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L Extrusion Endcaps

3D printed end caps that allow quick and easy construction of frames from easy to find and cheap aluminium L extrusion.

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3D printed end caps that allow quick and easy construction of frames from easy to find and cheap aluminium L extrusion.
The L extrusion is the type found in hardware and lumber stores for protecting wooden corers. It should be way cheaper and easier to get that ordering and waiting for other types of extrusions .

You can set the corners at any height on the vertical as they pass through .

This is the part in its minimalist form. Something to start from but fully ready for basic frames.
Feel free to add extra plastic and such as needed in your own projects .

I did a simple example of a 3D printer like shape .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o8bj3Rmsvs

File can be found here : https://tinkercad.com/things/a59el28nvjn

The part was designed off an Idea i had to make use of the L channel aluminium extrusions i had been drilling and bolting and JB welding for years to make stands and frames.

The problem with drilling and especially using epoxies is that it can be next to impossible to make adjustments or have areas that can come apart for repair or adjustments.

Drilling and gluing also make reusing the same frame later impossible or very hard and messy job , if your need is just for a temporary rig / frame.

L_CH_Corner_OXO_1.stl

simple corner

Microsoft Trust UI Provider - Certificate Trust Link - 20.00 kB - 01/19/2016 at 20:35

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LCH_sider_dolly_example.stl

a small example of a slider , using 5x10.1x4mm bearings.

Standard Tesselated Geometry - 74.89 kB - 02/24/2016 at 10:31

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LC_45x45_end2.stl

This is the 45deg offset for holing L ch as a rails or such for linear slides.

Standard Tesselated Geometry - 6.04 kB - 02/24/2016 at 10:29

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  • Added 45deg connectors and linear slides

    Scott02/24/2016 at 10:24 0 comments

    I created a extra part for holing the L ch' bars in such a way that they are 45deg offset . that lets you use them as rails and all sorts .

    I also worked out a example roller to make a carriage . Those are 4.7x10.1x4mm bearings .( exact measurements , as the package says 5x10x4mm )

    i did a quick video on YouTube of them and the rollers working.

    I will add the stl files and link to the public TinkerCad files soon as I clean them .

    The TinkerCad files for the new parts.

  • Sizing and making them stronger

    Scott01/24/2016 at 18:43 0 comments

    I'm going to test on some other filaments I have today .

    On side note i edited the instructions to include hints as to how you can adjust the scale of your part to match the wall thickness of your extrusion stock . the wall thickness on min is 1.4mm , the part was sized to print with PLA and just be a snug fit on that wall thickness .
    you could just try applying % diff in the wall thickness of your stock , to print the first 3 or 4mm high of the part and abort , then when it cools check the fit of your stock in the vertical slot. the key is the thickness as there should be a small but of space at the tips of the extrusion sides. scale your part in your slicer to fit your stock perfectly .

    One friend has tested heating up the extrusion before insertion into slightly undersized PLA end caps, it looked to work ok , but then you cant use the vertical at places in the middle of your extrusions very easily . so im not sure if the heating that way is a good idea.

    possibly passing a heat gun on finished assembly could further solidify the parts in place . That would be something to try .

    I have found the PLA i use to be real strong , but can see why one would want to try to solidify the layers.

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  • 1
    Step 1

    I sliced this part in Cura in Repetier host .

    Using PLA

    layer height 0.2 mm

    Infill 10% , but probably higher for more strength jobs .

    Brim and supports set to everywhere .

    possibly just print or abort after first few MM high have printed . then compare the wall thickness to your extrusion . Mine is 1.4mm thick , yours my be thicker. so print shallow test , and adjust the scale of the part to match your extrusion stock.

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Karl SCHUH wrote 08/03/2016 at 07:20 point

I came to this page via the new Randomizer and this is really cool :-)

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Scott wrote 08/03/2016 at 12:11 point

glad you like it . I'm currently working on using L ch as rails for X axis on a 3d printer . once I get it ready to test i'll be making a post about that . 

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Scott wrote 05/20/2016 at 01:37 point

glad you like it .  And that was my thougts , cheap and quick to get something working .  you can convert to 80/20 later or more permanent parts once you know your idea will work . 
Also i find  have a box of pre cut 'L" extrusions now from changing ideas  , pre cutting some common lengths and keeping them handy . 
 

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Adam Fabio wrote 05/20/2016 at 00:33 point

This is awesome - it's almost like having 80/20 as close as my local home depot!

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AVR wrote 05/20/2016 at 00:56 point

my exact thoughts!

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