Brackets and mounts from 3D printing
Sensor, camera and display mounts, cable and hose holders, custom brackets. Upload a CAD file and get a load-bearing part in days instead of waiting weeks for a sheet metal bracket.
Simple brackets ready to ship in 24 to 72 hours
Where printed brackets work well
Brackets are almost always tailored to a specific enclosure, cable harness or site condition. That individuality is exactly what makes sheet metal or molded standard parts uneconomical.
Sensor and camera mounts
Angle and orientation are matched exactly to the measurement position, including slotted holes for fine adjustment on site.
Cable and hose holders
Contoured clips route cable bundles without chafing points and adapt to any diameter.
Display and panel mounts
Frames and consoles for displays and control panels, with cutouts for cable routing and glare shielding.
Machine-side consoles
Consoles for auxiliary equipment on machines that adapt to existing hole patterns instead of forcing new ones.
Suitable materials
For brackets, stiffness and creep resistance under sustained load matter most. Fiber-filled materials deform less under preload than unfilled ones.
- PA12-CFCarbon-filled nylon 12 - the metal replacement workhorse.
- PCPolycarbonate - high impact, high heat, transparent option.
- ASAThe outdoor specialist - ABS mechanics with true UV stability.
- ABSClassic engineering ABS - strong, affordable, easy to finish.
- PETGTough, food-safe-capable everyday workhorse.
- PA12Tough, low-friction nylon for functional mechanical parts.
Details for a load-capable bracket
- 01Mounting points on both the target device and the structure, with existing hole patterns if any.
- 02Direction and magnitude of the main load, sustained or shock, so ribs can be oriented correctly.
- 03Whether the joint is permanently preloaded, for example by a screw, due to possible creep.
- 04Ambient temperature and vibration at the installation site, to tune material and wall thickness.
- 05Whether the bracket is disassembled repeatedly, to decide between a direct thread and an insert.
Design principles for printed brackets
A bracket almost always transfers a force from one mounting point to the next, and that load path shapes the design more than the outer form. Instead of printing a solid plate, we work with ribs aligned precisely with the expected force direction. That saves material, shortens print time and makes the bracket stiffer exactly where it matters, not just heavier overall.
Screw areas are the second weak point. Cutting a thread directly into printed material works for occasional assembly, but loses holding force with repeated loosening and tightening, because the flanks made of melted and resolidified material are softer than a machined thread. For brackets removed multiple times during operation, for example at maintenance points, we use brass threaded inserts that are either pressed in or heat-set with a soldering iron.
Creep under sustained load is often underestimated, because an FDM part looks entirely unremarkable under short-term testing. Only after weeks under constant preload, for example at a clamped screw joint, does the plastic slowly give way and preload drops. For permanently preloaded joints we therefore enlarge the contact area, choose a lower-creep material such as PC or PA12-CF, and avoid routing the full clamping force through a thin wall.
Manufacturing data at a glance
- Location
- Schleswig, Germany
- Part size
- up to approx. 250 x 250 x 250 mm, larger parts split and joined
- Quantities
- 1 to several thousand, no minimum order quantity
- Tolerances
- approx. ±0.2 mm for PLA, PETG and carbon grades, ±0.3 mm for ABS, ASA and PC
- Layer height
- 0.10 to 0.30 mm
- Materials
- 20 engineering filaments from PLA to PA12-CF and PC FR
- File formats
- STEP, STL, 3MF, OBJ, IGES up to 200 MB
- Lead time
- 2 to 4 working days for samples, 4 to 15 working days for series
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Bracket FAQ
- How stable is a printed bracket under continuous load?
- With correct wall thickness and orientation, printed brackets carry static loads permanently. It gets critical under permanent preload, for example at clamped screw joints, because plastic slowly creeps under sustained load. There we plan metal inserts or larger bearing faces so preload is not held by wall thickness alone.
- What tolerance do hole patterns in printed brackets have?
- Holes and hole patterns hold the usual ±0.2 to ±0.3 mm depending on material. That is fine for screw clearance holes, but we recommend 0.1 to 0.2 mm extra clearance for dowel or centering fits.
- Can threads be cut directly into the printed bracket?
- For occasional disassembly a self-tapping thread into a pilot hole is enough. For brackets that are removed regularly or exposed to vibration, we use pressed-in or heat-set brass threaded inserts.
- How is print orientation chosen for brackets with a load path?
- We orient the part so the main load acts in-plane with the layers rather than perpendicular to them, because interlayer adhesion is the weakest direction in an FDM part. For brackets under bending load we also check whether ribs can redirect force into a more favorable direction.
Read next
Wall Thickness Guidelines for FDM Parts
Getting wall thickness wrong leads to weak walls and failed parts. Here is how to choose the right shell thickness for strength, speed, and reliability in FDM printing.
FDM Tolerances: What Accuracy You Can Actually Design For
Most fit problems in FDM are not machine problems. They are specification problems.
Engineering Material Selection Guide for FDM 3D Printing
The best material is not the strongest one. It is the one that matches the environment, the mechanical requirements and the production goals of the part.