Lean Automotive Material Handling with T-Slot Aluminum

The T-slot aluminum profile provided by 80/20 is a reconfigurable, easy-to-cut-and-assemble solution that allows employees and technicians within automotive manufacturing plants to design and assemble any-sized material handling structure. 

With the power to modify or adjust material handling structures as needed, automotive manufacturers can dramatically reduce their material handling costs with a solution that offers complete standardization across the entire plant.

From assembling inexpensive but exceptionally strong ergonomic workstations, mobile kitting carts, picking carts, and trolleys to addressing lineside flow with FIFO flow racks or creating simple text fixtures and end-of-arm tooling solutions, the possibilities of the T-slot aluminum profile are endless. 

For a deeper dive into workstation ergonomics, visit the workstations page.

Why Automotive Needs 80/20 T-Slot Profiles for Modularity and Scalability

Three driving forces make the T-slot aluminum profile the ideal modular and scalable solution for automotive manufacturers wanting to adopt lean manufacturing. The first is the frequency of automotive model design changes and variations. The second is employee ergonomics and safety. The third is the need to reduce costs. 

Read More in the Automotive Line Redesign Field Guide

This step-by-step workbook helps automotive manufacturers identify production bottlenecks, evaluate workstation layouts, and redesign assembly lines for maximum flexibility. Discover how modular 80/20 T-slot aluminum solutions improve ergonomics, streamline material flow, reduce downtime, and make future line changes faster and more cost-effective. Download the workbook and start optimizing your production line today.

Automotive Model Design
Changes and Variations

While automotive designs may stay constant for a year or two, there are always yearly minor tweaks and refreshes of a vehicle’s interior and exterior. These design adjustments require that material handling structures be modular, scalable, and easily adaptable as needed. 

Ergonomics and
Safety Standards

Automotive manufacturing has made significant safety improvements through OSHA standards, automation, and ergonomic initiatives. T-slot aluminum helps support these efforts by enabling safe, ergonomic material handling structures that reduce downtime, improve productivity, and can be quickly modified in-house as production needs change.

Cost
Reduction

The costs to build, assemble, change, and modify structures with the 80/20 T-slot aluminum profiles are significantly less expensive than conventional welded structures. Most fixed-in-place workstations are made of welded steel or a combination of welded steel, wood, and other materials. These material handling structures are built for one moment in time. They cannot be changed without a considerable amount of capital and lost time. 

T-Slot Aluminum Profile vs. Welded Steel

Everything needed to make a mobile, scalable ergonomic workstation is available through 80/20. The mobile ergonomic assembly workstation above can easily be maneuvered to whatever location is needed. This ergonomic workstation has an ESD-compliant work surface and a monitor mount with an added arm for a keyboard. A single-angled flow rack with material bins and overhead pegboard makes retrieving consumables and tools simple and ergonomic.

This ergonomic assembly workstation also includes LED lighting sources, as well as the inclusion of an air pressure manifold system to attach pneumatic air guns. Every single component used is from 80/20. 80/20 produces both hand-crank and electrical lift systems. These lift systems are ideal for adjusting the overall height of the workstation based on the operator using it. This simple solution always ensures complete ergonomics, allowing employees of different heights to customize the workstation as needed.

Creating a mobile FIFO (First-In, First-Out) flow rack for lineside material flow ensures operators and technicians within production lines never have to leave to retrieve materials. 

With an 80/20 T-slot aluminum FIFO flow rack, material bins are stored on each level. These levels are angled at 15 degrees and include 80/20 gravity roller tracks with stoppers at the bottom of each level. These stoppers hold the material bins in place. As each material bin is removed, the next one slides down to take its place and is held stationary by the stopper. With FIFO flow racks, material bins are stored from behind, with the front retrieval section facing the operator. Material bins are removed as needed, and replenishment ensures operators never go outside their established workstation.

The ability to design and assemble right-sized kitting carts ensures automotive manufacturers use a precise amount of 80/20 T-slot aluminum profiles and accessories, helping to reduce costs and simplify workflow. From the industrial casters, T-slot aluminum profiles, pull-out drawers, wire mesh, and work surfaces to the fasteners and joints, everything needed to assemble mobile kitting carts is available through 80/20. The addition of a pull-out drawer that allows for a keyboard in addition to the black monitor mount ensures operators can easily pick and kit whatever work order is needed.

Kitting carts are an essential part of ensuring proper material flow throughout a given production run. Matched to a given work order, a kitting cart will include all the required materials from a finished good’s Bill of Materials (BOM). The end result is improved material flow, workflow, and better traceability. 

Whether it’s painting panels with a securely attached spray gun, spot, arc, laser, or plasma welding automotive subcomponents, applying sealants, or even fastening bolts and screws on engine components and assemblies, 80/20 T-slot aluminum profiles are the perfect solution when needing end-of-arm tooling on existing robots and machinery. 

The benefits of using T-slot aluminum profiles for end-of-arm applications are that the aluminum is exceptionally strong and durable, able to maintain its rigidity throughout the work operation, always ensuring 100% accuracy. In addition, the channels of the 80/20 T-slot aluminum are perfectly suited for cabling and wiring, ensuring wires and cables remain affixed to the aluminum.

In addition to having access to different-sized and thicknesses of T-slot aluminum profiles, each with its own load-bearing capacities, automotive manufacturers also have numerous 80/20 accessories to create whatever end-of-arm solution they need. 

From numerous fastening methods like brackets, plates, joints, gussets, anchor fasteners, bolted connectors, flat joining plates, washers, nuts, bolts, and pressure manifolds, to a complete lineup of cable and wire management products, everything you’ll need can be secured through 80/20.

A fast-growing trend within automotive manufacturing plants is the increased use of collaborative robots, commonly referred to as “cobots.” From creating solid framing solutions for the base of cobots to creating tabletop solutions and mobile platforms, the 80/20 solution allows for the ultimate in customization. 

Whether it’s building test jigs to test a component’s fit, form, and function as part of a Poka Yoke, creating customized test fixtures for extensive testing, or simply creating enclosures for vibration testing and validation, the 80/20 T-slot aluminum profile is a multi-use solution that can be leveraged in any testing and validation requirement.

Using the 80/20 solution to create customized test setups and fixtures saves a considerable amount of money compared to purchasing those setups from third-party contractors. The ability to create whatever-sized setup at any time is a significant saving in capital and time.

Test fixtures made from 80/20 T-slot aluminum profiles can be modified or adjusted at any time, ensuring lineside testing and validation as needed. Whether it’s for PSI (pounds per square inch) pressure testing on integrated assemblies or vibrating testing, everything can be made with 80/20.

Whether it’s creating an enclosure for the maintenance team and critical equipment or creating an inventory storage location for essential materials, the 80/20 solution ensures your most precious investments are always guarded and protected.

Once again, the enclosure above is made entirely from 80/20 materials. From the T-slot aluminum profiles providing the framing to the 80/20 wire mesh panels and all the fasteners, plates, connectors, and brackets, 80/20 ensures you have the means to protect all your shop floor valuables. Increased safety and improved ergonomics are immediate payoffs of using the 80/20 system. The image, left, shows a simple solution assembled from 80/20 T-slot aluminum profiles, brackets, nuts, bolts, washers, and 80/20 base plates.  

Whether it’s protecting employees with increased safety throughout the shop floor or using the T-slot aluminum profiles on exterior platforms for shipping, the solution is universal and provides improved safety and ergonomics at lower costs. 

Increasing safety with customized machine guards ensures operators are less likely to injure themselves. Whether it’s cordoning off a given location, or simply needing to ensure operators are protected from accidents, the 80/20 system is simple, cost-effective, and easily changed.

80/20 is a direct supplier of guard rail solutions using the T-slot aluminum profiles for a wide range of OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers). However, the solution can also be applied to any automotive manufacturer with installed equipment and machinery. 80/20 ready-made machine guarding integrates within a manufacturing plant to keep debris in or people out. It offer door access for technicians and operators. It's built using 80/20 door handles, T-slot aluminum profiles, fasteners, brackets, plates, and wire mesh.

What's the Next Step with 80/20?

See More 80/20 in
Automotive Manufacturing

Get a full overview of 80/20 in the automotive industry. Browse solutions, products and more within a dedicated page to all the way 80/20 is involved in automotive manufacturing.

Dive into the Automotive
Line Redesign Field Guide

This step-by-step workbook helps automotive manufacturers identify production bottlenecks, evaluate workstation layouts, and redesign assembly lines for maximum flexibility. 

Start Designing with
IdeaBuilder Software

If you are familiar with 80/20 or would like to start your own design work to assemble your own material handling structures, then try IdeaBuilder®, a free web-based software.

Plan your next ESD-protected workstation and learn more in the ESD-Compliant Workstations Field Guide.

Go deeper on compliance and testing in our ESD Compliance Guide for Manufacturing.

Ready to build? Start designing in 80/20's IdeaBuilder in minutes. Need local support? Talk to the 80/20 team or your local 80/20 distributor about ESD-safe panels, grounding hardware, and workstation designs.

• Reduce changeovers and lifecycle cost:

  • Reuse T-slot frames

  • Reuse hardware across programs

  • No dealing with steel-welded and heavy work benches or steel material handling structures.

• Improve safety and ergonomics:

  • Height-adjustable

  • Smart cable routing

  • Easy air routing

  • Compliant guarding

• Scale material flow:

  • Lineside FIFO

  • Kitting carts

  • Both solutions balance the line and minimize wasted motion.

Free Design Software

Free Solidworks Plug-in

Free AutoCAD Plug-in