Cubes and Brackets for 25 mm Rails

XE25 25 mm Construction Rail Accessories
Rails	Cubes and Brackets	Breadboard Mounting	Rail Joiners	Channel Insert
Construction Tools	T-Nuts and Screws	Enclosures		Enclosure Accessories

Features

• High-Strength Plastic or Aluminum Cubes Form Rigid Connections Between 25 mm Rails
• Right-Angle Brackets Reinforce Corners and Fasten Rails to Breadboards and Optical Tables
• Low-Profile Screws Fasten Cubes to Rail Ends without Obstructing Through Holes

Thorlabs' XE25 Cubes and Brackets are designed to orient our 25 mm rails at right angles in two or three dimensions.

Construction Cubes
Our construction cubes create rigid corners in 25 mm rail assemblies, holding up to three XE25 rails at right angles. The RM1G and RM1S Counterbored Construction Cubes are manufactured from anodized aluminum, while the XE25W3 Quick Corner Cube is fabricated from high-strength plastic. The aluminum RM1S cube is slotted to accept posterboard and hardboard walls for the construction of light-tight optical enclosures.

Right-Angle Brackets
The AB90H and XE25A90 Right-Angle Brackets can be used to fasten 25 mm rails to each other, an optical table, or a breadboard. Both intended for use with 1/4"-20 (M6) cap screws, the AB90H has a total of two counterbored slots of length 1" and 0.5", while the XE25A90 has two counterbored holes.

Low-Profile Channel Screws in Corner Cube

Low-Profile Channel Screws
Our Low-Profile Channel Screws feature a shortened cap height relative to standard cap screws, which is useful in situations with limited space. For example, standard cap screws installed in neighboring faces of our construction cubes would interfere with each other. As shown to the left, low-profile channel screws leave the neighboring through holes clear.

Thorlabs' accessories for assemblies made of 25 mm rails include corner cubes and brackets, T-Nuts, low-profile channel screws, breadboard mounting accessories, rail joiners, and a channel insert. In addition, we offer optical enclosures, enclosure accessories, and do-it-yourself tools like taps, tap guides, and drill guides for home-built XE25-based constructions.

Click to Enlarge
Home-Built 90° Corner

XE25 Construction Techniques

Thorlabs' XE25 rails and components are the building blocks for many types of modular systems, including custom enclosures. For the most demanding applications, Thorlabs recommends the "direct connection" technique for forming right angles with rails, detailed here. All the construction parts shown in this tutorial are available on our XE25 Construction Tools page.

Step 1: Drill Side Holes

A Ø4.6 mm hole in the end of one rail, as shown in the picture to the right, is needed to provide access for a 1/8" (4 mm) balldriver.

For this step, you will need the T119873 Ø4.6 mm Drill Bit, the XE25DG Drill Guide, a hand drill or drill press, and a vise such as the TMV2.

The XE25DG drill guide is secured to the rail using the locking screw on top. A guide hole for the drill bit will be located 12.5 mm from the end of the rail. Now a hole can be drilled into the rail as shown in the figure to the left.

If your application requires a "three-way corner," such as that shown at the top of the page, you will have to drill a second hole in the rail at a 90° angle relative to the first hole.

Step 2: Tap the Center Hole, If Necessary

All stock and custom-length anodized XE25 rails have a 1/4"-20 (M6) tapped hole in the end of the rail. If you have cut a standard XE25 rail, or are using the XE25RL2 Raw Extrusion, you will need to tap a hole into the end of the rail.

For this step, you will need the 71598 1/4"-20 Tap (or the 71498 M6 Tap), the XE25TG Tap Guide, and the TW25 Hand Tap Wrench.

Fix the tap inside the tap wrench. Place the tap guide block over the end of the rail. The hole in the top of the guide will keep the tap square with the hole and minimize the chance of misthreading. Turn the tap to thread the hole.

Step 3: Attach Low-Profile Channel Screw

For this step, you will need a SH25LP38 1/4"-20-threaded (SH6M10LP M6-threaded) Low-Profile Channel Screw and a 1/8" (4 mm) balldriver.

Insert the screw into the threaded hole in the end of the rail, and tighten down partway with the balldriver. If you are making a three-way connection, you will need to thread another channel screw into the end of a second rail.

Step 4: Join the Rails

Slide the head of the channel screw into the channel of the rail with the drilled holes, so that the hex head lines up with the hole. Insert the balldriver into the hole, and tighten the channel screw. If making a three-way connection, repeat this process with the third rail, as shown in the figure to the right.

For increased stability, the corners may be reinforced with the XE25A90 Right-Angle Bracket.