How To Draw A Bracket

In this tutorial you will design a L bracket that will be 3D printed and used on the clock.

Roughly draw the 'L bracket shape, making sure to snap to the origin.:

Use the dimension tool to dimension the sketch as shown. Click finish sketch when completed:

Extrude the 'L' bracket sketch:

In the tool bar, click: "3D model>Extrude". Symmetric extrude the bracket 2in long. Make sure you click the "Symmetric" button!

In the Sketch Menu, click Start 2D sketch, then select the very bottom surface of your L bracket. Draw two circles and dimension them as shown:

Note: if you wish, you may use the "Equals", "Horizontal", or "Symmetric" constraints. Using constraints is the correct method to CAD.

Click "Finish Sketch", then click the extrude tool.

Select the holes, then choose the following options in the extrude menu:

Similar to the previous step, add two holes on the front of the L bracket. Note: the dimensions are different from the previous step.

As before, select the two holes and extrude cut them using the following settings in the extrude menu:

Draw the gusset:

In the model tree, select the XY plane and "Start a 2D Sketch". The XY plane should bisect your bracket.

Draw the gusset by sketching a triangle that connects the three corners as shown. Make sure you snap to the corners:

Use a .3in thick symmetric extrude to create the gusset settings as shown:

Congratulations, your bracket is now complete!

Exporting as .STL for 3D printing:

In order for the 3D printer to recognize your part, you must export your model as a .STL file in millimeters.

To export: File>Export>Cad Format
Select .stl for your file type. Then click Options and change the units to millimeters .
Save your file to a flashdrive to bring to the Design Studio to print.

Optional - Add text:

on the front face of your bracket (the face with the smaller holes) you can use the text tool to add text:

Cut extrude the text .05in deep.

Source: http://mae3.eng.ucsd.edu/clock-project/drawing-simple-clock-bracket