Kenmore/Whirlpool Handle Bracket for Stainless (alum) handle

thingiverse

UPDATED .STL FILES FOR BETTER FIT 06/30/16. TWO NEWER VERSIONS, BETTER FIT. I have a Kenmore 106.72153111 23 CUFT refrigerator in stainless steel. It features nice brushed aluminum handles, but one end of each has a poorly designed gray plastic bracket that broke after about a year and had to be re-glued numerous times. You can't just buy the plastic part; you must purchase the entire metal handle, which currently costs around $80-$85 per unit as of June 2016. I finally decided to create my own design. It's not perfect but close enough for now. If these break again, I'll update the design accordingly. This part should also fit a Whirlpool WRT311F2BM00 refrigerator. Print Settings: Printer Brand: LulzBot Printer: TAZ 4 Rafts: No Supports: Yes Resolution: .03mm Infill: 50% rectilinear Notes: I used Gizmo Dorks Transparent ABS, which is my favorite. I wish the same formulation were available in other colors. You'll need to add your own supports. I used Simplify3D and employed the auto-support feature while removing a lot of support material to ensure easy removal. The ones near the center where the screw attaches to the aluminum hand were relatively sparse, but those near the side walls don't require removal if you can access them. On my second attempt, I reduced the outer layers from 3 to 2 to speed up the print. While I think 3 layers are better and save about five minutes, my print time was around an hour. I also reduced the squash on the first layer from 90% to 95%, as it helps prevent radius edge mess-ups. Post-Printing: Clean up the mounting holes and ensure that the screw heads attaching the bracket to the door are flush with the bracket as much as possible. Make sure the screw holding the plastic bracket can fit through the hole at the back of the cavity. The photo provided is not an exact representation of the design. The two bumps on the "T" protrusion, which fit into the brushed aluminum handle, may be a bit tight. You can file or trim these small bumps, or place the bracket flat side down on a hard surface and press the aluminum part onto the plastic "T" with gentle pressure straight down. How I Designed This: I used Helix Modeling 5.1 from Microcadam c. 2001. Unfortunately, this software is no longer available – a real shame!