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Home / Instructions / Connect cases and drawers

Connect cases and drawers

Every MODULITH build uses the same few mechanisms. Read this once before your install guide: QuickLocks, stoppers and magnets work the same way in every build.

Sizes: W is width (1W = 88 mm) and H is height (1H = 56 mm, 0.5H is half of that). The collection number - 115, 185, 240 - is the case depth in mm.

5 stepsEvery mountAll six collectionsRelated: How QuickLock works (animated)

What you'll need

Quantities depend on your layout - the Planner works them out for your build, and every official kit lists them exactly.

1

Seat the QuickLocks

A QuickLock is a sprung clip that locks a case to whatever sits above it. Every case takes one pair. Facing the open front of the case, drop the L QuickLock into the slot in the top of the left wall and the R into the right wall - coiled spring end down, the L or R mark facing outward. If the spring catches on the inside edge, guide it in with a finger. Then slide the case into place from the front until both QuickLocks click up.

HANDEDThe pair is mirrored - L and R are marked on the parts, and the mark faces outward when it is in the right wall. A swapped pair will not click.
CHECK ITThe small slot on the case side is an engagement indicator: with the case fully seated, the QuickLock tab is visible in the slot. No tab showing means it has not locked.
Fingers pressing an orange QuickLock marked R into the slot in the top edge of a black case wall; its spring shows through the small slot in the side of the casePhoto · the R QuickLock going into its wall slot
2

Release and rearrange

Take the drawer out. Reach inside the case, pull both QuickLocks down with your fingers - one at the top of each side wall - and in the same motion pull the case toward you.

CANNOT REACH THE TABS?A small hex key through the hole in the QuickLock pulls the tab down - the indicator slot doubles as the access point.
Video: under a table, two fingers reach inside an empty case, pull both QuickLocks down, and the case slides out toward the camera
3

The Bi-Directional QuickLock

One job only: it locks a shallower case beneath a deeper case or a deeper under-table rail, where the standard pair would keep sliding. It goes in as a pair, in the same two wall slots as a standard Left + Right pair: squeeze each one by hand, drop it in and let go. It then locks in both directions.

NEVER THE REVERSEThe shallower piece always hangs beneath the deeper one - and it is never for wall builds.
SAME DEPTH?Same-depth joins always use the standard Left + Right pair, on every mount.
A red Left and Right Bi-Directional QuickLock standing side by side, each with its coil spring belowThe Bi-Directional pair, Left and Right
Photo · a Bi-Directional QuickLock going into the case wall
Fingers pressing a red Bi-Directional QuickLock down into the slot at the top of a black case wall
4

Drawer stoppers

Snap one Left + Right pair into the outermost floor slots of the case ABOVE a drawer - or into the Cover Lower over a top row. They stop that drawer at full pull.

OPTIONALLeave them out and the drawer lifts fully out - some people prefer that. One pair per drawer is the default.
UNDER A TABLEThe under-table rail has stoppers built in, so drawers hanging directly from the rail need none.
DRAWER INStraight in, a drawer runs into the stoppers. Tilt its front up 20 to 30 degrees, start the back end into the case, then level it out as it slides home. It is a natural motion.
upper case drawer of the bay below L R the pair in the UPPER unit stops the drawer BELOW DIAGRAM

The pair snaps into the unit above; it stops the drawer below.

Photo · an R stopper in hand, its partner already in a floor slot
Fingers holding a small flat orange drawer stopper marked R; a second stopper is already snapped into a slot in the floor of the black case behind it
5

Magnet closure, and polarity

A closure is one magnet in the back of the drawer and one facing it in the back of the case. Snap a magnet insert into each, then press a purchased magnet into each insert. The first magnet you seat sets the direction for the whole build: before you press in any other, let it snap onto that first one and keep the same face out, so every pair attracts.

REVERSED MAGNETS REPELGet one backwards and the pair pushes the drawer away instead of pulling it shut. A pin through the hole in the floor pushes a mis-seated magnet back out.
HOW MANYThere is a magnet slot at every 1W across the back, so a 4W case has four. One closure in the middle is enough for most drawers; on a wide drawer add more to even out the pull, and keep them centered.
TIMINGA case-back magnet is unreachable after the case is built in - seat it while you can still touch it.
SIZES10x2 mm and 6x2 mm slots are alternatives within one closure, never both. Very strong N52 magnets may be too strong for smaller drawers - standard-strength magnets suit most.

Where each mechanism goes in a full build: the tabletop, under-table and wall guides pick up from here.

Pressing a magnet insert into the slot on a drawer bodyPhoto · pressing a magnet insert into its slot
Photo · the case side: a magnet clip going into a 59 1W-1H case
A thumb pressing an orange magnet clip, a round magnet seated in it, into its slot in a small black 59 1W-1H case