3D Printed Heat-Set Insert Press

thingiverse

This is a 3D printed press for inerting heat-set threaded inserts. It utilizes a cheap soldering iron as the heat source, a rotary dimmer to allow the user to throttle the heat output to tailor to a variety of plastics, and a drawer slider as part of the plunger assembly that pushes down onto the part. This project was designed out of necessity while working on another big project that utilizes quite a few of these heat-set inserts. Using this press rather than just a soldering iron itself ensures that the inserts get installed accurately, with the correct temperature and in far less time. These presses go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars so they are beyond the price range of most hobbyist, yet they are very useful in the 3D printing and DIY hobby community. I wanted to design and build a high quality and affordable unit that can be 3D printed within a few days and built for well under $100. Please take the time to read the print settings. What you'll need: -1kg spool of PLA filament -30w soldering iron similar to the one in the pictures -Rotary dimmer switch -Heavy-duty 12" drawer slider (ensure that the inner slide "the one that comes out" has a width of around 24.6mm) -Assorted M4 machine screws from 6mm to 25mm in length -M4 Nuts -M2 self-tapping screws 8mm, 10mm, and 12mm in length -16 gauge wire -16 gauge electrical connectors -6.5" light duty spring -1-1/2" 10-24 threaded eye hooks (This holds the soldering iron to the drawer slider) -10-24 nuts for the eye hooks -Fender washers (These are heatsinks on the threaded eye hooks to slow down heat transfer to the plunger assembly) -Small hose clamp to fit over the soldering iron barrel Instructions should be available soon via Instructables. I'll post the link in here when I get around to making them. Visit the 3DAnarchy Facebook group for questions, discussion and info on this and upcoming projects: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1358672314201686/ Please remember to tip your designers. These big projects take a lot of time, money and dedication.