T-slot nut

A T-slot nut is used with a threaded clamp to position and secure pieces being worked on in a workshop. The T-slot nut slides along a T-slot track, which is set in workbench or table for a router, drill press, or bandsaw. T-slot nuts are also used with extruded aluminum framing, such as 80/20, to build a variety of industrial structures and machines.

A T-slot bolt is generally stronger than a T-slot nut and hex-head cap screw.^[1]

A heavy-duty T-slot nut with a M12 bolt is rated to support 10000 N (about 1 imperial ton).^[2]

Profile 40×40 (40 mm by 40 mm, with 8 mm grooves) extruded aluminum profile and the T-slot nuts to fit into them comprised the first modular system developed for use in mechanical engineering in 1980 by item Industrietechnik.^[3] The item aluminum framing system has since been expanded to include a variety of t-slot nuts that have been designed for specific applications.

The item system is very similar to the "channel-and-groove design" used in some toys.

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  CAD model of a rotating T-nut used with aluminum T-slots/ T-track/ extrusions

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  T-nut (red) installed in a T-Slot

See also

• 80/20 (framing system)
• T-nut
• T-slot

References

• Erik Oberg et al. "T-Bolts, slots, nuts and tongues" (2008). Machinery's Handbook, 28th ed. New York: Industrial Press. p. 1632–1634.
• ASME B5 standards committee

Further reading

• ANSI/ASME B5.1M-1985 (R1998) standard, "T-Slots: Their Bolts, Nuts, and Tongues."