to a corexy configuration to keep the gantry super light, im wondering if id be better off with a 20x20 v slot on the mini v, the length it would span is 500mm. right now im using 2040 and 404020 500mm extrusions from misumi, and they work great with the open rail, i even made a bracket with clearance for the v wheels.

Hello aduy. Your project sounds really cool. We'd love to see pictures when you get it up and running.

For our H-Bot design, the 20 x 20 V-Slot is exactly what we wanted to use. This is one of the main reasons we even went down this road is trying to find a super lightweight, inexpensive gantry system that had the structure to span distance and V-Slot does the trick. However, OpenRail can also accomplish the same thing with minimal weight gain.

Your system sounds really great. We look forward to seeing it. I would definitely experiment with the V-Slot as well. You know how it is with us DIY guys. Once you have something in your hand, you come up with a million and one ideas.

Thank you,

Mark and Trish
OpenBuilds Team

have a bunch of balls in various sizes for your projects if you need any. Mike

I have been wanting to try this out for when I make my first 3D printer. Unfortunately i didnt have the money to buy some when it was discounted and I still don't have money to buy any but one day I will.

Anyway I want to make a delta printer (kossel one with beams only). To do this you need 120 degree brackets or plates or 60 degree brackets or plates.

They havnt made any for the V-slot yet so Ive decided to model a selection myself.

Feel free to use or improve them but remember to acknowledge me.

Not having beams or a 3d printer I cant test them but it should work with the v-slot with their standerd m5 screws.

[www.thingiverse.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2013 01:33PM by stonefisher.

These are great stonefisher. We have been working on some similar brackets that you may be interested in as well. We haven't gotten to the 120 degree and 60 degree yet but I think you will find these are pretty cool in that you can mount wheels to them and use V-Slot as a linear carriage as well! Check out here and be sure to click the video link to see them in action: [www.thingiverse.com]

Looking forward to your kossel build

Thank you,
Mark and Trish
OpenBuilds Team

Yo mark,
I finally had some time to mess with the ball idea in order to create a much smaller bearing block

1st problem is you can not use metal ball bearings against aluminum

2nd problem is that the balls will not rotate unless they are able to circulate out the end, around in a circle and come back in the other end.
This is how high end linear bearings work. The balls can make a complete circuit. This makes the body much larger because you have to provide a Nascar type race track for them to run on and make laps.

So, what I did was use Delrin balls and let them sit in a socket hole.
The balls do not rotate, they glide against the V groove surface.
There are six balls total, two for each of the 3 bearing shells
The outer shell is made of HPDE plastic.
The sides can be adjusted with .005" shims

The footprint is pretty small. 47mm wide x 33mm tall x 40mm deep

The bearings have a tiny bit of friction, but it's not bad. I lubed the V slot and balls with pure silicon spray and it works really well. Plus the silicon dries and leaves a film. It does not go away as the spray dries. The silicon spray works really well on the 8020 linear bearings I have on my printer. Those bearings use UHMW plastic.

Anywho, it was a fun experiment. Not sure if it's worth pursuing. I can send you the one I made and you can check it out if you want to have a look at it.

Here's a picture of the bearing I made.
You can see the white colored Delrin balls inside
Here's a link to the image
[www.el34world.com]



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2013 10:50AM by EL34.

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

I really love this concept EL34 and the one you made turned out awesome looking! I know what you mean about the race track ball bearing system. It would have been nice to implement it. I would really like to see how well it slides though. It is a really interested concept. Maybe I should take you up on your offer to mail it to us if that's alright with you. I wonder if it would be better to use UHUM wheels. Since they are not spinning anyway, it may turn out to be a little less friction. Also, what if we just make a whole UHUM slide that would fit in the V-Groove perfectly. That would be much smaller. I have to say though, the sample plates that we just got in for the Mini V Wheel are awesome. The strength is unbelievable and I get no movement. I was very surprised on just how strong they are and if you were to couple two of these on a gantry, for instance, like they do on the high end block and rail, I believe you can build just about anything out of them from mills to H-Bots. It was one of those Wow moments when we first tested it. I think it's due to the fact that the plates are so thick and the center of gravity on the wheels are so small. Either way, they are impressive and the size is only about 49mm so it's not too bad.

I think we've just scratched the surface with what can be done with this.

BTW, we have added the corner connectors for pre-order on the OpenBuilds Part Store These little gems are game changers. They make building a pleasure [openbuildspartstore.com]

You are welcome to have the one I made, just let me know where and who to send it to
You sent me the V-slot material which was very nice of you and so I am returning the favor.

If you can find UHMW balls, give it a go.
I could only find Delrin at Mcmaster or maybe I found UHMW balls and they were too expensive
Can't remember because I ordered the balls a long time ago and just got around to using them.
I believe they are 3/8 inch diameter, you can measure them
You can slide the frame on the V-slot and insert the balls without taking the frame apart.
The frame can be tightened down with screws and shimmed, but I have it adjusted ok for now
You don't have to crank the frame screws down very tight.
I intended that the load would sit on the top surface and push down.

I had already started a new 20mm T-slot build before you were offering the V-slot material for sale
My first printer build was 1 inch T-slot because I could not find linear bearings for 20mm T-slot
1 inch T-slot is over kill for a printer
I made my own 20mm UHMW bearings (1) because it was way cheaper and (2) 8020 inc does not sell linear bearings for 20mm T-slot
They work really smooth.

Here's a pic of my home made UHMW linear bearings
picture links
[www.el34world.com]
[www.el34world.com]



Here's a pic of the 1 inch T-slot bearings on my first printer. These are very expensive and so not many people go this route


Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2013 12:02PM by EL34.

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

I also bought a couple of those UHMW pads and you are right about them being expensive.

I wish we had half of the linear solutions that we have now back in the day. That's what fuels OpenBuilds. Bring the tools that we need that are either too hard to source or too expensive to use.

We just sent a pm with our shipping address. We're looking forward to receiving the package. Thank you so much for your willingness to send it.

Thank you,

Mark and Trish

Thanks Mark,
I'll send it out today

The combo of all the items it takes to make a T slot linear bearing gets really expensive
You need the aluminum housing, 3 x Pads, 6 x screws and several shims

Your V-slot rails should make it much cheaper for people

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]