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May 17, 2023
Useful 3D Printed Tools to Help in Your DIY Projects
Flashforge

If you are a DIY person who loves to do all kinds of technical tasks whether they are of home use, garage work or just a hobby, plus you also have a 3d printer then this article on useful 3d printed tools is for you. 

We have to hand pick some very simple, easy to 3d print yet very useful tools for those 3d printer users that love to work on do it yourself type of tasks. 

We will discuss these tools working, application and will also recommend you a 3d printing material to successfully 3d print these useful tools and then use them for your DIY projects.

Useful 3D Printed Tools to help in your DIY Projects

Wire Stripper

Stripping a wire involves removing its rubber insulation to expose the internal copper strands, which makes it easier to work with, especially for tasks such as soldering. If you don't have a wire stripper tool, you can make your own DIY wire stripper with this design. 

Wire Stripper

This design uses a single-edged industrial razor blade and two 3D printed parts to create a safe wire cutter with no exposed blades, making it safe for children to use. To use the wire stripper, insert the wire through the opening in the assembly and press the top part down. Then, hold the wire, rotate the assembly around it, and pull it away from the wire to remove the rubber insulation.

As this wire stripper working involves some force to peel off the plastic insulation from metal wire so strong 3d printing material with some wear resistance like ABS filament is recommended for this useful 3d printed tool.

Finger Wrench

Tightening nuts in hard-to-reach places and tight corners can be a challenge for makers. The Finger Wrench is a 3D printable tool that solves this problem by allowing you to easily tighten nuts in even the most cramped spaces. This innovative design helps you reach every nook and cranny that traditional wrenches can't.

Finger Wrench

Finger wrench is designed to be a little flexible, durable and have good strength with wear resistance at the same time. This is to hold nuts of different sizes and tight them on bolts using just a finger. So a flexible, strong and wear resistant 3d printing material like PETG filament is recommended for this.

Customizable Sanding Stick

The Customizable Sanding Stick is an essential tool for many projects. It comes with four sample sticks that you can print, or you can create your own custom stick and use the included printable screws to secure sandpaper to it. This design doesn't require any support material and has been successfully printed in a variety of materials with a 50% infill or greater.

Customizable Sanding Stick

As these sticks will not be directly taking any wear and tear and their application does not require any impact resistance, PLA filament can be used for these useful 3d printed tools.

Contour Guide

The Contour Guide is a useful tool for modeling or measuring complex shapes or faces. It allows you to pick up the relief of a surface using individual blades, which can then be transferred to a new material to be cut out or used for measurements in 3D modeling. 

Contour Guide

Although this design is simple to print, it requires some time to assemble the individual blades within the frame. You must use good bed adhesion because the long and thin blades may be prone to warping. The finished part should be printed with high infill to maintain rigidity.

As these counter guides will not be directly taking any wear and tear and their application does not require any impact resistance, PLA filament can be used for these useful 3d printed tools.

Handle for Hex Key

A customizable handle for a hex key (also known as an Allen key or wrench) is a great addition to your toolkit. You can use Thingiverse's Customizer app to enter the specifications you need and print the handle in the size you require for your go-to tools.

Handle for Hex Key

The application of hex key handles involve a lot of force and sometimes impact force too. So a strong, impact resistant and most widely used 3d printing material the ABS filament is recommended for 3d printing of this useful tool.

Concluding Useful 3d printed tools

The article showcases five useful 3D printed tools for DIY projects: a wire stripper, a finger wrench, a customizable sanding stick, a contour guide, and a handle for a hex key. Each tool is described in detail, including its function, design, and the recommended 3D printing material. The tools are easy to print and are aimed at helping makers and DIY enthusiasts complete technical tasks more efficiently.