Description
For their track saw guide rails, Makita sells either a single connector (Makita P-45777) or a pack of 2 (Makita P-20177). Both are way overpriced for the simple pieces of metal with some tapped holes. What’s more it’s not always super obvious that you are just getting one connector, so I stupidly only bought the single connector.
While using a single connector to connect two guide rails works, it doesn’t not work well. The two tracks have a tendency to twist in relation to each other which makes it sketchy trying to move the combined track around. So I designed a 3D printed connector/aligner to make the guide rails more stable with a single metal connector.
If both tracks are on a flat surface, two of these 3D printed connector/aligners may allow you to make a longer cut, but these should not be used in place of a metal connector if you are going to pick up the combined track! They will easily bend, twist, or snap.
I originally wasn’t going to publish these connector/aligners, but I had a few requests. If you are starting from scratch with two tracks and no connectors I’d recommend these connectors from TSO rather than the Makita ones.
So this should work with the Festool Tracks and can possibly work for other guide rail systems if you customize it using the openSCAD model or scale it when slicing it.
Files
Print Settings
Printer: Prusa i3 MK3
Slicer: PrusaSlicer
Material: Inland PET-G
Resolution: 0.3 mm with a 0.4mm nozzle
Wall Lines/Perimeters: 3
Infill: Minimum 20% Gyroid. The higher infill percentage the stronger the part.
Notes:
Instructions
I choose the dimensions to make the connector/aligner snug in my guide rails. If your printer is calibrated correctly it should work with any Makita guide rail. If they don’t you can always scale the print to make it fit or adjust the channel size in the openSCAD model.
In the model you can also adjust the length of the connector/aligner and the size and length of the taper.
