Milwaukee PACKOUT Single Rail Adapter

Hello, and thanks for looking at my model!

I live own a three decker which means that even though I own my own home I also live in an apartment. This creates problems for hobbies like model making, scratch building and miniature painting for wargaming due to space constraints. It's fine to spread out when working on a hobby but that stuff needs to be packed away as small as possible when not in use. Milwaukee PACKOUT was the perfect answer to this - mostly. I have changed the stack once as two new pieces came out but it still needed some adjustment to make it perfect for my needs.

One of the ways I've recently modified the stack to better serve is to add rails to hang bits on to let me store stuff that is a little harder to store in the drawers or cabinets without it taking up a pot of room, falling all over itself and being hard to find the thing I want. I realize there are other rail adapters out there but none of them fit what I wanted exactly. Designing these parts also gave me a great way to learn Solidworks better.

I've attached three versions of the 3MF files. One has just a single adapter, one has two and one has all four if you're adding a top and bottom loop like in my photo. The two files with multiples have half the models flipped 180 degrees so that you can always put all the same looking surface facing up in any pair.

This model is to add a rail adapter to one corner, going on one direction. It is as low profile as possible so it will go as tight to the top and bottom of each rail as an adapter can go. There are holes on the back side big enough to allow a heat press inset press pass through without contacting the plastic. Pressing the inserts in from the back side allows me to take advantage of the stresses that will be involved when using a set screw to fix the adapter in place on the rail. There is a very slight lip on the front side of the hole for the heat press insert to serve as a stop when pressing from the back. When adding the set screw from the front then tension from the set screw pressing against the rail will act to try and press the heat insert through the entirety of the plastic at the front instead of acting to push the heat press insert out of the plastic like it can if pressed from the front. I mean it's the leverage of metal threads against 3D printed plastic. At some point that leverage will win but this prevents most accidents.

There are slight chamfers on all holes allowing the heat press insert to be pressed in from the back and centered in the hole with a pair of pliers up to the first larger knurled ring. This holds it nicely both firmly and straight. The large hole on the back side lets the head of a heated heat press insert tool to pass through without contacting the plastic.

The slit is designed to fit a 1/8" x 2" piece of steel or aluminum bar stock sold at every home center these days. You can also buy it online from several places but unless you're buying a lot of it, or don't have a choice because of where you live, the minor cost savings with the additional shipping won't work out in your favor.

If using my rail adapters you'll need a length about 12 1/2" long to cover the distance between the adapters on the sides of a PACKOUT and fill the recesses. That does make it very close to actual dimensions however. Using a piece 12 3/8" will give you just a little play in case things shrink oddly. 

On the back you'll need 18 1/2" if you're comfortable going tight and 18 3/8" for just a little wiggle room.

I cut mine with my M12 Sawzall but you could use an angle grinder with a cutting wheel or an old fashion hacksaw just as well. However you cut the bar stock, whether aluminum or steel make sure to file the edges to remove burs. The fit is nice and easy but burs would still stop it from sliding in easily or seating all the way into the recesses.

The hardware list is below. For the Aluminum bar you'd only need one to make two complete loops consisting of two shorter sides and one longer side across the back. The steel is typically sold in shorter bars in home centers so you'll need two of them. That will give a loop of rail for the sides and back at the bottom of the extrusion and one for the top as well. I have no affiliate accounts and get nothing if you click on the links below or not. They're included for information on exactly what I used only. 

Print Settings:

The 3MF files are set to use Prusa's Generic PETG profile which honestly works pretty good for most PETG filament. Aside from important settings used were:

Perimeters: 3

Solid Layers: Top: 5, Bottom: 5

Infill: Fill Density: 25%, Fill Pattern Gyroid

Supports and brims are entirely unneeded when printed in the orientation shown.

For Hardware:

Set Screws - M6-1x8mm Set Screws - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DY4MVNQM

Heat Press Inserts - M1 x 1.5mm L x 2mm OD Brass Heat press inserts - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTCR52KZ

Rail - Aluminum 1/8" x 2" x 8' Flat Bar - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-2-in-x-8-ft-1-8-in-Thick-Aluminum-Flat-Bar-6223/332734021

Alternate Rail (If you need more strength or the ability to use magnets on the bar) 

Steel 1/8" x 2" x 4' Flat Bar (You'd need two of these) - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-2-in-x-4-ft-1-8-in-Thick-Plain-Steel-Flat-Bar-0717/332735531

For those interested I currently have the Dolly (48-22-8410) as the base, the Three Drawer Tool Box - 2 small $ 1 large drawer (48-22-8447) on that, the other Three Drawer Tool Box - three equal sized drawers (48-22-8443) on top of that, then two Cabinets (48-22-8445) on top of that and then one of the standard Organizers (48-22-8430) on top of it all. At some point there will also be one or more organizers hanging off of the back and a couple of the half organizers hanging off the opposite side from what you see in one of the photos. It lets me get all of my modeling hoppy tools and supplies into an 18" x 24" floor space when not in use that will roll through any doorway in my home.

A last cautionary note.

I have noticed in my own testing on the PACKOUTS I own, both in the photo and in my basement, that there is a good bit of variance in the exact size of the PACKOUTs as well as the aluminum extrusions. On the PACKOUTs themselves the variance is not that great but on the aluminum extrusions it can be as much as a 1/16" which can make the rail adapters unusably tight. On the box you see in the photo with the adapters on three of the rails just slid in and one rail required me to file the inside of the adapter hole for the rail a bit to get it to fit. It wasn't an issue of the particular adapter printing weird either. I tried all of the adapters I printed on that rail and on all the rails on the PACKOUTs I own, so 32 extrusions altogether. On five of the extrusions I could not get the adapters to pass through easily. Holding the extrusions up to each other is was easy to see they are not made to the tightest of tolerances. Just something to be aware of.