Table Top Mount for Metal Shelving Units

thingiverse

I required a new printer storage area and opted to repurpose a 3-shelf metal unit with wire shelves and corner rods that press down on a clamp. These units are affordable and often come in chrome finish. I utilized a Wal-Mart purchased "Hyper Tough 3-shelf rolling cart" for this purpose, but I have similar units in the basement that are pre-assembled and feature identical diameter corner posts. This is an L-bracket shaped mount designed to secure a 22.4mm diameter corner rod. This appears to be a standard size, as I used parts from another shelving unit without any fitment issues. It's possible that heavier-duty units with larger rods can hold more weight and require scaling up this design. I enlarged the screw holes to 4.5mm to accommodate either M4 or #8 wood or sheet metal screws. For my tabletop, I employed a sheet of MDF from the hardware store. This allowed me to create a stable tabletop that resists tipping, accommodates my 3D printer, and enables conversion of the three shelves into full storage for filament and printer tools. If additional friction is needed during printing without reprinting at a different scale, slowly shimming the rod tops with bits of electrical tape can be an effective solution. Individually, it takes approximately 2-2.5 hours to print each mount, but printing four on the build plate increases production time to around 8 hours.