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  1. #1
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    Are small PETG gears tough enough for setscrews to fasten to shaft?

    I am just beginning with my Lulzbot Taz 5, using Gearotic (incredible program!) to produce smallish (1-4 in diameter) gears for quite low-load applications. I want to fasten the gears to metal shafts. Gearotic lets me produce a collar on the gears. For various reasons, I use PETG. I can drill the collar and thread it for a setscrew. But I wonder if anyone has experience in the long-term life of this arrangement. Is PETG strong enough that the setscrew won't eventually strip the thread so the gear comes loose? Thanks for any thoughts!

    Tim

  2. #2
    I made some gears using PLA, which I drilled and tapped for set-screws
    and they worked great !
    But you Must have Solid plastic at area of set-screw, (100% infill when printed)
    (large diameter set-screws, with large threads, is best)

    (Of course those gears are used in a low-speed, low-torque motor application)
    Last edited by EagleSeven; 01-20-2016 at 08:36 AM.

  3. #3
    Staff Engineer LambdaFF's Avatar
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    Have you considered using threaded inserts ?
    Research metal4plastic on this site.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by LambdaFF View Post
    Have you considered using threaded inserts ?
    Research metal4plastic on this site.
    No, because I'm not familiar with this method, which sounds perfect. But I will research the site you mentioned. Thanks!

    Tim

  5. #5
    Staff Engineer LambdaFF's Avatar
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    You can find some here :
    http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...-printed-parts

    Show us what you do with it.

  6. #6
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    Thanks for that info! Because I am in the USA, shipping from that source would be excessive, but I was able to find much the same thing (and many similar parts) on Amazon over here. You gave me a good idea, and I'm going to order a small assortment and do some experimenting.

    Tim

  7. #7
    Super Moderator curious aardvark's Avatar
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    the other thing you can do is simply embed a metal nut.

  8. #8
    Engineer-in-Training ssayer's Avatar
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    All the screws holding the quad together in my orange quad Avatar are screwed into 3d printed PETG.

  9. #9
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    Add jtice on Thingiverse
    This thread reminded me that I wanted to get some threaded inserts.
    I have alot of M3 screws for my RC hobby, so I got a bunch of M3 inserts from HERE just now.
    Should be fun to incorporate into printing projects.

  10. #10
    Super Moderator curious aardvark's Avatar
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    easier to just make a hexagonal/octagonal (can't remember) socket for an m3 nut.

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