• T-Slot Frame — Installation Guide
Installation Guide

T-Slot Frame — Assembly & Board Fitting

Free-standing mobile board frames, fixed floor frames and 5S shadow board frames are the same product: a cut-to-size aluminium T-slot extrusion kit, supplied ready to assemble. This guide covers all three.

CYANvisuals T-slot frame for whiteboards
2 peopleRecommended
~30 minAssembly time
4 & 6 mmHex keys needed
8 stepsStart to finish

The one decision — how does your board fit?

Settle this before you pick up a tool. It is the only thing that changes the build, and every step below is tagged A, B, or both.

Path A

Inset panel

The board sits inside the frame, slid down the inner T-slots and sealed with a rubber insert. Typical for steel-composite and magnetic whiteboard substrates. The board goes in during Step 1. Single-sided only.

Path B

Bolt-on board

The board fixes to the outside face of the frame through pre-drilled holes, using the supplied M8 hardware. It goes on at Step 6, after the frame is standing. Can be fitted to one side or both.

Before you start

In your kit

45 × 45 UL profile — rails, uprights, feet cut to size
3″ locking swivel casters, threaded stem 4
Slot nuts for casters 4
Angle gussets, 45 × 90 4
End caps, 45 × 45 6
M8 × 22 screw + washer + nut per gusset 4 sets
M8 bolt + washer + nut per side, per board · Path B 4 sets
Insert seal — Path A and header to length

Tools you supply

  • 4 mm hex T-handle — power-lock set screws
  • 6 mm hex T-handle — all M8 cap screws
  • Adjustable wrench — optional, final nip on casters
  • Tape measure and pencil
  • Scissors — insert seal
  • Soft mallet — end caps
Handle with care

Anodised aluminium marks easily. Build on cardboard or a clean bench, never bare concrete.

Power-locks — the part people get wrong

Each rail end carries a concealed power-lock: an internal fastener driven by a set screw through a small hole in the profile face. Once the frame is assembled you can only reach the set screw from outside. Every step tells you which way the access hole must face. Get it wrong and the joint has to come apart again.

Assembly

1

Build the U-frameAB

  1. Lay the two uprights on a clean flat surface, parallel, ends aligned, T-slot faces up.
  2. Slide the top rail in between them. Its ends must sit flush with the outside faces of the uprights — no overhang, no setback.
  3. Check the power-lock set screws at this joint are facing upward, away from the frame. This is the only chance to get them right.
  4. Tighten both power-locks with the 4 mm hex T-handle. Firm and even.
  5. Measure both diagonals of the U. They should match. If they don't, the top rail is not square — slacken and reset.
Path A — inset panels only

With the U still flat, slide the board down both upright T-slots until the top edge is snug into the top rail's slot. Support the weight the whole way — do not let it drop. Path B: skip this, your board fits at Step 6.

2

Close it with the lower railAB

  1. Slide the second rail up between the uprights from the open end of the U.
  2. Path A: push it up until the board's bottom edge is fully captured and the panel sits snug top and bottom. Path B: set it to the height on your order drawing — typically level with the bottom edge of the board.
  3. The power-locks on this rail must face downward, so you can reach the set screws once the frame is standing.
  4. Tighten both with the 4 mm hex T-handle.
  5. Re-check the diagonals. The frame is now a closed rectangle and should stay square for the rest of the build.
Don't force the panel

On Path A the panel should slide, not wedge. If the rail won't come up the last few millimetres, the board is cocked in one slot — lower it, straighten it, bring it up again. Forcing it bows the panel and the bow never fully comes out.

3

Fit the casters to the feetAB

Each caster carries a single threaded stem. It goes straight into the foot's T-slot, into a nut sitting in the slot — there is no base plate and nothing passes through the profile.

  1. Lay a foot profile down and pick out the slot that will face the floor.
  2. Drop a slot nut into that slot and run it along to one end, to the caster position on your order drawing.
  3. Offer the caster up, line the stem up with the nut, and start the thread by hand — two full turns before you apply any force.
  4. Turn the caster body to draw it up. The nut can't rotate in the slot, so the caster pulls itself tight. Stop when the mounting face is hard against the profile and the wheel still swivels freely.
  5. Repeat at the other end, then build the second foot the same way. Four casters, two feet, no other hardware.
Fixed-floor frames

Ordered with floor-mount feet instead of casters? They fix into the same slot, the same way. Drill and anchor after Step 5, once the frame is standing and you have marked its final position.

4

Fit the feet to the uprightsAB

  1. Keep the frame flat. Bring one foot assembly to the bottom end of an upright.
  2. Slide the foot over the power-lock at the base of the upright until the upright bottoms out in the foot's slot.
  3. Centre it: the foot should overhang equally front and back. Measure both sides rather than eyeballing it — an off-centre foot makes the finished board lean.
  4. Tighten the power-lock through the access hole with the 4 mm hex T-handle.
  5. Repeat on the second upright, then stand the frame up with two people and lock at least two casters before letting go.
The frame is not stable yet

Until the angle gussets go on at Step 5 the uprights are held by the power-locks alone. Do not lean the frame, load it, or leave it unattended in a walkway at this stage.

5

Gussets and end capsAB

Each angle gusset is supplied with 4 × M8 × 22 cap screws, 4 × M8 washers and 4 × M8 square nuts. Two gussets per foot — one either side of the upright.

  1. Slide two square nuts into the upright's slot and two into the foot's slot, on the side the gusset will sit.
  2. Offer the gusset into the corner. Push it hard into the angle so it is tight against both faces before any screw is tightened.
  3. Fit all four screws with washers, finger tight, then tighten evenly with the 6 mm hex — upright first, then foot.
  4. Repeat for the remaining three gussets. These carry the tipping load: none of them may be left slack.
  5. Press an end cap into each open profile end by hand, then tap the retaining pin home with a soft mallet until the cap sits flush.
Now go back and check

With the gussets on, run the 4 mm T-handle over every power-lock once more. Standing the frame up settles the joints, and a quarter-turn now saves a wobble later.

6

Bolt the board onB only

Path A (inset panels): skip to Step 7. Your board went in at Step 1.

  1. Your board is pre-drilled — four fixing holes per side. Hold it up to the frame and note which slots the holes land on.
  2. Slide four M8 square nuts into the outward-facing slot of each member the board fixes to, spaced roughly to the hole positions.
  3. With a second person taking the weight, offer the board up and start every bolt — washer under the head — before tightening any. Nuts rotate into place as the thread pulls them.
  4. Tighten evenly, working across the board rather than around it. The washer should sit flat: if it dishes, you are over-torquing the panel face.
  5. Double-sided: repeat on the reverse. Four fixings per side, per board, are supplied.
Composite and steel-faced panels

Snug, not hard. These substrates are stiff but the face skin will dimple around an over-tightened washer, and the mark does not come out. If a hole is a millimetre out, ease the board — never pull it into place with the bolt.

7

Seal the panelA only

  1. Cut the insert seal to the length of the slot run with scissors.
  2. Press it into the gap between the panel edge and the slot lip, using the flat of a pencil or a plastic wedge — never a screwdriver.
  3. Work from the centre outward so the seal is not stretched. A stretched seal shrinks back and leaves a gap at the ends.
  4. If the panel still moves, press a 1 mm shim into the slot behind the seal.
8

Fit the header panelAB

If ordered.

  1. Slide the 6 mm PVC header into the top T-slot of the upper rail.
  2. Cut a second length of insert seal to match the header exactly.
  3. Press the seal into the space between the header and the slot to lock it and close the line.
  4. Sight along the top edge — the header should read as one continuous band with no step at either end.
Printed headers

If the header carries your site or line name, check the orientation before you seal it in. Removing a sealed header without marking the profile is fiddly.

Final checks

Run this list on the floor where the board will actually live, not on the bench where you built it.

  • Every power-lock tight — 4 mm
  • All 16 gusset screws tight — 6 mm
  • All 4 casters threaded fully home and tight
  • All 6 end caps pressed flush
  • Frame stands without rocking on its final floor
  • Board square to the frame, even reveal both sides
  • Path A — panel has no movement in the slot
  • Path B — washers flat, no dimpling
  • Casters swivel freely, brakes engage
  • At least two diagonal casters locked in service

5S shadow board frames

Structurally identical — same profile, same feet, same gussets, same two fitting paths. Shadow board panels are almost always Path B, bolted to the outer face, because the hook loads want to go into a panel that can be taken off and re-laid out.

  • Fit hooks after the frame is upright and the brakes are locked, working top down so you are not reaching over fitted tools.
  • Load heavy tools low. A mobile frame's tipping line is the caster track, and weight at head height moves it a long way.
  • Double-sided boards: balance the two faces. A loaded front and an empty back will lean the frame even when it is dead square.
  • Tool weight is carried by the panel, not the frame. Respect the panel's rated load, not the frame's.

Troubleshooting

Symptom What it usually is
Frame rocks Nine times out of ten the floor, not the frame. Swivel all four casters to a new position and re-check. If it persists, one foot is not square to its upright — slacken that power-lock, sit the foot flat, retighten.
Panel rattles in the slot Insert seal not fully seated, or seated but stretched. Re-press from the centre out; add a 1 mm shim behind it if needed.
Can't reach a set screw That rail went in with the power-lock facing the wrong way. It has to come apart — slacken the joint, rotate the rail, refit.
Board holes won't line up The square nuts have rotated in the slot. Reach in with a small screwdriver and turn them back square, then slide to position.
Caster won't pull up tight The slot nut has cocked in the slot, or the stem cross-started. Back the caster right out, re-seat the nut square, and start the thread by hand for two full turns before turning it down.
Gusset won't pull into the corner A burr on the cut end, or an end cap already fitted underneath it. Deburr, seat the gusset, then cap.
Frame leans with the board on Feet not centred under the uprights, or a one-sided load on a double-sided frame. Check the overhang measurement both sides at Step 4.

Care and maintenance

  • Board face: dry-wipe, then proprietary whiteboard cleaner. No abrasives.
  • Aluminium: damp cloth only. Solvents dull the anodising.
  • Casters: keep the wheel track clear of swarf and strapping.
  • Re-check gusset and caster fixings after the first month, then annually.
  • Do not climb, lean on, or hang loads from the top rail.
  • Move the frame by the uprights, brakes off — never drag it by the board.

Need a part, a panel, or another frame?

Frames are cut to your board's width, so tell us the board size and we'll quote the frame to match. Replacement gussets, casters, end caps and insert seal are all stock items. Typical lead time is 1–3 weeks from written approval.

Get a quote or free design Browse boards & frames

CYAN-IG-TSF-01 · Revision 0 · September 2026 · CYANvisuals.com, Brantford, Ontario. Supersedes drawing set V2717 for customer use.