Parametric heater sidewall clip/Brötje Klemmbuchse

The Brötje radiators use 4 plastic clips (2 on each side) to hold the metal side panels. They have to be attached to two pipes inside the radiator. They are rather tight and tend to break when removing one site panel for cleaning purposes.

This design was first started to create a replacement. But at the end, it ended up as a small research project to improve it for my personal use case. It might not actually be optimized for other (similar) radiators. But it is possible to open the "heater_sidewall_mount v2 simplified parametric.FCStd" or "heater_sidewall_mount v3 optimized.FCStd" with realthunder's FreeCAD Link Branch and adjust the various parameters in the spreadsheet.

The versions are:

• heater_sidewall_mount v1 original
  • design to mimic the original part
  • see bottom list for other designs on thingiverse which might mimic specific versions of this clip better
• heater_sidewall_mount v2 simplified parametric
  • some unneeded overhangs and details were removed to make it better printable
  • the simplified design was parametrized via a spreadsheet
• heater_sidewall_mount v3 optimized
  • parameters were adjusted to create a better usable design for my purpose
  • smaller length of the part which connects to the pipe
  • reduced wall size of the part which connects to the pipe
  • reduced inner diameter of the side-wall part to increase the wall thickness
  • increased lug width to increase the overall wall thickness
  • to compensate for the much stiffer clip, the opening angle was slightly increased to make it easier to put it over the pipe
  • number of spacers were increased to improve the z-stability

The support has to be removed from the small slit on the top. Thanks to the support interface, it could be removed with a small leaver (like a small flat head screw driver) and needle-nosed pliers.

The current tests prints are only PLA but should be reprinted in the future in a more haet resistant material.

If only a ready to print model is needed then also have a look at the designs from

• glatzy91
• alin1977
• Albert62

Print Settings

Support settings:

• Pattern: ZigZag
• Density: 15%
• Support Interface: Yes

Additional changes:

• Slicing tolerance: exclusive
• Ironing: true