Design Process and CAD

Since I had easy access to a 3D printer, these linkages are made of PLA. The assembly is shown below

The most challenging part of this assembly is assembling the slider mechanism. To constrain the aluminum extrusion block, I used a 3D printed part that has 3 bearing wheels with wheel profiles that matched the cross section face of the aluminum extrusion. This provides a low-friction assembly that constrained the aluminum block to only allow for movement vertically.