Ceiling Grid Mounting Plate for Ubiquiti UniFi AP-AC Lite/LR/Nano HD

Mounting bracket for Ubiquiti Unifi APs.

It should fit UAP-AC-LR, UAP-AC-LITE, and UAP-NANOHD.

The mount included with these APs requires punching holes through the ceiling tiles. This bracket can leave the ceiling tiles without noticeable damage when the AP is later moved or removed.

This is a remix, with the following changes from the original:

• Trimmed and re-spaced the clips to allow straddling a cross piece in the grid between the two clips.
• Rotated the clips to fit in line with the fullest part of the bracket.
• Added heat vents based on concerns I saw here.
• Added 1 mm additional clearance between the bracket and the ceiling, so the heat vented from #3 has somewhere to go.
• Changed the ends of the clips to fit easier on the grid without scaling. My first attempt with the original clips would not go on. The altered clips are still very tight.
• Reduced the overhang angle on the locking tab
• Rotated the part to point the locking tab towards the user by default. This should make removal from the print bed easier for right-handed people on most printers.

Model Options

There are two models included with this Thing, each with both a .stl and a .3mf file. The "_extended" model is intended for use when you have ceiling tiles with trimmed edges to hang below the grid, and it extends the mounting clip an additional 6 mm from the plate.

3D printing settings

Three walls printed much nicer than two for me. It just did a nicer job, in less time, on the slats between the cooling vents and the prongs of the clips, with minimal extra filament.

It's possible to fit four of these on a 200 mm print bed, but it takes some arranging. When I tried this, I also had trouble with the print curling up on the edges. You may be able to solve that be reducing the cooling, but it might be better to settle for printing two at a time.

Estimated print time in Cura with my settings for one piece was 2:15. The actual time was closer to 2:45. Estimated print time for 4 was 9:06. I didn't get a good measure of the actual (I let it run overnight).

Let it cool a bit before removing from the build plate. It can warp if it's still too warm.

Warning

PLA has a glass transition temperature as low as 140F, and the UniFi APs can get quite warm. In a consistently air-conditioned facility, you'll probably be fine. I've been running one for two weeks like this as of the publication date. Now a few years later, I've taken this out of service, and the part had warped significantly (but NOT failed or dropped the AP).

If you're in a location without A/C, such as a shop or older building, where it's possible the base temperature could be a little warmer, you may want to use ABS or PET-G instead of PLA.