This is a brass heat-set insert assortment kit covering M2 to M8 threads, sorted by size in a compartment box. Heat-set inserts give your 3D printed parts real metal threads, so screws bite into brass instead of plastic and hold up to being tightened, removed and refitted again and again.
Why Use Heat-Set Inserts
A screw driven straight into a printed part strips the plastic the first time it is over-tightened, and wears the hole out a little more every time it comes apart. A heat-set insert is melted into the part with a soldering iron, the plastic flows into the knurling around it, and once it cools it is locked in place. The result is a thread that is as strong as the bolt going into it, and one you can assemble and disassemble as often as you like.
What You Would Use It For
Enclosures and electronics cases with lids that come off for access
Printer mods and upgrades, mounts, brackets and tool head parts
Jigs, fixtures and functional prototypes that need to be bolted together properly
Drones, RC and robotics frames where vibration loosens screws in plain plastic
Fitting Them Properly
Design the hole slightly smaller than the outside of the insert, so there is plastic for the knurling to grip
Set your soldering iron to around the printing temperature of the material, then let the insert sink under its own weight with light pressure. Forcing it pushes molten plastic out the bottom
Keep the iron square to the part so the insert goes in straight, as a crooked insert means a crooked bolt
Stop just flush with the surface and let it cool before loading the thread
A dedicated heat-set insert tip makes all of this much easier than a standard pointed soldering tip, as it centres in the insert and spreads the heat evenly.
Specifications
Material: brass, knurled outer body
Thread sizes: M2 to M8 assortment
Packaging: sorted by size in a compartment storage box
Suits: PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, nylon and other thermoplastics
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