Hello, 3D Printing Friends! Today on The BV3D Channel, we'll learn how to
install heat set inserts in your 3D prints! I'm Bryan, and you... are watching BV3D!
Hi, welcome back! Okay, so today let's learn how to install heat set inserts in your 3D prints.
So what are they, anyway? And what are they used for? Heat set inserts are these little
brass things with a knurled outside and a threaded inside, and they're
used for making strong threaded holes in your prints that you can screw other things onto.
So think about a case for an electronics project, where you need to be able to screw the case parts
together. Heat set inserts are available in a variety of sizes, with different outside
diameters, inside diameters, and depths. And they're not just found in 3D prints. You'll
see these all the time in consumer products with injection molded parts. In fact, here are some in
an Ender-3 V2's fan shroud cover. Heat set inserts are actually melted into place, so they become one
with your print. Typically, this is done with a small soldering iron, but you can't just take a
printed part and melt the heat set insert into some random location. Okay, strictly speaking,
you CAN, but that's not how it's supposed to be done. The result won't be pretty,
and it probably won't be very strong. Models have to be designed with heat set inserts in mind,
so they've got holes in the right places. Holes that are just the right size, so that when the
insert is melted into place it's, not displacing too much plastic. The holes also have to be
designed with the right depth, so there's enough room not only for the insert, but for the screw
that's supposed to go in there when the model is assembled. If you're planning on using inserts in
a model that's designed for them, make sure you order the right kind. The designer has probably
specified the inner diameter, outer diameter, and length of the inserts. In many cases, the
designer will have a link to the specific inserts they've designed the holes to fit. I designed
and printed some test parts to demonstrate how to install the inserts. To keep things short,
I'm not going to cover the design process in THIS video, but I am going to show you how to install
them. BUT! If you want me to make a video about designing for heat set inserts, leave a comment
and let me know. If it looks like there's enough interest, I'll make a video for you.
Alright, so let's talk about installing these little things. I mentioned that one way to
install these is with a small soldering iron, and you can do that without any special tips
or anything, as long as there is enough room for the irons tip to go down into the model.
You do have to be careful, because the soldering irons tip usually protrudes through the insert,
but depending on the insert, the iron's tip may need more clearance than the model offers. So,
from Amazon, I bought a small cheap soldering iron and a set of tips that are specifically
designed for installing these inserts. The soldering iron is a mostly okay one
for about 20 bucks. It's got a small knob that you can use to set the temperature,
and it has a little LCD screen to show you what the temperature is set to. Unfortunately,
the temperature display is FAINT, and it's also in FAHRENHEIT, both of which start with the letter F,
and neither of which is particularly useful. To make the heat set tip fit tightly, I also needed
an ever-so-slightly shorter outer sleeve for the soldering iron. So the grand total for the iron,
and the sleeve, and the tips was about 42 bucks. There's links in the description to this stuff if
you want to take a look at it. To install the tip, unscrew and remove the outer sleeve, then remove
the soldering tip. Put in the heat set insert tip, and put the sleeve back on. The insert tip kit has
five tips for different sizes of inserts. I've screwed on the tip for M3 inserts. You can see
the tip is stepped. The diameter is smaller at the end, and then there's a larger stepped part
right after that. This design allows better heat transfer to the insert, and it helps to keep the
insert in line with the soldering iron. So the way this will work is, you'll heat the iron up to
about the same as the printing temperature of the material that you're inserting these into. Now,
by the way you might want to do this on a heat resistant surface like a silicone mat. That way
you won't accidentally burn your work surface. The one I'm using is Wham Bam Slap Mat. These are
thicker than regular silicone mats, and they're available in a variety of sizes -- even coaster
sized -- and they're perfect for something like this. So while the iron is heating up,
place the heat set inserts in the holes if you can. How easily you can do this probably depends
on the type of insert, but the ones I'm using have a slightly smaller diameter on one side,
and that will just fit in the hole. That keeps the insert in the ready-to-be-inserted position,
which is kind of handy. Once the iron is up to temperature, line up the tip, insert it into the
insert, and, keeping the iron as vertical as you can, press straight down to insert... the insert.
You should insert the insert until it's just below the surface of the part you're inserting the
insert into. Then, lift the iron straight up and out, and you can move on to the next one. Keeping
the iron vertical is important. If you're off by a little bit, the insert won't be straight up and
down, which means that any screw that screws into it will have to match the insert's angle to align
with the threads. A slightly fancier (and slightly more expensive) way to do it is to buy a dedicated
heat set insert machine, like this one. While not strictly necessary, it does ensure that you've got
the iron very vertical. Plus it's kind of cool looking. It includes the soldering iron and the
heat set insert tips. Plus you're getting a metal base plate, a 2020 aluminum extrusion,
a 2040 aluminum extrusion, a depth stop, and a spring return mechanism. Also, the temperature
display on the included iron is easier to read, and it displays the temperature in Celsius. Like
the separate parts I mentioned earlier, there's a link in the description if you want to check this
out. This one was 60 bucks when I bought it, and the next day it was 50 bucks, and now it's out
of stock. I'll link to it in the description anyway, and link to a couple of other ones
that ARE in stock. Like the first one, to use it, heat the iron up to about the same as the nozzle
temperature that you used when printing the model. Then pull the arm down to insert the insert. That
spring-loaded return is handy, because it keeps the iron raised above your work piece. After
you've got the inserts inserted, you can assemble your model. Now this is just a simple demo model,
but I'll screw the top part into the bottom part. The inserts are actually pretty strong,
and you can tighten the screws down fairly tightly because the inserts have those knurled edges and
they get melted into the plastic. Now don't go TOO crazy tightening the screws, but you can crank
down on them more than you could if you were just screwing the screws directly into the plastic.
There. The demo model is assembled. It may not be much to look at, but you can see that
the parts are 100% perfectly aligned. I've got these models linked In the description,
if you want to hone your heat set insert skills. So that's how easy it is to use heat set inserts
in 3D printed models. Big thanks to everyone who supports the channel whether through
channel memberships, or using the links in the description. If you liked this episode,
give it a thumbs up, and maybe consider subscribing so you don't miss future
episodes. Well, 3D Printing Friends, that's about all the time we have for this episode.
And now that we're at the end, let's go put heat set inserts into something cool!