Remix/alternate parts for Adafruit heat set insert press. 3D model thumbnail

Remix/alternate parts for Adafruit heat set insert press.

by Netpackrat · via Printables
FormatSTL
CategoryTools
LicenseCC BY-SA
Triangles4.5k
UploadedNov 14, 2023
⬇ 107 downloads ❤ 25 likes 👁 1.5k views

Description

I initially printed the parts for this press while I was waiting for the hardware to show up. When it did, I discovered that the threaded inserts I had bought were a smaller OD than the parts were designed for, and they would drop right through the holes. Totally my fault for buying the wrong stuff, but the fit and printability of some of the printed parts left a little to be desired (in my opinion) anyway, so I took it as an opportunity to go into the stepfile and make some changes while modifying the holes to fit the inserts I had. First, here are the inserts I bought off Amazon; which I think are a pretty good starter assortment: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B46YBNV4 Besides all of the insert holes being changed, here is a rundown of the other changes I made: Modified all of the vertical holes to print more cleanly by giving them a little bit of peak at the top. Modified the “cover” (part that clamps the soldering iron to the bracket) to be printed vertically. Changed all of the rounded corners to chamfers for better overhang printing, Modified the corners on the bracket from rounded to chamfered to match the cover. Designed a “mini clamp”, a pair of which can be used as an alternate to the cover. I used the full cover but these should save you some filament and work just as well. Modified the idler coupler to print with perfectly square internal corners. As originally designed, this part wouldn't slide over the 2020 extrusion without being forced and spreading due to the rounded internal corners. Not sure why it was designed this way, but maybe the extrusions Adafruit used had more rounded corners than the 2020 I bought. The printed base probably has the same flaw, but I didn't use that part, so I didn't have any reason to modify it. I printed all of these pieces out of Polymaker ASA on my Mk3S+ in an enclosure, with 4 perimeters and 40% infill. A couple of the parts that didn't get modified on my press are still the original batch I printed out of PETG on my other printer (enclosed printer was busy making Voron parts at that time). I used metal 90 degree corners on my press instead of the original design's printed base because I had some, and it seemed like a more stable mount than the printed part, and I could leave the bed/base all the way to the extrusion clear. In the future I may mill something out of aluminum to use instead, if I keep this press in the long term. As far as keeping it in the long term goes, not sure if I will do that or try to build/buy something better since this press has a number of flaws. Mostly it just inherently has a lot of slop in it. There's no provision for adjusting the V-wheels for a good fit to the extrusion, so I had a lot of wobble initially. What it really needs is a redesign of the roller plate to allow for some adjustability, but what I did in the meantime was to go through the bag of V-wheels I bought, and found 3 that were slightly oversize. I installed these, which seems to have tightened it up for now. I may yet modify the roller plate to make it adjustable. Also the string setup is kind of hokey and I think the people who have remixed this for belts and rails instead of the string and V-wheels are on the right track. If I had to start all over, I would probably build something else. I machined my own tips for the soldering iron out of an old bronze bolt that I had in my shop, so please don't ask where I got them. I think LDO makes a set of decent tips if you need some. Finally, instructions for adding some of the CAD tweaks that I used (and others) to your own models can be found here: https://github.com/gregsaun/maker_cheatsheet/blob/master/3d_printing/techniques.md [EDIT 14NOV23: It has come to my attention, that the Arachne perimeter generator used as default in recent versions of Prusaslicer takes “shortcuts” when going around square corners. This will negate some of the features these models include to ensure they fit correctly on the v-slot extrusions. Therefore, these models should be printed with the perimeter generator set to “classic” rather than Arachne.]
press heat set inserts threaded heatset

Originally published on Printables