REFERENCE GUIDE

Clean Install of Heat-set Inserts

After working a while with heat-set inserts, someone gave us a tip that reduced our working time, improved our consistency, and improved our end results.

In hindsight, it seems so obvious, but the reality is that we didn’t know about it — so we wanted to make sure you knew about it.

Reference files can be found in the Materials Reference accordion at the bottom of the page

The way we used to do it

This way worked, but the results were inconsistent, and often required post-process cleanup.

Pushing the insert all the way in with the heat press caused the material around it to bubble up around the outer edge of the metal insert.

In most cases, this material around the insert would then need to be sanded or filed down, especially if the face of adjacent part needed to be flush with the face of the part where the insert went in. There was also a chance that the process of pressing the insert in, or retracting the press could have caused the insert to lose alignment with the face of the part.

An improved method

The improved process begins the same way; but instead of pushing the insert all the way in with the heat press, stop while some of the insert is still higher than the face of the material. For the M3 inserts pictured here, we stopped about 1 mm higher.

Then carefully retract the heat press, avoiding nudging or moving the insert while the material is still critically soft.

While the surrounding material is still pliable and soft, use something metal and flat (something that the hot insert will not melt or deform) to press the insert the rest of the way in.

The result will be a clean, flush insertion of the insert that will likely not require any additional filing or sanding.

* A big shout-out and thank you to @MrgnUTube for this awesome tip.

  • If you are interested in what we used for this process, you can find our materials below.

    Hardware:

    Bambu X1 Carbon

    WhamBam 258 x 258 Flexi Plate with Pre-Installed PEX Build Surface

    Software:

    Shapr3D Version 5.692.0 (7363)
    Bambu Studio 1.9.3.50

    Other equipment:

    Vertical Heat Press Machine-Heat Set Insert Tool with Heat Set Tips

  • @MrgnUTube

*Please remember that using lasers on synthetic materials always runs the risk of putting harmful chemicals into the air. So, before beginning, don't forget to ensure that you have proper ventilation and to use hoods and air filtration whenever possible.