80/20
My work includes design and fabrication for an antenna measurement systems company. For years we had used a modular building product that was very expensive and not adequately flexible. It was also limiting in its lack of accessories. Worse still was its 6-8 week lead time for parts orders. I started looking and discovered 80/20, which not only eliminated all of the negative aspects of the old product, but even provided many new benefits. It isn't cheap, but it is a great value. We all know that for the most part, you really do get what you pay for. Cheap products usually aren't good, and good products usually aren't cheap.
Firstly, its modular design is fantastic. It allows prototyping of fixtures, stands, bases and many other items we need to build for in-house use or bring to market very quickly. The number of accessories available is mind boggling. They have wheels, handles, latches, panels, leveling feet, linear slides, hinges and many more components. You can build some pretty slick items and it all just bolts together with a few simple hand tools. The finished product looks very professional, as all of the individual components are designed to work together.
All components are pre-finished. Our in-house fabricated and/or machined assemblies require outside processing (anodizing, cadmium plating, painting or powder coating), which means additional time and cost. With the 80/20, all structural extrusions and components already come painted, powder coated or anodized -- simply assemble and ship.
While 80/20 certainly will find more applications in an industrial environment, where the cost is also offset by the utility, the possibilities for home use are limited only by your imagination. You could build things such as a work bench, bicycle storage system, cabinets, stands or many other home items that will likely last a lifetime.
As with anything, 80/20 has its limitations but they are far outweighed by its capabilities. I have discovered zero fault with this product. Many of our products require very large, product-specific and engineered weldments and machined assemblies. The 80/20 will never fulfill all of our needs, but for the smaller systems we frequently design and build this "Industrial Erector Set" is superb.
Manufactured by and available from 80/20 Inc.
Favorite (15)
David
How the heck to you buy their products? Their "Distrbutor Lookup" points to companies that don't seem to do business on the internet.
Rob
@David:
You could try using a telephone... I hear they make them without wires now :)
Dan
@David:
They have their catalogs available for download via web form here:
http://www.8020.net/Downloads.asp
If you would rather not give them your personal information they currently allow directory listing in their downloads subdomain:
http://download.8020stuff.com/
Don
Take a look at their eBay Store listed as "8020 Inc Garage Sale"
Gough
I use 8020 for the casegoods in interactive science exhibits. I order the parts, cut to size, from our regional distributor and get it a few days later, ready to assemble. Great service and wonderful product. Glad to see this on Cool Tools.
Leland Witter
Wow - I used to travel to Ft Wayne, IN from Chicago quite a bit and always wondered what 80/20 did as I drove by. Always forgot about it by the time I arrived at the destination. Now I know!
kyle
There's a really cool project that just got funded via Kickstarter for a similar product that is open-source called MakerBeams. They're not in production yet, I think it's going to be sometime next year, but it looks like a great product and the extensibility of open-source makes it seem like it would be really useful.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/701662757/makerbeam-an-open-source-building-kit
K9
In my experience. . .
When used to frame guarding for machinery, from a maintenance perspective, this stuff is a huge pain in the posterior. Oh, it looks pretty to the engineer who bought the machine, and to anyone else when the machine shows up all shiny and new. But once the production workers in a GM plant get at it, the skilled trades workers usually just zip-screw some expanded metal sheets onto the outside of the frame. The bolted joints just won't stay that way, especially if the guards are hinged and opened and closed with any regularity..
Chris Payne
Our local distributor is:
Prime Resource Inc.
13047 Telegraph Rd.
Santa Fe Springs, Ca. 90670
562-941-4474
Oscar Sanchez - President
They are a stocking distributor and also have several demo displays that show a variety of configurations.
Loc-Tite on joint hardware will reduce loosening but remember - you can't idiot proof everything. Anything can be abused!
kevin
The best place to buy this stuff is McMaster-Carr. Very convenient and a wide range of parts. Here's the link to the "structural aluminum extrusion" sections:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#aluminum-extrusions/=4bi409
kevin
Sorry - think I got the wrong link above for McMaster. They have a couple different extrusion systems (not sure if they're interchangeable). Here's the other:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#=4bi8kh
Chris Payne
As Kevin mentioned, McMaster Carr does carry this product. They are an absolutely amazing company. We use them for product, almost every day. They stock just about everything that is shown in their catalog. I can order in the morning and it is delivered almost always by the afternoon. If it isn't in stock in their Santa Fe Springs warehouse (which is very rare), it will usually come out of Chicago in a day or two. If you need that kind of delivery or the vast selection that they carry, I recommend them highly. All of this does come at a cost though. You will typically always pay a premium when purchasing from them. For me, time is money so it is almost always justified. I know that users of Cool Tools can tend to be a little on the frugal side, so just keep this in mind. Also try this link: http://www.mcmaster.com/#structural-framing-systems/=4cxbdo