Things you should buy when starting with a 3D-Printer...

Hello Guys and Girls!

I want to push of a new topic:

I try to collect parts and tools (tool recomendations) you can buy to simplify and smoothen your experience with 3D printing!

Please use following form - otherwise its gonna be a lot of work for me...:
[*] The name of your thing - Cost: Low High Medium - Usability: Low High Medium - Comment: Your comment comes here


The things will be rated on cost and usability (or how they enhance your user experience with your 3D printer). This list will be structured in categories later on.

The items listed here should not be an buyers guide for 3D printer parts, its all about accessories! Also 3D printed parts/projects are welcome.

Cost is: Low - medium - high --> The prices understand them self in relation to the usability and the price range where those products sell in.

Usability: Low - medium - high --> How Happy do you feel having those things? How often did they simplify/safe your life? (aahhh... good old duct tape...)


Here are some starting points:

Electronics:

• AMS1117-5.0V, voltage regulator - Cost: Low - Usability: High - Comment: Tend to burn out on Arduino when e.g. connecting a Endstop wrong. Easy to replace.
• spare 12v 20A power supply - Cost: Medium - Usability: Medium - Comment: The mosfet tend to burn. You can also get a ATX PC power suplly. See reprap wiki
• LED light strips wired to PSU - Cost: Low - Usability: High - Comment: so you can see whats going on.
• Remote control mains plug - Cost: Low to Medium - Usability: Low to Medium
• Extension lead - Cost: Low to Medium - Usability: Low to High

Hardware:

• Nylock nuts - Cost: Low - Usability: High - Comment: cheap kits come with plain nuts that can shake loose.
• heat set inserts - Cost: Low to medium - Usability: Medium to High - Comment: Can also use nuts, not the same

Tools:

• Soldering Iron - Cost: Low to High - Usability: High - Comment: Cheap ones start at a view $$ but be aware that those don't support a lot of power, so soldering PCBs can be tricky sometimes... Better ones start from 40$+ (E.g. TS100)
• Smoke detector - Cost: Low - Usability: High
• long nose pliers / needle nose pliers - Cost: Low - Usability: High - Comment: to stop burning yourself grabbing hot filament. Also come in handy removing hardware e.g. Stepper dirvers from RAMPS
• multi-meter - Cost: Low to Medium - Usability: High - Comment: To set your stepper driver, check for a broken cable ...
• spanner set - Cost: Low to Medium - Usability: High - Comment: On small torque cheap ones work aswell, applying more torque will bend cheap spanners (Normaly not the case on a 3d printer)
• tweezers - Cost: Low - Usability: High - Comment: Try to get a set with a self locking twezzer - very handy
• Caliper - Cost: Low to medium - Usability: High - Comment: Used for measuring Filament diameter and calibartion cubes. Come as Digital or Analog versions.
• Set of hexagone drive drills - Cost: Medium . Useabilty: High - Comment: to clean out holes in prints, you can also get a standard set of steal drills,they are cheaper, but they don't have the hexagon connector
• Set of Files - Cost:Medium- Useability: High - Comment: A file for print triming. Different variations of files available (key files (set), round file ...
• Temperature meter - Cost: Medium - Useability: Medium - Comment: The infrared ones are handy at 1st set up to check bed temperatures but it depends on the bed material and hot ends are to small to monitor. Better with a thermocouple and a meter. Sometimes multimeters come with Temperature sensors --> Use Kapton to fix.
• Set of Screwdriver - Cost: Medium to High - Useability: High - Comment: Some of the come in a small shelf. Small ones maybe extra.
• Allen key set - Cost: Low to High - Useabilty: High - Comment: There are standard ones which have no ball ending, those are cheaper, but when you have to work around slight corners...
• M3 Hex bit insert for your drilling machine - Cost: Low - Useability: High - Comment: You can put this one on the 1/4 wrench, especially when you have to mount a LOT of M3 Hex nuts - you are happy to have it. 2.5mm is the correct size for M3.
• M3 Nut - Cost: Low - Useability: High - Comment: They are to small to come with a standard nut set (sometimes)
• Paint Scrapers - Cost: Low - Useability : Low to high - Comment: Depending on what you print on
• Scalpel / Sharp knife / modelling knife - Cost: Low - Useability: High - Comment: To cut of Brims ot clean out the print.
• flush cutters - cost: low and usability: very high. --- To cut the zipties or filament... (and avoid the scars made by the last small bit of ziptie that can't be cut with a normal cutter.. ahhh, memories...)
• set square - Cost: Low - usability: Medium to High - For Calibartion or measurment purpose.
• spirit level - Cost: Low to medium - Usability: Medium to High - For Calibartion purpose.
• dial indicator - Cost: medium - Usability: Medium to High - For Calibartion purpose.Mostly on Delta Printers or when having two Z-axis
• Wire strippers - Cost: Medium to High - Usability: Medium - For striping wires. You can also do it with a knife or similar, but will never have the experience (E.g.: Greenlee 1917-SS )
• Crimping tools - Cost: Medum to very High - Usability: Low to Medium - For crimping connectros to your stepper motors. Be aware that there are different sizes, so you want to have a look to get the one for the "small" connectors. (E.g.: Engineer PA-09)
• Proper working light - Cost: Low to High - Usability: High - You don't want to ruin your eyes There are some 3D printed projects which come with "fume extraction" (simply a fan) for soldering.

Expendable Materials:

• isopropyl alcohol - Cost: Low - Usability: High - Comment: One solvent should be enough to make your print platform grease free
• Acetone - Cost: Low - Usability: High - Comment: One solvent should be enough to make your print platform grease free
• Paper towls - Cost: Low - Usability: High
• Zip ties - Cost: Low - Usability: High - Comment: Can be used everywhere E.g. I use 100x2.5 mm.
• kapton tape - Cost: Medium - Usability: Medium to high - Comment: Depends on what you print on.
• Tooth pick set - Cost: Low - Usability: Low - Comment: Has a pointy hook for extracting filament wisps, and tweesers.
• Paint stick or marker- Cost: Low - Usability: Medium - Comment: Mark parts so you can check if they are still aligned.
• Feeler gauges - Cost: Low to Medium - Usability: Low to medium - Comment: For calibartion only
• Dremel or similar power tool - Cost: Medium to High - Usability: Low to medium - Comment: For finishing prints, also possible without Dremel
• heatshrink tubings - cost: low usability: medium

Others:

• Bin for the duff prints - Cost: Low - Usability: Depends on how far you want to go - ready to recycle when you have built your filament extruder.
• sheathing - cost: low usability: low look: very nice. --- Only for a better looking printer.

_______
Further Comments welcome - Things I am not sure about:
lacquer - what to use for? Lacquer = Painting?
_______

Maybe we can make up a nice list. I will try to continously add things from the posts below.

Regards
Luke

Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2018 03:43AM by Banana_Luke.

a smoke detector or 3
long nose pliers, to stop burning yourself grabbing hot filament.
isopropyl alcohol
Acetone
basic tools suitable to tighten parts on your printer (eg allen keys)
Paper towls to wipe down build surfaces

few things that I found helpful to have..

set square
spirit level
dial indicator
multi-meter
allen key set/ spanner set
needle nose pliers
ruler
spare 12v 20A power supply
tweezers
kapton tape
and a crate of beer "optional

Set of hexagone drive drills to clean out holes in prints. Medium cost and high useability
Tooth pick set from pound shop is handy. Has a pointy hook for extracting filament wisps, and tweesers. Low cost, low useability
Acetone - nail care section in pound shop.
A file for print triming. Medium cost and high useability.
Temperature meeter. The infrared ones are handy at 1st set up to check bed temperatures but it depends on the bed material and hot ends are to small to monitor. Better with a thermocouple and a meter. Medium cost, medium useability.
LED light strips wired to PSU so you can see whats going on. Low cost high useability
Small torch is another option.
Calipers to check dimensions. Mainly used at set up but are not expensive and can be used for many projects. Medium cost, high useability
Paint stick or marker - Mark parts so you can check if they are still aligned. low cost, medium useability.
Nylock nuts - cheap kits come with plain nuts that can shake loose.
Spare small screwdriver - when you want one you can never find it.
Remote control mains plug.
Extension lead - medium cost high useability. Attach the lead to the board, trolley etc where the printer is. PSU is permenantly pluged in but you can use a small PSU for lights, plug in a soldering iron, plug in laptop, additional PSU for other items. Mine is all on a trolley so i can move it and only have to plug the extension lead in. Allows you to tidy up the wiring aswell.
Bin for the duff prints - ready to recycle when you have built your filament extruder.

Realise that nearly everything is a consumable on your printer, and stock spares. Always buy multiples.

As for tools though...

• Calipers
• Feeler gauges
• good set of spanners
• ball ended Allen keys

The above is for printer maintenance, but when designing parts for printing I would also add:

• Dremel for finishing prints, cutting custom screw lengths etc
• heat set inserts
• lacquer

Paint Scraper to get parts off as flat as possible.

flush cutters - cost: low and usability: very high. --- To cut the zipties or filament... (and avoid the scars made by the last small bit of ziptie that can't be cut with a normal cutter.. ahhh, memories...)

heatshrink tubings - cost: low usability: medium

sheathing - cost: low usability: low look: very nice. --- Only for a better looking printer.

a 2.5 Hexa screw driver - cost: low usability: high --- Allen keys are nice, but for intensive work, a screwdriver is better (It'll reduce your chance of musculoskeletal disorder )

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2018 09:13AM by tech-raton.

Hey...
Is it the 2.5 Hex or the 2.0 Hex for the M3 Hex screws??

Some furhter comments to:
set square
spirit level
dial indicator

For a standard CHC M3 screw, the Hexa screwdriver would be 2.5.

I talk about standard CHC... the screws that you'll find in any printer kit...


If your screws are BHC, or FHC, you'll need a 2.0 screw driver.
But I've never seen BHC or FHC screws in a kit.

It might be, uh ! but I didn't see...



But buy a kit of allen keys. It's a shame to stop a project for a 2mm allen key or something like that...

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2018 10:29AM by tech-raton.

Quote
luke
Further Comments welcome - Things I am not sure about:
set square
spirit level
dial indicator
Didn't use them to much :/

true you/we they them! want use those tools a lot, but handy to have around
spirit level handy with a dual Z axis
the dial indicator more for delta's, spare the newbie from gorging out the bed with the nozzle of the hotend!
dial test

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2018 12:01PM by jinx.

Acetone is also so you can solvent wield ABS parts together or fix cracks

The List is quite big allready!

What about some basic components? M3 Screws? Screws in general? (since M3 e.g. dont fit in some electroni boards...)
Some elctrical components that burn on the Arduino/Ramps? Diodes? Capacitors? Resistors? Bread Board?

I don't want to make an advertisment but I got those pliers/ cable strippers like 1 year ago and still love them:
[www.amazon.de]

Cheers! Happy to hear more feedback

good call on the cable strippers but a crimping tool with wire strippers be more handy

I recommend a wire stripper and crimper for small stuff:

Greenlee 1917-SS Stainless Wire Stripper and Cutter 16-26AWG - 6inch.
Perfect for all those little wires. Typically around $17

Engineer PA-09 Micro Connector Pliers Crimpers.
Don't even try to make your own connectors without these. Heavy investment at close to $50
You'll soon be glad you bought this Japanese tool after even hooking up only one stepper cable.

CREE XM-L2 LED Flash light
From $10 to $30. Get one that has a USB charging port like a AYL Handheld Flashlight.
The AYL also has a USB out for powering your cell phone or Arduino board. Plus it's really bright!
Use it for reading all that small print on your electronics and finding all those little pieces you drop.
Also great for illuminating print bed when you finally get that printer working, LOL

Just added the pliers... I will move the brand Names in the comment section

If you have to buy all these tools, you may be better off buying a brand name working 3D printers ! Will be cheaper.

And less hassle because if you don't have the tools already, pretty sure you can't use them anyway and will learn the painful way

The "tools" I received with my Geetech kit, I thrown them away in disgust and many Geetech parts thereafter.

---

"A comical prototype doesn't mean a dumb idea is possible" (Thunderf00t)

Yeah thats true... But I think when you are not only printing like vases and masks you might want some tools anyway...

@MKSA

"If you have to buy all these tools, you may be better off buying a brand name working 3D printers ! Will be cheaper."

will still need maintenance, and thus tools.

What the OP said, plus...

Digital calipers
Cheap soldering iron for doing stuff with plastic plus a good controlled-temperature soldering iron for electronics
Various glues: 5-minute epoxy, hot glue, polyurethane "Gorilla" glue
Hair spray
Polyurethane spray can
Sandpaper

I was pleasantly surprised with my cr10 it came with wire cutters, cable ties, hex/allen keys the good ones with ball ends at one end, a nice sharp scraper, a memory card that actually works, a USB card reader and a decent shielded USB cable. Since I located the machine in a bit of spare space at work and all my other 3d printer stuff is at home, I can safely say that's all you need to print some stuff.

But if you intend to do substantial upgrades, rebuild the machine, make printers from scratch or develop 3d printing innovations, almost everything mentioned here is useful and is something I've bought, I'd add an oscilloscope to the list. But if you're starting out don't go spending £500 on tools, buy what you need, when you need it.

---

Simon Khoury

Co-founder of [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk] Accurate, repeatable, versatile Z-Probes
Published:Inventions

Quote
DjDemonD
... I'd add an oscilloscope to the list...

One would need to know how to use it, and why. Me, not a clue :/

I barely know how to use it but every now and again it comes in very handy. I didn't buy a lab sized one just a pocket scope.

---

Simon Khoury

Co-founder of [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk] Accurate, repeatable, versatile Z-Probes
Published:Inventions

I like using Dell USFF DA-2 12v 18A power bricks for my printers. You can pick them up for around $12 on eBay. Of course you need to size your PS to your printer, but I’m using 120W - 180W heatbeds on my printers. Cut the end off. Tie the White (12v+) wires together. Tie the Black (Ground) wires together. Tie the Red and Blue together, and then to ground to turn on. I put a switch in line between the red/blue and ground so I can cut power at the front of my printers.

A gasketed dry storage box and desiccant to properly store filament. I like DampRid- it's dirt cheap, lasts for a looooong time, and is easily and cheaply replaceable in a few years. I have a dry box that has had a tub of DampRid in it for about 2 years and it's still going strong. I expect to get a couple more years out of it before it needs to be replaced for about $2.50.

---

Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Probably a good place to put this.... Safety goggles!

Turned on my dremel today and the shank snapped and flew across the room at god-knows-how-many RPM. It didn't touch any material, I literally turned it on for a second and SPPPWEFAKSJDF there's a dent in my wall now.

Even filing or removing support material can cause horrible injuries to your eye, and you will not blink quick enough to stop it.

If we're talking safety gear then kevlar gloves come highly recommended. Brand new craft knife cannot cut them. Use when getting parts off the bed or trimming them.

---

Simon Khoury

Co-founder of [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk] Accurate, repeatable, versatile Z-Probes
Published:Inventions

Don't forget a good sledge hammer for when you realize the cheap kit you bought just deserves a good wack ! (A 12ga is even more fun)

---

"A comical prototype doesn't mean a dumb idea is possible" (Thunderf00t)

Quote
DjDemonD
If we're talking safety gear then kevlar gloves come highly recommended. Brand new craft knife cannot cut them. Use when getting parts off the bed or trimming them.

As a matter of fact it is what I use when I tighten the hot end when hot to make sure it doesn't leak.

Kevlar can be cut by a knife, woven stainless steel braided wire is better.

---

"A comical prototype doesn't mean a dumb idea is possible" (Thunderf00t)

Not for tightening your hotend!

---

Simon Khoury

Co-founder of [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk] Accurate, repeatable, versatile Z-Probes
Published:Inventions

Quote
DjDemonD
Not for tightening your hotend!

Yes ! I hold the hot heating block (connected to a bench PSU) with my left hand while tightening the nozzle with a wrench (and my right hand as one may deduct). I can't stand the smell of burning flesh especially if it is mine !
You get a better seal that way.

---

"A comical prototype doesn't mean a dumb idea is possible" (Thunderf00t)