#PRINT YOUR OWN BRACKETS FULL#
#PRINT YOUR OWN BRACKETS PROFESSIONAL#

It’s all doable, but it’s no longer “click, click, done, isn’t that pretty for YouTube!?”. Equally, printing them without internal supports requires forethought in the design work, and sometimes requires some interesting design choices in terms of meeting the profile’s inner “T” extruded areas. It may also involve tweaks specific to a given manufacturer’s rail profile, even if it’s supposed to be “standard”. The downside is that the design and printing involves tighter tolerances that usually require tweaks related to the specific printer and nozzle size, either in the design or in the slicing.

Parts that don’t slide on can still take advantage of similar concepts. This creates not only more contact surface, but more contact surface in multiple directions that, depending on print orientation, can even stiffen the print by the shape it creates in the print. Yes, I design all of my own 3d printed pieces that interface aluminum extrusion by sliding on such that they pocket the profile entirely. Posted in 3d Printer hacks Tagged 3d printing, bracket, design, mass production, slicing Post navigation We’ve covered some of ’s high-volume design insights before, such as including living hinges and alternatives of pins and holes for assembling printed parts. Rather, it’s about a different way of thinking about your designs and leveraging the unique capabilities of 3D printers relative to other mass-production methods, like injection molding.

#PRINT YOUR OWN BRACKETS PROFESSIONAL#

Taking that a step further, the bracket morphs into a socketed design, taking advantage of what 3D printers can do by coming up with a part that reduces assembly time and fastener count while making a more finished, professional look.Īgain, this isn’t really about the bracket. The design progression of the L-bracket shown is a perfect example it starts as a simple L, moves on to a more elaborate gusseted design, and eventually into a sturdy sold block design that would be difficult to make with injection molding thanks to shrinkage but is no problem for a 3D printer. So why would you waste your precious time and effort rolling your own?Īccording to production 3D printing company, a lot of times, we forget to take advantage of the special capabilities of 3D printing.

#PRINT YOUR OWN BRACKETS FULL#

Such connectors are nothing you couldn’t buy, and even if you insisted on printing them instead, Printables and Thingiverse are full of ready-to-use designs.

On the “hack/not-a-hack” scale, a 3D printed bracket for aluminum extrusions is - well, a little boring.

Print your own brackets