Purposes of a Dremel

Hi guys, I just bought myself a christmas present (well not really, I just wanted it haha), it's a Dremel 4000, the 'Platinum' version with an aluminum chest and all kinds of addons.
Now, I already have enough purposes for it, from creating small parts for all kinds of applications, but it is also very handy to make small adjustments to printed parts with. The only problem is all this plastic dust that literally gets everywhere.



What I'm wondering, what do YOU use a Dremel for, or, do you guys even have a Dremel?..

I'm planning to build a small table in which I can mount the Dremel so it can be used as a small milling device and maybe in the future, when my current 3D-printer is finished, I might start building a 3D-milling machine that uses the Dremel as a router.

Today I only got around to try out all the common tools, and I made a beautiful hole in some material I had laying around (lol, really, first time I have a nice hole cutter!).

Would be great to also see pictures of the uses you all have for it. Maybe it can be an inspiration for other Reprappers!
- Marinus

I have a 'dremel" of sorts - its actually a Minicraft which I bought years ago. You can see one use I put it to (if you haven't seen it already) in the link.
[reprap.org]

Have you not got a drill stand for yours?

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Waitaki 3D Printer

Nice, nope haven't got a drill stand yet, I was thinking to build my own with either 3D-prints or buying a 2nd hand one from the web since I see them coming around every week. They cost too much being new.

Maybe I should give it a try to make my own hotend, I have bought two hotends in the past that didn't perform and were a waste of money, I could combine the two to make a good one since they do somehow seem to have a good base, but just weren't finished rather well.

A new day tomorrow, I hope to get the new printer running a bit It's working with RAMPS, and I only have experience with Sanguinololu so it's a bit scary

I have several Dremels, one is a flexible shaft one I have had for some 20 years. Another is like the one in your photo that is about 8 years old and a few months ago I bought a cordless version and it's now my favorite.

I use the cutting tool shown on the dremel in your photo the most with either plastic or metal cutting disks, very handy. I also use stones a lot and sanding disks. I have collected hundreds of different bits over the years but use 4 or 5 of them 99% of the time. I have many (mostly from kits) that have never been used despite being years old.

What do I use it for?? Well, too many different things to say but mostly for cutting and sanding. Not too much for 3D printed parts but I have used it to maintain my machine, cutting bolts, sanding pieces... It's a good all around tool kind of like a good screwdriver set.

Now I find those cut off discs to be a pain... Maybe its just the ones I have, but the screw never stays tight, and the discs always spin and break because of it...
I've ripped my flex drive apart and stole the chuck from it... I'm making a spring loaded engraving tool with it for the CNC

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Custom all metal CoreXY
- Duet 2 Wifi w/ PanelDue 7i
- 330mm x 360mm x 500mm
- 750w Silicon heater

Custom Mendel90
(Backup printer - Old reliable!) - Sold

Good to read, the only thing missing in the dremel kit was a metal brush to remove rust and there is no wheel included to cut wood with!! How the hell can they not put that in??
So the things I will add to the kit are some kind of wheel to cut wood and good metal brushes. Cheap ones are bad, because the metal hairs fly off.

Mogal, the tool that you see on the Dremel on the picture is of the new 'Ez Speed Click' or something, it is a new way of connecting the disk to the tool to make it easier and quicker to attach another type of disk.

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Mogal
Now I find those cut off discs to be a pain... Maybe its just the ones I have, but the screw never stays tight, and the discs always spin and break because of it...
I've ripped my flex drive apart and stole the chuck from it... I'm making a spring loaded engraving tool with it for the CNC

Those shown are not the ones held in with a screw. First they are quite a bit thicker and they use a snap in locking mech. Never had one come loose and they don't break (at least not easily) the older thinner ones broke if you looked at them wrong.

Well, being Xmas and all, maybe I still have time to ask Santa for a new one?!

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Custom all metal CoreXY
- Duet 2 Wifi w/ PanelDue 7i
- 330mm x 360mm x 500mm
- 750w Silicon heater

Custom Mendel90
(Backup printer - Old reliable!) - Sold

Here is what the good cutoff disks look like [stusshed.files.wordpress.com]

They call it EZ Lock. The disks are specific for Metal or Plastic.

they are a handy tool, lots of uses, but that mostly depends on what your hobbies are. for my reprap i found it useful for trimming bolts down, and cleaning some things off, but that mostly comes down to what accessories you got.

my kit was lacking some in the metal polishing area, i was hoping to use it to buff up a few small things.

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[mike-mack.blogspot.com]

you can make ur own hobbed bolts...print out a jig and you can make some pretty decent ones, it will take a fair few practice runs to get it right.

The other day i was removing some carbon fibre from my electric bike, dremel worked wonders... Iv had a few rotary tools, the cheap ones brushes would always die quickly, but my dremel has lasted for ages

nechaus, how would you cut carbon fiber rods? I have a few that need to be cut, however I am afraid to use my saw on it in case of splintering.

The reason why I have those rods (4mm ø) is because I am building a Mendocino motor, so they are incredibly lightweight and strong.

Do you also happen to know if I need to fixate the material somehow? I had a few small splinters in my hands from the material and it seems to take ages to come out again and irritates the skin very badly.

diamond blades, i think they are normally grey or gold colored, but watch the dust, it is very bad for you.

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[mike-mack.blogspot.com]

Yep it will do the trick.. set it to hi speed..
Check out thingiverse they have a few handy things you can print... you can turn it into a bench saw to get str8 cuts once you print out the jig.. great for quadcopter arms I found

I think there's no reason to cut 4mm CF rod with a dremel (or any rotary tool). You can easily cut it with a hacksaw used for cutting metal.
This way you don't blow up the dust. Please wear a good* dust mask if you still want to cut it with a dremel.
Carbon fibre dust occuring especially while grinding/ sanding is, similarly to asbestos, suspicious to cause cancer.


*In europe dust masks are standardized as EN 149:2001 and divided into 3 classes FFP 1-3. For CF dust you want at least FFP-2 which filters > 95% of hazardous dusts/ mists/ smokes.

Im just terrible with the handsaw..
So is the cordless as good as the plug in versoon of the dremel?

i was not impressed with the cordless version 8 years ago, i have not tried them since. but i can see where they would be handy.

i dont think they have the power the corded versions to. but i think that is true for most tools.

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[mike-mack.blogspot.com]

I use to hate all cordless tools, anything with nimh battery chemistry was so crap in my opinion, all the lithium tools are pretty good these days, even Ryobi is good,
can easily hack the battery packs and run higher capacity for really cheap price, print out a battery housing too..

for e.g. a 18 volt Ryobi battery rated at 2.8ah cost me at my local hardware about $70 to $100
I can get a 5s zippy 5ah for about $39, way more bulky but hey it last ages and can be charged a lot faster than the original packs...


id buy a dremel cordless version If it was similar power to the corded version.. might look for a second hand one.

Since lithium batteries they can make cordless with more powerful motors. While I have only had my cordless a few months I can say I am impressed. I bought one of the first Dremel cordless and after a few uses I threw it in the trash. I can't speak of battery life yet as so far my uses have been short and I charged it in between uses.

You had the same experience like me then.

But ys for the better part of the last 10 years I think the bigger cordless tools have faired far better when ya don't cheap out.

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tmorris9
Since lithium batteries they can make cordless with more powerful motors. While I have only had my cordless a few months I can say I am impressed. I bought one of the first Dremel cordless and after a few uses I threw it in the trash. I can't speak of battery life yet as so far my uses have been short and I charged it in between uses.

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[mike-mack.blogspot.com]

I use my Moto-Tool Dremel for all sorts of things (I can't be specific because they are just too versatile to nail down to something I can remember using it for) and I have had it, and used it, for over 25 years now (still on the original brushes too).

I really wouldn't be caught dead without a Dremel as they are just that handy to me.

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I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.