ClosetMaid wire shelves connector bracket

This is a model of a connector bracket for joining two sections of ClosetMaid wire shelving at the front, thus ensuring that they are aligned and can distribute the load. I had some wire shelving pieces lying around and wanted to make them a long continuous shelf in my garage.

ATTENTION: There are several variations of ClosetMaid wire shelves. If the dimensions of your sections are different, you'll have to modify the model. The FreeCAD file is included and instructions are included below. For my shelve sections, the main rod pieces are 0.25in thick and 1.25in apart center-on-center (i.e., 1-in gap in between and 1.5in from outer edge to outer edge). The wires are roughly 1in apart.

There  are two parts: a front and back. The back part ensures the vertical alignment of the wire shelf and the distribution of weight. The front part keeps everything together and keeps the spacing of the wires in the shelving consistent. Furthermore, there are two versions of the front part because I've found that the wire spacing on these shelves is not that consistent :\ The default has 3.6mm opening which gives only a bit of slack beyond the 3.2mm thickness of the coated wire. The version with “Front5mm” has a 5mm wide opening for the wires which should be enough for most cases. When in doubt, print the latter.

Hardware required: 2x M4 screws, 14mm or longer, and nuts

To adjust dimensions:

• To adjust the height of the bracket:
  • Measure the distance center-on-center of the two rods in the front. Alternatively, measure the distances between inner edges and from outer edge to outer edge and average them out.
  • Open the sketch in the first pad of each part and set the height to measurement.
  • Open the “Rod slots” sketch under “Carve rod slots”“Rod slots” sketch under “Carve rod slots”, and change the distance between the two elements in the sketch.
• For different thickness of the shelving rods:
  • In the back part, open the “Rod slots” sketch under “Carve rod slots”.
  • Change the diameter and depth of the slots.
• For different spacing between wires:
  • Measure the center-to-center distance between wires, e.g., by measuring the distance from the left edge of consecutive wires. I've found these to have some variation, so be sure to measure a few and get an average.
  • In the front part, open the “wire slots” sketch under “Carve wire slots”. Change the two horizontal dimensions from 25.4mm (1in) to the above measurement.
  • Open the sketch in the first pad of each part and set the width to ~3.5x of the above measurement.