Introduction: A Simple Magnetic Din Rail Mount

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About: I’m a lifelong maker. I became involved with the maker movement because of my children. I was looking for a way to supplement what they were doing in school with some hands-on activity.

One or more of these situations may be familiar to you.

  • Having to store a project while it is under construction temporarily.
  • Developing software on a kludged-together prototype.
  • Temporarily placing a changeable collection of tools while working on a project.
  • Mocking up a din rail system before mounting it in a cabinet.
  • Setting up a temporary workspace to wrap Christmas presents
  • Or generally played with any system of changeable din rails

Over time, we have solved each of these situations with a piece of DIN rail and some 3D-printed parts. We have written about our longer-term solutions before ( Din rail project hotel and DIN rail mount for a wire shelf ), but this one was created first.

It is usable anywhere there is a ferrous metal surface—surfaces like the sides of toolboxes, electrical cabinets, work tables, Ikea Helmer storage cabinets, and old desks work great.

If no metal surfaces are convenient, check out the second part of our instructable on magnet mounts. You will have to construct one plate for each magnet. See it here: instructable.

Supplies

Magnetic Din Rail mount PrintablesThingiverse

Magnetic Din Rail Double mount PrintablesThingiverse

Magnetic Din Rail inline mount. PrintablesThingiverse

Din rail: Amazon

Two 1/4-20 x 3/4in screws from the local hardware store.

Two 1/4-20 nuts: Amazon

Disk magnets used: Amazon

Optional:

Gaffers tape: Amazon or Amazon

Anti-skid tape: Amazon

Step 1: The Use

The only requirement for use is a metal surface large enough to support the project you want to mount. The pictures above show how we have used the brackets to support DIN rails projects and tools.

Gaffers or some variant of anti-skid tape can protect the metal surface from scratches, but they will also reduce the magnets' holding power.

Step 2: The Design

The magnet base was initially designed to attach DIN rail-based Arduino projects to metal surfaces temporarily. Over time, the designs were reworked and expanded to attach other projects, such as thermal couple recorders, power supplies, Ethernet switches, and tool racks, to metal surfaces.

The initial bracket used an inline design, with the magnets placed in the same plane as the DIN rail. However, aligning the magnets vertically instead of horizontally proved more efficient for stability and weight distribution. The horizontally aligned bracket tended to slide down the metal surface slowly over time.

The last generation of the bracket was created when we needed more space for projects.

Step 3: Print the Parts

There is only one design to print and only two copies of that part.

  1. Print two of the magnet mounts.

You should print the bracket for the orientation you will use. We printed all the parts in PLA using Pursa Slicer and a 20% infill.

Step 4: A Word About Din Rails

There are many depth and material choices for din rails. We use IEC/EN 60715 – 35 × 15 for this project. Specifically, it is ASI PR006-1M Heavy Duty DIN Rail. It is 15mm deep. It is made of steel, not aluminum. This makes it rigid and able to span short distances without torquing.

The DIN rail can be cut to length with a hacksaw or a bandsaw with a metal blade.

Step 5: Assembly

The assembly process

  1. Attach the din rail to the magnetic mounts using screws and bolts.
  2. Attach the magnets. Place one magnet at a time, face down on a nonmetallic surface, and press the part onto the magnet. The face-down part of the magnet is flat. The other face has a curve to the top, which helps guide it into the hole. 
  3. Screw the magnets in using woodscrews. Repeat for all magnets.
  4. The magnet and screw should be flush with the holder's body so they do not scratch the surface they are applied to.
  5. This step is not required but highly recommended if you attach the magnets to a surface you care about. Put a piece of gaffer or vinyl anti-skid tape over the While. While the tape will slightly reduce the magnets' holding power, it will help prevent scratching of the surfaces.
  6. Attach the magnetic mount to a metal surface.
  7. Test to ensure the din rail is secure and not likely to slip as weight is added.
  8. Add the components to the din rail.
  9. Test to ensure the magnetic mounts are secure and the complete assembly is firmly in place.

Step 6: Conclusions

Several of these rails can be mounted on surfaces to prototype a system quickly before you start constructing a cabinet or enclosure, allowing you to test a layout.

They are great for placing projects in remote locations temporarily.

They also make great temporary tool racks.