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Ari kake (dovetail beam housing)

What is an ari kake joint? · Hardware · basis: Xem Studio design — geometry computed in the generator from traditional proportions

Also called: ari kake, 蟻掛け, dovetail housing beam, dovetail beam joint, japanese beam to girder joint, junta cola de milano viga, Schwalbenschwanz Balkenanschluss

Exact dimensions. True size, with no printing tolerance added.

length
80.0 mm
width
80.0 mm
height
20.0 mm

Notes

  • Woodworking joint drawn for 3D printing: the parts lock together by shape, so a print can be joined without glue or screws. Drawn at true size with the parts line to line (zero gap) in their assembled position — add your printer's fit allowance to the mating faces (your AI or slicer can do this).
  • A beam end dovetailed into the side of a girder, dropped in from above — Japanese framing's standard beam-to-girder joint.

Ari kake size chart

dimensionvalue
stock20 × 20 mm square
partsgirder, beam
dovetail8 → 13 mm, 10 mm deep, upper 15 mm of the beam
assemblesthe beam drops in from above
holdsthe beam from pulling away from the girder

Where the files are

Other publishers' files are linked, not hosted. "verify" = check the license at the link before commercial use.

Xem StudioJoinery design (geometry computed in the generator from traditional proportions)webXem Studio design

Free files

★ Free files 3 parts. Xem Studio design: free to use, print and sell things from; not to be republished as files. Xem Studio Design License. index.json

ari-kake-dovetail-housing-girderGirder with a dovetail socket open at the topSTEP · STL
ari-kake-dovetail-housing-beamBeam with a dovetail on its upper 15 mmSTEP · STL
ari-kake-dovetail-housing-assembledAll parts in their assembled position (each part its own solid)STEP · STL
Let your AI pull this. Add https://xemstudio.com/mcp to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client (free, no account, one minute) and it can look up exact sizes, mating fits and free STEP/STL from every chat.
Set it up →

Plain text: sheet.txt · JSON: /api/geometry?object=ari-kake-dovetail-housing

Ari kake (dovetail beam housing), isometric render of a generated part
Render of ari-kake-dovetail-housing-assembled from the free STEP; not to scale.

Fits with

Questions

Why only the upper part?

The lower part keeps the girder strong; the dovetail at the top resists pulling out.