Distribution — External bracket

External bracket

How-to guide

The bracket that mounts a distribution-frame vertical extrusion to the frame and gives it a mounting point.

Author Christoph

Parts needed

Printed parts

Screws

4×
M5 × 16 mm socket head cap screw

Three printed parts that bolt together into one external bracket. 6 per distribution frame (per layer), plus one set per interface.

Part	Qty per bracket	Qty per machine (6 brackets/layer)	Weight	STL
External bracket — side	1	6	48.5 g	Download STL
External bracket — bottom vertical	1	6	50.6 g	Download STL
External bracket — cover	1	6	12.4 g	Download STL

Other parts

Part	Qty per bracket	Notes
C-Layer vertical support (extrusion)	1	The vertical aluminum extrusion the bracket clamps onto.

No heat inserts are used on this assembly. Joining is self-tap: the M5 × 16 mm screws thread directly into the printed plastic.
The most-used M5 in the machine, the same screw used on every external bracket, every bin bracket, every interface rib, and every lazy Susan extrusion mount.
Of the four M5 × 16 mm screws: 2 join the bottom-vertical part to the side bracket, and 2 clamp the side bracket against the C-Layer vertical support to hold it in place. The cover clips on, it takes no screws.
Matching parts from the same print run are embossed with a shared set code (e.g. "b2") on both the side bracket and the bottom-vertical part, keep marked pairs together so brackets don't get mixed across sets.

Side bracket, bottom-vertical leg, cover, an extrusion offcut, and the four M5 × 16 mm screws laid out before assembly — Parts for one bracket, laid out before assembly: side bracket, bottom-vertical leg, C-Layer vertical support, and the four M5 × 16 mm screws. The cover is fitted last, in Step 4.

Close-up of the side bracket alone, showing the U-shaped extrusion clamp and the two mounting-hole wings — The side bracket on its own: the U-shaped opening clamps around the extrusion, and each of the two wings carries a pair of mounting holes.

Close-up of the bottom-vertical part's top flange, showing the holes used to screw it to the side bracket — The bottom-vertical part's top flange, before assembly: the square socket takes the extrusion, and the holes around it are what the two M5 × 16 mm screws in Step 1 go into.

Step 1 Mount the bottom-vertical leg to the side bracket

Set the bottom-vertical leg's flanged top into the U-shaped opening of the side bracket, tube pointing down. Line up the screw holes shown above and drive two M5 × 16 mm socket head screws down through the flange into the side bracket.

Bottom-vertical leg screwed into the underside of the side bracket, seen from above through the square extrusion socket — Two M5 × 16 mm screws join the bottom-vertical leg to the side bracket. Viewed from above, looking down through the square socket that will receive the extrusion.

Drive these tight. As self-tapping screws into printed plastic, they hold best if seated firmly the first time, repeated removal and reinsertion strips the plastic threads.

Step 2 Insert the C-Layer vertical support

Slide the C-Layer vertical support (the vertical aluminum extrusion) down through the side bracket's U-shaped clamp and into the square socket in the bottom-vertical leg below. The socket is sized to the extrusion's profile, so it can only seat in the correct orientation.

C-Layer vertical support extrusion inserted down through the side bracket and into the square socket of the bottom-vertical leg — C-Layer vertical support seated through the side bracket and into the bottom-vertical leg's socket. It isn't held in place yet, that's Step 3.

Step 3 Screw the bracket down onto the extrusion

Two more M5 × 16 mm screws clamp the side bracket against the C-Layer vertical support to hold it firmly in place.

Retention screw hole empty, before the screw is driven in — Before: retention-screw hole empty.

Retention screw driven in, seated flush in the hex socket — After: M5 × 16 mm screw driven in, clamping the bracket against the extrusion. Repeat for the second hole on the opposite face.

Step 4 Clip on the cover

Clip the cover onto the side bracket to close it off. The cover takes no screws, it's a snap fit.

The unattached cover sitting next to the assembled bracket, at the face where it clips on — The cover (left), not yet attached, next to the face of the assembly it clips onto.

Finished bracket with the cover clipped into place — Cover clipped into place. It sits flush against the side bracket, which is why the seam is subtle in photos.