Drill Press Heat Set Insert Tool by Zoybert

Last crawled date: 2 years, 11 months ago

This is a tool that allows a standard drill press 1/2" or 12mm chuck to be used as a heat set press. Soldering iron should be set at 350° C to 400° C (650° F - 750° F). Be aware that drill presses are designed on the principle of mechanical advantage, meaning that a little force on the lever results in a lot of force at the quill/chuck, so be gentle!
DRILL PRESS SHOULD ALWAYS BE UNPLUGGED WHEN THIS TOOL IS IN USE. IMPORTANT: unplug drill press and remove belts to ensure that it cannot be turned on when set up as heat set press. Turning the drill press on when it's set up as heat set press will destroy your soldering iron and possibly injure you!
Parts:
Digital soldering iron
M3 x 16mm socket cap screw
M3 rivet nut 4.9mm dia by 9mm long or M3 heatsert 5mm dia by 6mm long
This tool can be assembled using either M3 x 6mm x 5mm heat set inserts or M3 x 4.9mm x 9mm rivnuts (pictured). The rivnuts are to be installed in the exact same way as heat set inserts - i.e. with a hot soldering iron. I put mine together with heat set M3 rivnuts rather than threaded inserts because the head on the rivnut provides better resistance against pull-out than a standard heat set insert.
Heat set inserts require very little force to install. Drill presses generate considerable force, however, so pulling the lever at the wrong time risks breaking the print, the soldering iron, or both. If you've got an expensive soldering iron, it may be in your best interest to use the lightest possible print settings, as this will ensure that the weakest link is the print and not your soldering iron. Otherwise use heavier print settings to prevent accidental breakage. I used 60% infill.
Links to products used:
Digital soldering iron can be purchased for $13.99 here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q5MS9LV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
M3 socket cap screw assortment 310 piece $10.89: https://www.amazon.com/XOOL-Assortment-Precise-Beautiful-Printed/dp/B072FKMYMF/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=m3+assortment&qid=1620145234&s=hi&sr=1-9
M3 rivnuts 20 piece $2.36: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08YYLDLSR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
330 piece M2 to M5 heat set insert assortment $12.99: https://www.amazon.com/Rustark-Knurled-Threaded-Embedment-Assortment/dp/B07KS8KZRW/ref=sr_1_21?dchild=1&keywords=m3+threaded+insert&qid=1620145967&sr=8-21
Heat set insert tips 4 piece $14.99: https://www.amazon.com/Solder-10pcs-Hakko-Soldering-Station/dp/B07KXY3BCB/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=heat+set+tips&qid=1620145455&s=hi&sr=1-8