Understanding L Track, T Track, and V Slot Extrusions

If you've spent enough time building things, you've probably noticed that there are a number of track systems available for various projects. Some are meant to hold cargo, others guide tools, and plenty inspire the imagination as to their uses. At first glance they can look fairly similar, but each system was formed with a specific purpose in mind.

There are three main track systems we use around the shop. Some have found their way into our products, while others are indispensable during the design and prototyping process.

L Track: Built for Cargo

L Track, sometimes called airline track, was originally developed as a way to secure cargo inside aircraft. Its evenly spaced holes accept a wide variety of tie-down accessories, making it easy to attach straps, rings, hooks, or other hardware where they're needed. Over time, the same advantages made L Track popular in transport vans, trailers, emergency vehicles, and other applications where cargo needs to stay put.

More recently, the overlanding community has embraced L Track as a flexible way to organize gear. Recovery equipment, coolers, tool bags, and countless other accessories can all be secured without permanently committing to one layout. As your gear changes, the attachment points can change with it.

That flexibility is exactly what drew us to L Track for the Tunnel Tray. L Track gives owners the freedom to move tie-down points wherever they make the most sense. Most accessories simply click into place and release just as easily when the setup changes.

T Track: A Workshop Favorite

T Track solves an entirely different problem. Instead of securing cargo, it's designed to position tools and fixtures with precision. If you've ever seen adjustable stops on a crosscut sled or custom woodworking jigs, there's a good chance T Track was involved.

We see T Track throughout the shop, mostly as part of our tools. The rails allow for quick adjustments to stops, guides, and other fixtures on equipment like our saws, drill presses, and router tables. That adjustability makes repetitive tasks and regular setup changes easier and more accurate. We haven't yet found a place where T Track makes sense in one of our products, but it's a regular part of how we make them.

V Slot Extrusions: The Prototyping Playground

Extruded aluminum is probably our favorite of the three systems because of how many things you can do with it. V Slot and similar T Slot extrusions are aluminum profiles with channels running along their length. Those channels accept nuts, brackets, wheels, fasteners, and a nearly unreasonable assortment of other hardware.

They show up everywhere in fabrication and automation. CNC machines, 3D printers, workstations, machine guards, linear motion systems, and custom equipment can all be built around extrusions. That modularity is especially useful when you're building prototypes and expect the design to change.

Early product ideas often need to be assembled, adjusted, taken apart, shifted half an inch, stared at for a while, adjusted again, and eventually rebuilt into something more permanent. Extrusions let us experiment with dimensions and configurations without committing to a finished structure too early.

They've appeared in plenty of our prototypes and early designs over the years, although they've mostly remained part of the development process. That may change. There's a decent chance you'll see extrusion make the jump from shop material to an Interrobang product sometime soon.

Similar Idea, Different Hardware

All three systems share a useful design philosophy: give people an adjustable attachment point instead of deciding where everything needs to live on the first try.

Rivian owners already have a good example in the R1S. The cargo area has rails along both sides that accept adjustable cargo tie-downs. Those tie-downs can be repositioned along the rails to accommodate different loads or removed when they aren't needed. Rivian offers the R1S Adjustable Cargo Tie-Down specifically for this system.

Cargo changes. Tools change. Prototypes definitely change. Track systems give the attachment points somewhere to go along with them.

Picking the Track for the Job

L Track, T Track, and aluminum extrusion can look like variations on the same idea, but their strengths lead them in different directions. L Track excels at movable cargo attachment points. T Track works well for positioning fixtures, stops, and tools. Extrusions can become part of the structure itself, which is why we reach for them so often when a new prototype starts taking shape.

For the Tunnel Tray, L Track gave us the combination we were looking for: compact hardware, adjustable tie-down locations, and accessories that can pop in and out easily as the tray's job changes.

T Track remains part of how we build and work in the shop, while extrusion continues to appear throughout our prototyping process. Keep an eye on future projects and you may eventually spot some extrusion that escaped the prototype stage and made it into a finished product.