Magnetic Right Angle Bracket for Welding

When you weld you can't always hold the pieces of metal together with your hands, so I created a magnetic right angle bracket to hold them for you! This project involves multiple skills such as CAD modeling and 3D printing. The welding helper only takes an hour or two to make and can be very handy in the workshop. Overall this project is useful and teaches CAD skills along with 3d printing. It is also not expensive and can be made in an afternoon.

Materials:

• 3D Printer Filament and 3D Printer
• Magnets
• Super Glue
• CAD Software (Fusion 360)
• Slicing Software (Ultimaker Cura)

Step 1: Design

For this project, I used a CAD software called Autodesk Fusion 360. You can also use other software like Tinkercad, 123 Design, and many others. First I took some measurements of the magnets themselves to get a rough estimate of how big it would be. Second I sketched the right angle portion with no holes in it yet. I then extruded that sketch and made another sketch on top of that main body. This sketch was containing the holes for the magnets. I also added some chamfers (chamfers are a way to round edges on objects) here and there to make it look a bit nicer. Once that was done, I moved on to the slicing software for 3d printing. I have included my design file.

Step 2: Slice Your Model for 3D Printing

It is now time to slice your file into layers for the 3D printer to print. I use a software called Cura. You can also use Repetier Host, Octoprint, and multiple others. This is a free software that I use for all my 3D printers. You will need to tune the settings to your 3D printer and it will automatically slice your model for you. After that step, you can download your model to an SD card or you can print through a USB cable. Once it has been printed you are ready to put the magnets in it. I have included my .gcode file. Keep in mind, this file was made for an MP Select Mini V2 3D printer, and it has a print bed of 120mm by 120mm.

Step 3: Print It!

You can now print the model and it should be done in no time! Mine took ≈30 minutes. Make sure your first layer sticks to the print bed. I am printing with PLA filament and at an average speed of 55 mm/s.

Step 4: Add Magnets and Finish

It is now time to insert the magnets into the 3D printed part. The magnets should fit in tightly. I put a drop of glue in the base of the hole and pushed the magnet in with the super glue cap. I did this so I would not get glue on my hands. You can also wear gloves if you would like to. I then proceeded to flip the part over and pushed it against the table to get the magnet in all of the way. I did this for all four of the magnets and the finished piece turned out great. I have included links to the products I used and the .stl file I created at the top of the page.