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3D Printing Tools & Other Vital Items
I’m finding myself building up a toolset around this new hobby, so it’s a good idea to keep track of what I’m acquiring and notice what I’m not, deliberately. I’m thrifty, but that doesn’t mean I won’t shell it out when needed. The nice thing about it is a lot of the things I need, I already had, or I can borrow from my daughter, like a purple glue stick. Plus I can print the tools I need now like sanding sticks/blocks. And an impressive array of some of the most important tools were included with my printer. I’ve been really impressed with ANYCUBIC. They’ve just been as helpful as can be, which at the price point we’re talking, is stunning to me.
The type of people that are attracted to 3D printing generally is those that like to figure things out for themselves and don’t want or expect a lot of hand-holding. And these machines are being shipped from China mostly, so returning the item for service is not the best option. The engineers, being smart, are trying. to make the printers as modular as possible. So if something breaks or goes wrong, you can switch out a part, and it’s not a total loss. I’m not sure how they work that into their numbers back at the corporate office, but it’s a smart way to provide a highly technical object that may/will have issues. Things will wear out, break or fail eventually. It’s life. It happens no matter what you’re dealing with. If you use something a lot it will definitely need care and maintenance. So being prepared to remedy the printer’s problem yourself is something you’re most likely going to have to do. Having belts, rollers, wires, tubing and all the components that comprise your printer on hand isn’t a bad idea at some point. It’s like a car. You have to maintain it, and there will be expected wear and tear from lots of usage. You’re going to have to fix it yourself.
These are in no particular order. Maybe they should be, but I don’t see the reason right now.
Item | Source |
Hex wrenches | Anycubic |
Pair of sharp little clippers | Anycubic |
Hot end | Anycubic |
Nozzles | Anycubic |
Scraper | Anycubic |
Small screwdriver | Anycubic |
SD card | Anycubic |
x-Acto Knife, blades | On hand |
Tweezers, varying points, lengths | Harbor Freight |
Ultra-fine needle for unclogging nozzles | Anycubic |
Sharpie | On hand |
Alcohol, Acetone | Onhand |
Digital Calipers (I had some nice sets of these; they were stolen) | Geek App |
Metal rulers | Amazon |
Multimeter | On hand |
De-burring tool | Amazon |
Sandpaper, 400-3000 grit, 36 sheets | Amazon |
Needlenose pliers | On hand |
Cans of compressed air | On hand |
Sanding blocks | Printed them myself |
Cutting mat | On hand |
Extra nozzles – hardened, high-temp | Amazon |
Desiccant | Amazon |
Airtight tub for filament storage | Wal-Mart |
Rotary tool | On-hand, bought from Harbor Freight for $9 |
Toolbox to hold it all | On hand. A gift from the ladies back at the UofA. Roll Tide! |
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