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CNC / 3D Print Thread Inserter
« Last post by awemawson on Today at 07:35:11 AM »I've been playing with 3D printing recently and wanted to insert some thread inserts into mechanical parts - ie things that are functional rather than artistic.
Doing it with a normal soldering iron is perfectly feasible however I found it difficult to keep it truly vertical. So exploring making a press, or a fixture for the Bridgeport I realised that this particular wheel has been designed before and Amazon have several offerings already manufactured !
Not expecting much I ordered one and found when it arrived that actually it was quite well made and stout. Two things need tweaking:
Firstly the mains plug purports to be a standard UK 13a one however totally illegally and unsafely is unfused - I knew this from the illustrations and it was a simple job of cutting off the the dangerous one and replacing it. (*)
Second issue is that although it has an upper stop and a depth stop setting the depth stop with the required accuracy to get an insert sunk to exactly flush with the surface isn't possible - far too much wiggle while tightening it. Now they have just used a Tee nut in an aluminium extrusion which is cunning but something more robust is needed. At the moment I'm thinking to use Tee Nuts to fix a brass block to the extrusion, with a fine pitch screw acting as the actual stop.
Experimenting with my Planer Gauge gave me something solid to bring the hot tip down onto while locking the knurled screw, but that's only a temporary solution.
* (For our over seas friends UK 13A sockets are fused at 32 amps at the consumer unit and plugs carry a fuse to protect the flex rather than the appliance - this wire would smoulder nicely well before that limit)
Doing it with a normal soldering iron is perfectly feasible however I found it difficult to keep it truly vertical. So exploring making a press, or a fixture for the Bridgeport I realised that this particular wheel has been designed before and Amazon have several offerings already manufactured !
Not expecting much I ordered one and found when it arrived that actually it was quite well made and stout. Two things need tweaking:
Firstly the mains plug purports to be a standard UK 13a one however totally illegally and unsafely is unfused - I knew this from the illustrations and it was a simple job of cutting off the the dangerous one and replacing it. (*)
Second issue is that although it has an upper stop and a depth stop setting the depth stop with the required accuracy to get an insert sunk to exactly flush with the surface isn't possible - far too much wiggle while tightening it. Now they have just used a Tee nut in an aluminium extrusion which is cunning but something more robust is needed. At the moment I'm thinking to use Tee Nuts to fix a brass block to the extrusion, with a fine pitch screw acting as the actual stop.
Experimenting with my Planer Gauge gave me something solid to bring the hot tip down onto while locking the knurled screw, but that's only a temporary solution.
* (For our over seas friends UK 13A sockets are fused at 32 amps at the consumer unit and plugs carry a fuse to protect the flex rather than the appliance - this wire would smoulder nicely well before that limit)
