Yay! Just got a bunch of these in different sizes from AliExpress. These are designed to be hot melted into place. They cost a lot more than the injection mold ones but go in and stay in a lot better. Only took two and a half months to arrive.
Do you guys use metal inserts? I find that printed threads in PETG work really well and survive multiple screw in /out and doing up tight. PLA no where near as durable.
Those are sweet! I didn’t know such things existed. I’ve used threadserts for pcb’s, but they have much shorter insert sections and work poorly in printed objects.
Is where I got mine from and I asked them to supply in a bigger quantity at a better price.
Just remember to print the hole a bit deeper than you need (somewhere for excess plastic to go when it melts) and I also put a screw in the insert when I’m doing it so the thread doesn’t get blocked
@Martin_Dolan We find it difficult to keep it straight when using a screw. We prefer to keep some excess space in the bottom and use a tap to clean any residue in the thread.
I didn’t realize they were available on AliExpress, and I’ve looked several times. I get mine from Zoro via eBay (100 for $7.28), and Trimcraftaviation (6 for 84 cents + shipping). Both are in the US.
The ones from Zoro have been EZLok brand the few times I’ve ordered, and the ones from trimcraft are interchangeable. Approximately 5.7mm diameter x 3.8mm high.
There’s also a press in kind, they’re more expensive and not as nice to use so I don’t use them often. But they’re useful when you don’t have the clearance for the heat in ones. These are about 4.3mm in diameter.
I have threaded inserts that I bought for my “3d printed tap handle” project. so far I’ve installed one of them and not finished the glue-up or the kegerator to attach it to
In case you don’t want to wait a month… McMaster carries them and they’re about $0.12/ea for M2, M3, & M4 sizes, and a little more for larger ones.