X-fix L type

X-fix L is a linear wood-wood connector specially designed for L, T and longitudinal joints of CLT walls.

X-fix L connects CLT  invisible in the wall.

X-fix L is a linear wood-wood connector specially designed for L, T and longitudinal joints of CLT walls.
X-fix L connects CLT  invisible in the wall and so it is ideal for connecting CLT Panels with visible finished surface.

X-fix L consists of two dovetail-shaped and taperd coupling strips with a length of max. 3 m. The prefabricated millings of the CLT walls to be joined are set to each other and a part one of the X-fix L coupling bar is inserted from above. Then the second part of Xfix L is inserted and hammered in. Done is the connection!
Advantages of X-fix L:  Very fast assembly time, X-fix L coupling strips are mounted from the inside of the building so no external scaffolding is required. No metal in the pure wood – wood connection. X-fix L is invisible because it is in the wall. This works perfect for visible surface CLT Panels. Advantages of X-fix L: Compared with conventional screws and other metal connectors, X-fix L connects the components with a wood-wood connection
continuous linear and positive fit and has up to 300% higher strength than conventional screw on.
When installing CLT wall elements, X-fix L is inserted from the inside of the wall into the connecting grooves.

No external scaffolding or working platform is necessary to install the standing CLT walls, as X-fix L can be applied from inside the building. This and the labor savings compared to screwing the walls from the outside of the Building makes X-fix L a cost-effective connection system.

For ease of insertion, it is recommended that the conical cut surfaces of X-fix L be lightly wetted with a suitable adhesive. This also slides the second clamping element in the cutout and the remaining clamping distance of about 30 – 50cm can be hit easily with a soft-face hammer (about 5kg). The cured adhesive also provides additional security. In principle, no external scaffolding or working platform is necessary for the construction, as X-fix L is inserted and hammered in from the inside.
The cost and time savings in the much easier handling of X-fix L compared to the screwing of the walls from outside of the building  are significant.

Tests & approval: X-fix L was tested by holz.bau-research GmbH of the Technical University of Graz the static calculations were developed by DI Manfred Augustin.
The expert opinion was provided by the Lignum Test Center (LTC) TU-Graz from Univ. Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schickhofer. Requirements for CLT panels and joinery: CLt panels must be at least 5-ply and the inner layers 60 mm (3 x 20 mm) thick. The minimum thickness of the CLT panels is 100 mm.

Corner joints require a minimum thickness of 120 mm. Below is a miter connection to choose. The slats must be pressed and glued on all sides and must not have any cavities or loose slats. In order to avoid misalignment of the wall joints, the BSP sheets must be dimensionally calibrated (sanded) before milling the X-fix grooves. The milling of the X-fix L grooves must be carried out on a suitable CNC machining center using the tools specified by SCHILCHER Trading and engineering. It is important that the workpieces are fixed and tensioned.
For the joinery, Hundegger CNC machining centers are recommended. The wall elements are placed on the construction site. The first part of the conical X-fix L connector is inserted with the thicker part first into the millings of the two wall elements. The carpenter inserts the second part of X-fix L into the millings of the two wall elements from above. The last 50 cm are hit in with a hammer and X-fix L clamps together the CLT elements form-fitting because of the tapered design. The X-fix L “in wall Connection” is ideal for CLT with visible surfaces like HASSLACHER Exzellent surfaces. X-fix L is ideal when instalation time is key and it is ideal for buildings where an external scaffold or a lift is not possible or too expensive.