On this week's Phlatlab show we go over and announce our latest creation the Open Rail System.
If you missed our live show, please watch the recording here.
If possible, please support our Kickstarter project that can be found here:

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http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/openrail/openrail-open-source-linear-bearing-system?ref=email

 

I am really diggin' on this stuff! I have a question, though - will this work with the SAE 8020 Extrusion the same as the Metric stuff?

 

Thank you for your support bro it means a lot to hear this

 

Hi Mike,
There was a guy that asked almost the same question over on the Kickstarter's comments so I will post my answer in here as well. I have not tried the metric version of the 8020, but I am looking to get some to give it a try. I will also try to model it and see how it looks. It may work out that the holes may need a little tweaking to make it work but not sure until we give it a go.

Thank you for your support and questions Mike

 

Hey guyz,
Open Rail is now on Thingiverse to get things started and allow everyone the chance to start creating machines in SketchUp using OpenRail!
Check it out here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:24886
If you guys see any mistypes or errors let me know please

@LaVerne

We are blown away how such a simple thing can become so HUGE! We have smiles from ear to ear around here. with jaws dropped in awe. We are so excited with a million ideas running around in our heads!
Thank you so much for the support and the kind words.
Mark and Trish Attached files

 

Hello everyone,
A quick update to let you know
Open Rail is now on Thingiverse to get things started and allow everyone to start creating! There may be some minor changes to the design in the final die plans but this should give you a good go for the starts of your machines. We have posted the file in the easy to use (and Free) SketchUp program so that everyone can have access to designing using OpenRail. We did not have time to put all the Misumi series 5 extrusion profiles in yet so any help there would be great! You can find the series 5 profile cads here: http://us.misumi-ec.com/us/CategorySear ... taCount=40
I am sure together we can convert a lot of the series 5 hardware too SketchUpfor everyone to use and make with.
Thanks everyone!

Check it out the Thingiverse page here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:24886

 

Hello Laverne, we are in the hard coat testing phase from 2 different manufactures at the moment. So as soon as its approved and the drawing finalized production can begin.
Once we reach that stage we can get a better time frame when shipping will happen.
Thanks for checking in with us
Mark and Trish

 

Misant that is awesome!
Mark and Trish

 

I have some ideas but nothing concrete yet LaVerne. Its going to be cool to see what comes from this! We are still in the hard coat phase and are getting what we believe will be the final sample for approval. More too come.
Mark and Trish

 

I think its a great idea Laverne and one that should be incorporated for sure
We are really getting excited as well we have so many plans and ideas its crazy. Using the Tslot really helps with the builds as well ad using inexpensive CAD systems like SketchUp to make a library of parts will allow everyone the opportunity to create and share their builds with the world. We think this is a big part of it as most everyday guys do not have access to the big software's like solidworks and autocad. So the idea is to make it as simple as possible to build a machine idea in SketchUp and then turn it into a real machine with ease. I think at this point most of use will have no problems using SketchUp for this and there will be an army of machines out there for everyone.
Mark and Trish