Description
All the parts you need to build a 3U Eurorack row in either Skiff or frame sub-assembly form.
For a complete 3U ready to mount Eurorack you need 1 of each of these things
- MOUNTING
- RAILS
- INSERT
- MODULE SCREWS
Please note we don’t have the facilities at Thonk to cut rails to length. However the rails are reasonably easy to cut to length with a hacksaw and a vice – They have a consistent cross section over the full length.
MOUNTING: 3U Acrylic Skiff Cheek set (Pair)
A Pair of Clear Acrylic (Plastic) 10mm end cheeks. Includes machine screws, washers and hex key. Safe module mounting depth is 56mm. (although the depth extends to approx 98mm at the back, but it’ll hang out of the back of the skiff due to the angle)
MOUNTING: 3U Aluminium mounting bracket (Pair)
Manufactured by Ross Lamond at Lamond Design. These are the same brackets Ross uses in his bespoke high quality cases. They measure 26mm x 131mm x 3mm and are for use with Vector rails only.
RAILS: 84hp, 104hp and 150hp Vector (Pair)
These genuine Vector Mounting Rails are avilable in three sizes – 84hp (426.7mm/16.8″), 104hp ( 528.3mm/20.8″) & 150 hp (762mm/30″). Drawing of Rails (PDF)
INSERTS – CHOOSE EITHER SQUARE SLIDING NUTS or THREADED STRIPS
INSERT: M2.5 Square Nuts x 100
These sliding nuts are inserted into the rail to fix modules. They are more popular with people who tend to move modules around a lot and prefer for there to be no gaps between modules due to differences in module manufacturers tolerances. They are also perfect for mounting Analogue Systems modules alongside regular Eurorack modules as the differences in panel width and mounting hole spacing is negated.
INSERT: 84hp, 104hp, 150hp threaded strip (Pair)
These threaded (tapped) strips slide into the rails for mounting modules. They are intentionally manufactured a little shorter than the full rail length to provide a little ‘slip’. We’ve observed in some situations not providing this slip can limit choices of which modules can be placed at the end of rows, this slip also means that DIYed panels you create yourself have a little more leeway at the ends of rows. Note that as soon as the first module in a row is screwed down with screws the threaded strip does not actually slip or move about.
INSERT: 46hp threaded strip (Pair)
Some people like to split a row between a smaller threaded strip and sliding nuts, again this is useful if you want to mix Analogue Systems modules with regular Eurorack
MODULE SCREWS: M2.5 6mm and 8mm
In general 6mm screws will be suitable for 99% of modules, some modules with thicker laser cut acrylic panels or PCB panels may require 8mm screws.
M2.5 vs M3
Question “Why are you selling M2.5 rails when you supply all your kits with M3 screws?”
Answer – Vector are suited the M2.5 screws, which other case manufacturers such as Lamond Design use also. On average more cases out there use M3 screws, so that’s what we’ll continue to provide with kits. A bag of 100 M2.5 screws is very cheap and will happily secure 25-50 modules so it’s not so bad.
