Laser Cut 19" 1.3U Rack Mount Shelf

thingiverse

I wanted a shelf for my network equipment rack so I decided to give making one on the laser a try and I think it turned out pretty well. The shelf measures approximately 17"x9". Since it uses 4 rack mounting holes, I've called this a 1.3U shelf but it's probably more like 1.6U once you include the bracing on the bottom of the shelf. The shelf is designed to be made from 1/8" (~3mm) material and fits on a single 12"x24" sheet. I've put letters on the various tabs and their corresponding slots so that assembly should hopefully be relatively easy to figure out. Between those and the pictures, it should be simple enough for anyone to assemble the base and side braces separately, then put those pieces together into the final shelf. Using as many clamps as possible and putting square blocks in the corners to support the shelf while the glue dries is recommended. Even with all that, I didn't manage to get the shelf completely square; your mileage may vary. The strength of the shelf will obviously depend on your materials, glue, assembly, and environment. I had a stack of 6 or 8 old hard drives on it for a while and it seemed to hold up just fine but I can't make any guarantees about how well it will hold up for you. Testing it for a few weeks with some expendable weights before placing anything valuable on it is suggested. Use this design at your own risk. I've already spent way more time on this than I would have liked, so I probably won't be updating it in the near future but there are a few potential improvements that I have noticed if I or anyone else was so inclined: * The front of the shelf flexes more than I would have liked when it's heavily loaded. Adding another support brace near the front edge of the shelf would improve this. * The support bracing for the shelf is currently cut out separately from the shelf. Redesigning the support braces to be cut out of the slots in the shelf, reducing waste, is possible if one was so inclined. * The shelf is currently only held together with glue. Adding t-slots and screws could be used to augment the glue and improve the strength of the shelf, plus clamping would be less necessary during assembly. * Making a 1U version of this design fairly easily is possible if someone needed it.