As an American who has dealt with imperial hardware for the last 12 years of my career, I don't recommend that anyone uses imperial hardware or measurements for 3D printing because EVERYTHING in the slicer is done in mm. Metric is SO much easier to measure, model, modify, and print with. you get WAY cleaner and more accurate prints by using factors of the layer height and line widths. Also, Thank you for making these models! Especially for free!
@Neue-Johan You say that like 1 liter of water doesn't weigh a kilogram. 1mL of water is 1g. This is dependent on temperature. Metric has some weird relationships between volume and mass. They just have updated scientific definitions that obscure the origins.
@@tiffanysandmeier4753 for water it makes sort of sense. But it’s just strange to call for example oil a fluid ounce, when this amount of oil doesn’t actually weigh an ounce. It doesn’t work for all fluids, just for water.
I love that these files are free, but I find it so funny that this is 100% the first file I would have paid for, basically regardless of the price! So useful!
Hell no. If you use free files from the internet, you should give back by releasing your own for free. Dont be greedy, give as well as take. Dont just take
I'm confused. On the M3 template you have the depth of the hex bolt as 6.5, the CB as 8.2 and the CB with washer as 9.9. But in the actual model they are 2.5, 3.1 and 3.7. The numbers on the model can't be right, right?
yes the m3 is wrong, he has a detailed text file that comes with the zip and it shows a different number. I'll try to bump your comment so he can fix it
Related side tip .. you can use Slicer modifiers to add additional walls around holes so that if a hole is slightly too small you can drill it out without compromising the part. The nut cut out with parallel lines is also in OrcaSlicer now as a sacrificial layer/bridge. With that said, software like Fusion 360 has access to large libraries of fasteners (e.g. McMaster Carr), so once you're comfortable modeling you can import the hardware and assemble, helps to find tolerance issues before you waste filament.
Very cool Alex! I’ve purchased your hardware bins in the past and have been very happy with the design. Stoked that these are free. Also, appreciate you thinking about the imperial sizes but as an American, once I started designing in cad, I switched to 100% metric, because it just makes sense!
I don't have a 3D printer, sadly just dont have the space for it, but i could 100% see these being useful in "standard" fabrication or even just bolt sorting when you scavenge/disassemble something for the first time. So many times i have to redrill so many holes cause i guesstimated my clearance wrong and then warped the sheet metal. This is so cool and genuinely genius
Thanks for making such great content! I keep coming back for inspiration and ideas I really appreciate your work. I hope you don't stop making content anytime soon and keep up the great work!
I love your designs. I bought the original Assortment system and then Upgraded to the newer system. My son bought your upgraded system and built the boxes to hold them. Works awesome. Keep up the good work. Thank you
Thanks for making this Alex, you just saved me hours/days/weeks of work and frustration, and while visiting your OL store I found a few other things that I had been considering making. I'm new to Fusion so it would have taken me days or possibly weeks to create some of these parts. Now I just need to upgrade my old 3D printer to do your designs justice and get back to the workshop before winter sets in. Keep the videos coming, I always enjoy them even if I don't intend to build anything similar, its always good to learn new techniques.
Very neat to have. As somebody who works with Blender3D most of the time, I simply have created myself a library of boolean models over the time on stuff I use. Like a caphead screw is basically two cylinders, if I need throughhole or certain depth I can expand the cylinders in length and the boolean modifier will "cut out" the proper hole in the end. They already include the tolerance as well.
This is a fantastic tool, if I were to request any thing extra, it would be a card that has the tolerances for heat-set inserts, as well as a cart for m2 and m2.5, for those of us making some more delicate assemblies. Thank you for sharing these files.
The problem with the heat inserts is that if you buy from two different suppliers, you're likely to get two different dimensions. There's also different types of heat inserts with different dimensions as well-some have brims, some don't, some are thicker, thinner, etc.
I was just discussing the idea of the hole guide earlier this week after re-printing holder for Allen keys a few times to get it right. Thank you for saving me a good deal of heartache caused by messing up holes before I finally got round to creating one myself 🙂
I love how the fit templates for different orientations are designed to work great with whatever printer or settings you use. Super clever because it doesn't actually matter what anything says it is, it matters how they actually work.
Yeah, I made some height charts for a friend's kids and they said they use imperial for people's heights. For weights Brits use kg, lbs, and STONES? WTF
@@nunyabiz1712 I think where things get muddled is that the US and UK use different versions of the imperial measures when such measures are being used.
@@SmallSpoonBrigadethat's because the US doesn't use Imperial, the use US Customary units. Just so happen to have many of the same units (and some of those are even the same size) but they are, in fact, seperate systems.
@@LiqdPT Oh true, liquid measures can be "fun" due to this. Canada used Imperial gallons before (mostly) going metric, which are 160 fl oz vs the US Gallon which is 128 fl oz. I'd remembered hearing that the difference was rooted in the British and the USA adopting a wine and beer gallon each. I can't remember which adopted which system. This very difference has lead to many arguments over volume amounts with my parents, and older generations. They assume that everything they see measured in gallons here in Canada is that old system that existed when I was born... When, clearly, the container they're looking at was produced or imported from the USA, and is using the smaller US gallon, often with the corresponding litre conversion both marked on the containers.
This is a really great idea! I find it especially practical that printing the test cards with your own printer means the specific tolerances are already included. And it’s awesome that with a multicolor printer, you can highlight small details like the text labels in different colors.
yeah those are probably the most useful things here, im going to print those pretty quick. ive designed and printed the exact same thing before but just a small block with like 4-5 holes varying by .1mm to get a hole size that i needed. the genius idea is to put them all in 1 part, and the angled and vertical is just extra smart.
Awesome tools! I've scratched my head enough when trying to figure out what size my clever "overfilled-box-with-important-screws-and-bolts" contains... This will definitely help!
Use " fluted reamers " that are used in machining metal for enlarging holes or drill them out. Reamers will allow for tight fit or loose fit depending on tolerances. They also make expanding / adjustable reamers.
I really asked myself if it was intentional or not. Then I think that it would have been seen in the video editing. I think he let it pass, to have comments about it. Clever way to get engagement with comments.
In certain CAD programs (Onshape, for example) you can create a document with variables for all your common hardware dimensions and then use that across all your projects as a linked document. So when figure out better dimensions later on you can update it in one central place and it'll update it in all your projects. So you don't have to wonder about the dimensions again for each project.
There's also a #10 screw that's very commonly used. The best way to understand the imperial system is to think about it like the English language. It's an archaic amalgamation of standards from different systems. Similar to how English smashes together Latin, French, Greek, and, Germanic other languages, the imperial system smashes together different measurement standards. The numbered screws refer to the wire gauge of the solid part of the screw, whereas the fractional screws measure the outer diameter, the second number indicating thread pitch. Then you have obsolete (but still present in some older British vehicles) standards like Whitworth, that were the precursor to the fractional standards, but where the head size was the fraction and the outer diameter was some roundish number like 0.400 inches. But when you're putting 1 into 12 into 5280 as your system of lengths and distances, the fastener standard really isn't so bad.
Sounds like we need to grab those few oddball fasteners Alexandre wasn't able to get ahold of, and mail him a little "care package" of the remaining oddball Imperial stuff. I'd only heard on occasion, about the old British standards. *really* think if someone needs BST or Whitworth, that should be left as "an exercise for the viewer to complete and share". Same with perhaps other threaded systems like AN-fittings and NPT (National Pipe Thread), UNF, etc., etc.
if someone is adding this, #10 is 0.190in, i guess call it 6/32 too Also "wire gauge" is not the best language to compare to since "wire gauge" goes in the opposite direction.
Dude, you're amazing. A couple years ago I purchased your Assortment Series of storage cubs for the drawers and use the all the time for my shop and office. Now with a Bambu Labs X1 printer, they come out so much better and sturdy. Thanks for your efforts and designs. Keep them coming.
Love all of these. Great ideas and super useful. For SAE, #10 screws are also quite common here and would be good to have on the thread checker. I am trying to switch over to metric for all personal projects though so the others are going to get a lot of use.
somehow i really like the adhd energy vibe of this guy. I admire his enthousiasm, creativity and empathy with people who do not have the stamina to find out all these measurements. I am never going to do woodworking or buy a 3d printer, but if only i had 1/4th of his energy to use for creating software.
Greetings! Love these models and will likely get these because I like them a bit better than the current ones I have... I am an engineer and have to swap between Metric and Imperial units constantly depending on where parts are sourced and availability... I do most conversions in my head now and only verify if it is critical tolerances. I can shed a bit of light on the Imperial numbering... larger fasteners follow the fractional logic based on one inch, but finer bolts would descend into quite a mess of ever larger fractions quickly... not to mention that early bolt manufacturers used coils of standard wire gauge and then cut (or formed) the threads and used a sort of riveting or hammer process to flatten out the head using a die... therefore we get #12, #10, #8, #6, and even #4 and #2 for tiny machine screws... these are NOT to be confused with electrical wire gauges made for copper and having a different set of properties and parameters... (so bloody complicated at times!) But, that was the way it was, with many competing standards until eventually a few shook out as dominant overall. Even so, there are still a few feuds about the "best types" depending on the usage and personal preferences! LOL I am somewhat a chameleon as I use whatever is best for the overall project and either aligns with the most common measurement system in use for the project, or what the customer desires or specifies.
FINALY. @2:01 Someone who correctly uses the term “fit” instead of misusing the word “tolerance” like so many other RUclipsrs often do. 👏 👏 (Tolerance is a range of acceptable outcomes, not how closely parts fit together. You can have a tight tolerance but still have a loose fit, if the parts are +/- 0.005mm but have a clearance of 2mm. They are precisely made, but have lots of slop and play. FIT is the relationship between parts and clearance taking tolerance into consideration. You can even have a negative clearance, which is a press fit, but you need to hold close tolerances to achieve or it’ll be loose and not stay in place or too tight and bind or break.)
Yes!!!! It annoys me so much that 95% of makers out there, even some who seem to be degreed engineers, don’t seem to understand the difference between tolerance and fit/clearance. I’ve tried to educate a few with poor results. 😩 I’m glad someone else out there gets it.
@@davidawaters The importance is getting the message and overall idea across, which they do, even if they maybe manage to use the wrong terminology. This is such a "umm ackshually" problem to have, jeeze.
@@Dealman15 i believe the words are actually important here as a designer needs to have a clear understanding of tolerance, fit, and design clearance. Maybe it’s a “well actually” situation for the hobby/maker world, but this stuff aligns well with industry and you definitely need to know the difference there if you want to be a good engineer. At least that’s what my 22 years of design and manufacturing tells me.
15:55 the US used to have both #10 and 1/4” screws! Very slightly different: A #10 screw has a thread diameter of 0.190 in and 24 threads per inch. A 1/4-20 screw has a 1/4" diameter and 20 threads per inch.
I'm at 4:12, and the answer to everything so far is "Machinery's Handbook." Sizes for things like clearances, tolerances, allowances (for wrenches, etc.) are all tabulated for just about every fastener and situation known to mankind.
And I'm sure everything in said handbook holds true for CNC'd and drilled holes and whatnot...basically for anything with a DIN/ISO/whatever standard. 3D printing is a bit more individual than that, cause the tolerances can depend on anything from motors and belts (mechanical components) all the way to temperature and flowrate (software parameters). The slip-fit on his M8 nut might be a press-fit in my situation. Long story short, there's a some trial and error that needs to happen in order to find the tolerances for your own machine.
I have such a table book laying on my desk besides my caliper and use it at every design I 3d print. Also most CAD programs also have the norms included as features so you don’t have to for example design recesses for screws by hand. As for slip fits I basically once determined the specific clearance needed for my printer and saved it in my basic preset. Now I can simply use it as an offset to the official norm parts. I’ve been doing this for years and it’s working great.
Then again, many - if not the majority - of 3D-printer users (of this kind, as in non-Pros), have little to no knowledge of said book. I think this is a brilliant solution for exactly those kind of people aka the target group.
@@pan6593I agree 100%. I’m new to 3D printing, I love it and find the design side way more satisfying than downloading some tat off Thingiverse. But exactly like you say, no background in engineering and no knowledge of tolerances etc.
yes mate BUT not every screw, bolt and nut are the same size. Have you ever bought a set of m5 bolts on Amazon (probably made in China) and then bought another set for the next project at home depot? They might not be the same size. So if I want to print something and create the 3D model I can literally test the holes of my print and know who I need to draw it... Of course you have to do this for each 3D printer you are using in case you have more than one. Even if you change filament or temperature your 3D print may vary and bolts will not fit anymore.... That's what this video is about. Not about books, tables or XLS sheets that's useless unless you want to print 3 prototypes because you used the numbers from the book.
Some companies spend a fortune on advertising and still don't make the most of customer enquiries, this offer of free stuff gets people who might use your services like me, who do not currently use a 3d printer, to register as a customer on your site, for a fraction of advertising costs. Brilliant, thank you for your help, I have saved the download files in a new 3d printer folder so that when I do get around to using one I have your details and a copy of this video, good luck
Thanks for making these files available. The next step is likely just to have a library. As in, place the hardware in the design, subtract the hardware from the design, and you are done. I don't know how common this is in 3D CAD, but it's what I do in OpenSCAD, and what electrical engineers do all day.
Good thing about this tools is that if you print them on the same printer as you're planning to print real parts, it will automatically inherit all imperfectnesses/precision problems of the printer. So you can model exactly for your printer even if it's not perfect
Yes and no, technically you would need to do that for each material on that printer. Since different materials have different shrinking factors if you haven't calibrated that all to one standard already.
I forgot about fixing the STL function of the slicer. The repair STL function reported that the file was nor repaired, however it did work to fix the problem I was having. These are really going to come in handy, thanks. I plan on using these to assist with my RC modeling. It would be great to have a board for 2.0 and 2.5 mm fasteners. Maybe I will work on that. I'm unable to slice the M3 board. It looks fine when I import it but when I slice it all the printing is not visible. I tried it with Prusa, Qidi and Orca with the same result. I imported it into Fusion 360 and exported it and that fixed the problem but changed the dimensions of the model. I'm not sure what is wrong with the .STL file but I did not have any issues with the M4 or M5 boards. They came out great. Thank you for posting this.
I've been 3d printing and using cad for 6 years, and I've literally never needed this. Either I use a machinist handbook, or I just use my calipers and add 0.2mm for the tolerance of my printer. I do, however, like the tolerance test board. The solution to figuring out what thread a bolt is is learning a trade and letting yourself be shamed by your colleagues for getting the thread wrong.
As someone who has grown up in a country using the imperial system it's no more confusing than the metric system as long as you don't try too over think it. Under a quarter inch bolt the sizes are numbered ie 6, 8, 10, 12. Then you start going by the fraction of an inch. After the size you have the denominator for threads per inch, ie 32, 24, 20, 16. Examples being, #10-24 and 3/8-16. We also have coarse and fine threads, ie. 1/4-20 unc and 1/4-24 unf. I'm personally still trying to understand how the metric thread system works for coarse and fine threads.
Metric has fine thread versions, but in my experience (granted I am also American, but work as an engineer for a global manufacturing company so I deal with both systems daily) metric uses the default sizes like 99.9% of the time. For comparison, I feel like UNC (Unified National Coarse) is like ~80-85% and UNF (Unified National Fine) is like 15-20% of uses, with
So if I don't think about it too hard, how will I know which bit is larger when it comes to fractions of inches? I know that a 19 is larger than a 18 without thinking so if an 18 doesn't fit, I know where to look next but whatever you're doing is offensive to logical thinking.
@@johanhalvarsson2148 Fractions aren't for lazy people and if you become familiar with fractions, you will understand them enough to quickly figure out the next common size. Fractions for us are kind of like the base 10 system you use of unit, 1/10th, 1/100th, and 1/1000th of the unit as in meter, decimeter, centimeter, and milimeter. Down to 8ths or 16ths of an inch, it isn't too bad, but for many of us it is awkward to remember 32nds and 64ths. For machining, I like to work completely in thousandths. Metric has it's advantages, but our machines are not built for the metric system, nor is the tooling, or existing parts and building practices. We would have stupid random metric numbers to equal what we use now, so it would be very expensive and a royal pain for people to learn to switch over. It would be one thing to start from scratch, but a quick change is a no go. It is quite a pain using both systems now, with so much imported that is metric.
@@CGT80 I understand fractions, that's not the issue. But if I'm under a car and I notice something is just off I can tell my helper to get the next size in either smaller or larger. I don't think I could tell my seven year old to do that if it was in imperial because he wouldn't be able to calculate it and I wouldn't see what options there were. It's just not a friendly system, that's all I'm saying. The only problem with it is you do manufacture a few things so sometimes we need a tool or two from that awful system.
@@johanhalvarsson2148 If your son grew up in the US, he would be learning the fractions at a young age, and you would already know the fractions. Many mechanics and tradesmen do exactly what you describe, everyday. If I try a 7/16 inch socket and it is too big, I know that 1/2 is the next biggest and 3/8 is the next smallest. If 3/4 is too small, I know 13/16 is bigger. 3/4=6/8=12/16. 12+1=13. Yes, I know it is a pain and many of us don't love dealing with fractions, but it is the language we learned from a young age. We also have rulers and tapemeasures for engineers......they are in 10ths of inches and feet and we use calipers and micrometers in the base 10 system along with our machine tools having the same graduations in thousandths. Instead of using 1/6th of an inch and 1/8th of an inch, I use 0.063 and 0.125 inches, like the metric system, so it is easy to do the math. It is all about what you are used to. As a trades person, I do wish we used decimals instead of fractions.
WOW! This video, and the free models provided are ABSOLUTE GOLD! I've never "subbed to a channel so fast! So glad I stumbled across this one!!! TAHNK YOU!
Why would you reprint that part (2:27) vs drilling it out? As close as the fit is, I’d imagine it would take nothing to take the amount of plastic out of that hole for a perfect fit. Just curious. Edited to add: Ok Alexandre, out of the gate I noticed you aren’t a “hey watch me print pikachu” kind of guy. That won me. Then I follow the link to your site where the first thing I hit on is these boards. You sir, are a beast. This is EXACTLY the kind of thing I’m interested in. HOOKED! Thank you!
because 3d prints are usually 75-85% empty space inside (there are some patterns, but i’m not going into that, look for infill if you care to know more). every side that is external has usually 2-3 walls of plastic before you go to infill, unless you increased it. if you reach the infill, you won’t have strength anymore.
@@zuppy2 Agreed, well aware of the infill and walls issues. They can be configured to accomodate mild adjustments however if this isn’t taken into account, yeah you’d have problems. I agree more, on Alexandre’s approach as to making it right off the build plate. It is, tantamount to painting 3d printed items when you can, print in the color(s) that you want and not need to paint them. However, as in all things, there are situations where painting happens.
@@CGT80 it's all about wall thickness. 3D prints, particularly fused filaments which are the most commonly used, aren't solid. They are walls with a lattice structure between the walls. If you strip away the entire wall, with a larger bore, your lattice is compromised because the walls are structural to the lattice. Generally you have some control over the thickness of the walls, but you generally don't want to increase the thickness of walls as it increases the amount of filament and cost that your print will cost. It also increases the time it takes for the printing to take place. There are solid 3D printing methods. The first 3D printing was SLA or Stereolithography produces a solid model. But this is much more costly way to 3D print than fusing filaments through a nozzle.
Wouldn't it make more sense to keep these files digitally in folders and just drag them into your 3d project? Except for those hole templates. Seems like you would want to keep those next to the keyboard
It is great that you went through all this work to create these fit models. I recommend not printing them and create your hardware CAD file with the cut tool built in. Now you can import your required file to your new model, position it and use the built-in tool to subtract from your model. This will save you tons of time modeling.
In the mid 70s, my country, the US, pushed for a conversion from our primitive system. The idiots won and so we're still using it. I'm almost 79 so there's little hope that it'll happen before I croak. Things have improved some since we ceased to be a manufacturing country and began importing everything. It forces us to have two sets of tools and two collections of hardware. Can you imagine having to make room for a 13/64"wrench? Just know my European friend that most of us know how stupid it is. I love the boards you made. It embarrasses me that I haven't already made some. If I had, they wouldn't have been nearly as nice as yours. You're a treasure.
Yeah I'm still bitter we never migrated to the metric system after I learned all of that. With that said if I'm doing something and I'm ordering online I'm ordering metric all the way...
Fun fact, the US is one of the original signors of the metric - don’t remember term so I use - manifest. But when it came time for the US to convert, the railway companies had built all the railroads using imperial so they objected that it would be too expensive. Corporate interference in politics is nothing new
I'm right behind you on age, and it also saddens me that we didn't convert. And yes it was all politics and that lovely crap. And I feel your pain that we (especially anyone in the 3d printing community ) have to have 2 sets of tools. Even now there are so many things that come from overseas and require metric tools, the USA still drags its heels into converting.
Of all the free information you're getting from this video, the work he does, the files he puts out there for you to download from your chair. You're wining for your email address you already gave RUclips to watch all this ... Dude, skip the ranting, make something and put it out there yourself.
Almost every day at work I try to figure out these dimensions, as if it's the first time, but not any more! I will be downloading and printing the set. Thanks for designing and sharing (for free!!) such an amazing tool set Alex! 🙌
I made something similar to the hole clearence test board a year ago!It really save me time when you are prototyping! never though making one for the screws and bolts, really good job!
The hole sizes are key, especially in the different orientations Alexandre shows. Also, the STL setting (how many facets upon exporting from CAD) matters, because you approximate a circle with straight lines. I also recommend getting a set of drill bits, so instead of re-printing a part, you can modify it. Not suitable for mass production, of course, but this cuts down on cost, time and plastic waste.
Regarding printing holes without supports and the top part collapsing - try making the hole shaped like teardrop - keeping the bottom part perfectly circular but adding a little "tail" on the top. This can prevent the top collapsing
Thank you for making these available. I'm in Kentucky in America, and I exclusively use the metric system when designing and building anything with my 3d printers. I recently modeled and printed a radio controlled vehicle chassis completely from scratch using tinkercad, and these tools would have been helpful to have. I had drill a few holes larger to be able to assemble some of the parts.
One, friends don't let friends use tinkercad. Use Fusion 360 or any of the free parametric modelers. (other than freecad, it is designed to be terrible to use.) Two, just about every slicer has automatic conversion these days so it doesn't matter what units you are modeling in. Three, the US customary system is superior for anything larger than a grape to the size of a house. Outside of those sizes, you should be careful letting yourself get an intuitive grasp on the dimensions as that is where a lot of mistakes happen. The US system is designed to work with fractional inches as the smallest "base size" and then thousandths of an inch to give desired tolerance/fit. Fractional inches give you much more freedom of sizes than metric, often letting you do the design work without needing to use a calculator. Need to find the midwaypoint on a 5/8" line? Easy, multiply the 8 by 2 to get you 5/16". Conversely, enjoy getting the halfwaypoint on a 15.8mm line. One important thing to keep in mind is that the US customary system is designed such that you can work with discrete fractions, you shouldn't be designing things that are 1/7", but in metric, due to the limited discrete units, you can't do designs that are more than moderately complex using the same methodology, you will end up with 1.46mm for example. Base10 measurement systems are only good for unit conversions, base 12 is where it is at for actual designing. Base 8 and 16 can work well too.
I'm so glad that filament is now also affordable. Like I just ordered ppa from elegoo for 12€ a kilo. It used to be more like 30€ when I got into 3D printing. It's so cool, now I can just 3d print and code my own goto eqautorial mount instead of paying 500€ for 2 motors on a tripodmount.
don't know how long you've been printing, but PLA & PETG for less than €15/kg has been around for longer than I have been printing, which is about 5 years...
Tusen takk, Alex! Det er fantastisk! These are probably some of the most useful tools I've seen anyone make for a 3D printer. In Australia, I have access to both metric and "freedom unit" parts. I almost exclusively use metric though.
I think it would be also good to ad what DIN number those Screws and bolts have. That's easy then to check in the standardized size of that DIN number the measurements for fasteners.
dang, these are so awesome, exactly what I needed on my last thing! I'm learning a bunch of this stuff from 0 and it comes fast but it's a lot of wasted plastic when you're not a trained engineer to begin with.
There are #10 screws which are commonly used.. as an American not sure why the numbers switch from #'s to fractions. I think it may be the size of the head? Because even drywall screws can be called #8 screws.
A great video and thank you so very much for making the files for the 'Hole size test boards' and the 'Hardware Design Boards' all available for free, it's very much appreciated, thank you.
I just ordered a couple engineering slide charts. It has all the dimensions for both metric and SAE with conversion charts and material properties. It has not only all of this information, but also hole sizes for tapping of various types of material (50%, 70%, and 90% thread). This is the size of a sheet of paper and only 3mm thick. It's what mechanical engineers use as a reference.
It's always great to watch an ALCH video! 3D printed circles are inherently problematic since there doesn't appear to be a consistent compensation to account for the width of the track being laid down. Smaller holes can get really plugged up while larger holes get by with a bit of tolerance. It seems there's always a bit of trial and error in the design. The templates are a great idea, but I'd need one for each printer and for each type of filament, to make the fits perfect!
@@hulpe what would be really nice, is if slicers used a compensation algorithm that behaves like cutter compensation we use on CNC mills. Then maybe our holes and cylinders could match their design dimensions. Cheers!
The problem with this is sometimes it depends on the print settings, if you print at .10, .20, .35 layer hight can really make a difference in wether or not a part fits or does not fit. I like the idea but this may work for your printer and setttings but i dont think that will transfer to my printer. But i guess i will have to try it out. I love it that you were really thinking outside the Box to try to make the workflow easier and faster. You must never sleep, modeling and printing all of these. I live in the us but i design all 3d prints with metric, everyone should. Imperial is for building houses, or maybe furniture. Larry
These are awesome. I still can't 3d model on anything but sketchup to save my life, but one day when I take the time to learn I will come back to print these.
Damn, just wow! So simple and yet so needed. What a comprehensive way to quickly get measurements for a build or model. Definately going to print and use these. Thanks
I purchased two of your box sets in the past. It's awesome that you made this one for free, thanks! I'm from the US so I have spent most of my life thinking in freedom units but when I got into 3D printing I really wanted to understand metric so that is how I think in the 3D virtual world. But in the real world, I still think in freedom units. 😂
Thank you for the great files. I run into the same problem as you all the time, so it makes total sense to print these and have them around while designing! 👍
As an American the bolt and nut board to determine the size hardware you have is great but your metric sizing tool should work just fine imperial hardware as well for printing purposes. Great video, I think this may be the most useful 3D printing video I’ve seen to date. I’m still up in the air on getting a 3D printer, and if I do which brand, and type of printer to get. The resin based seem really cool but I don’t see a huge problem with filament based prints either since if the print lines are an issue there are steps with at least some of the filaments to reduce or remove the print lines.
to print without support, i have also a tip that i use all the time : I add a layer of 0.2mm which completely fills the hole, and allows a classic bridge filling. then the screw cracks this thin layer easily
Sorry, the sun got in my eyes - "a layer of 0.2mm which completely fills the hole ... " - can you elaborate on that a little, I can't seem to visualize what you're saying. Always looking for these kinds of tips, so thanks in advance for tolerating an idiot. :)
@@KulawyMan sorry I speak bad English. I will try differently. at the level of the bridge layer, you have to fill the hole by making an extrusion (of the hole diameter) of 0.2mm. in this way, it becomes just a normal bridge with a rectilinear filling. and as the layer is very thin, it breaks when pushing the screw into it.
This looks nice, but the info of the first tool can as be in a table or figure and be stored digitally or printed on paper. The fit tool is useful as a 3d print, but it also matters how consistent your filament is (or how well/consistent it is calibrated) between different spools.
Never used a 3d printer but I thought of that same solution the moment that you identified the issue so imagined how satisfied I was when I saw that you’ve already done the hard work 😂
For imperial units the most popular sizes will be fairly even numbers with 1/4-20 being the most popular bolt in general. If you’re making the detailed prints like you did for metric start with 1/4-20, then 1/8. 3/8, and perhaps 1/2 last.
Thank you! Good video and very nice design on the templates. These are going to be very useful to use. Looks like a lot of time (yours and the printers) went into creating these. I'm not sure if I have seen any of your previous videos, but it is a safe bet I will now. Thank you for providing these for free.
Great video, thanks for making this and for free. I am appreciative of you making for the units we use here in the USA. How many USA makers don't bother making it for metric also. again thank you
Thanks for these models, they will prove to be very useful. When I open the 3MF file in Orca Slicer, it changes the filament profile "Max volumetric speed" to "2" which makes the print time almost 12 hours. Was that the intention? In addition, there are surface anomalies under all of the text. These anomalies are on the main top layer of the horizontal hole test board. All I did was open the 3MF file and slice it. The slicer sees them as "inner walls". It's not a functional issue but an aesthetic issue. I'm guessing it occurred in your design software when adding the text. I haven't printed it yet so I don't know if it's a big deal or not. EDIT: I just checked for this anomaly on the M3 board, it is there also. It appears to be on all of the horizontal boards. There are also gaps in the text after slicing, for instance the "r" and the "d" in the word "board". And it can be seen in your video at 11:57. This happens after slicing as it doesn't show in the "Prepare" view in Orca Slicer.
The volumetric speed is only changed for the material of the top layer (lines and text). Orca just might not be compatible with the Bambu files or multi-material prints?
@@kingraptor.843OK, thanks for the clarification on the volumetric speed. The way OrcaSlicer and Bambu Studio handle the import of 3MF files leaves a LOT to be desired. ARTIFACTS FIXED! I've been playing around with OrcaSlicer and discovered that the surface artifacts are due to a setting in OrcaSlicer. The setting is under "Quality"-"Only One Wall On Top Surfaces"-"One wall threshold". The hover-over popup even says this will cause exactly what we are seeing, "If Enabled, artifacts can be created if you have some thin features on the next layer, like letters". It's a feature not a bug as I was beginning to think. You set it to "0" to get rid of the artifacts and indeed, setting it to "0" removed the artifacts under the lettering.
Really like your content and thanks for the free files!!! Got my first 3D printer, a Bambu A1 a month ago and looking for content. Keep up the great work.
a little trick i learned back in the r13 times was to always take a cut copy of all fittings and have them as proto1 to not have this exact workflow hinder :) with slicers today you dont even need to know cad.. just make a shape if your liking and cut away the rest, trim the unwanted excess with negative parts and off to the races for fitment. saves a ton of iterations for me.
Hey Alexandre, just a heads up; the M3 design board has some errors in the print file. Looks like hex nut thickness, counterbore thickness, counterbore +washer thickness are from the M8 design board.
As an American who has dealt with imperial hardware for the last 12 years of my career, I don't recommend that anyone uses imperial hardware or measurements for 3D printing because EVERYTHING in the slicer is done in mm. Metric is SO much easier to measure, model, modify, and print with. you get WAY cleaner and more accurate prints by using factors of the layer height and line widths. Also, Thank you for making these models! Especially for free!
I was about to say. I don't know a single person who 3D prints in imperial. It just does not make sense for some industries.
Inperial just sucks -.- Wake up America!
Fahrenheit also, even if its a german Invention 😛
Mph, Gallons or gpm also...
@@Taran-d.B.23don’t forget the fluid ounces! Let’s define a volume by the weight of the water that it can hold?
@Neue-Johan You say that like 1 liter of water doesn't weigh a kilogram. 1mL of water is 1g. This is dependent on temperature.
Metric has some weird relationships between volume and mass. They just have updated scientific definitions that obscure the origins.
@@tiffanysandmeier4753 for water it makes sort of sense. But it’s just strange to call for example oil a fluid ounce, when this amount of oil doesn’t actually weigh an ounce. It doesn’t work for all fluids, just for water.
I love that these files are free, but I find it so funny that this is 100% the first file I would have paid for, basically regardless of the price! So useful!
Thanks, Squarespace!
Yeah he can charge for the printed set. A 20 to 30$ could be more.
Donate! 😊
Hell no. If you use free files from the internet, you should give back by releasing your own for free. Dont be greedy, give as well as take. Dont just take
Literally my toughts when seing the products , and when he said they are free ok let's print !!! Thank you Alexandre !
I'm confused. On the M3 template you have the depth of the hex bolt as 6.5, the CB as 8.2 and the CB with washer as 9.9. But in the actual model they are 2.5, 3.1 and 3.7. The numbers on the model can't be right, right?
yes the m3 is wrong, he has a detailed text file that comes with the zip and it shows a different number. I'll try to bump your comment so he can fix it
Noticed the same. I need the M3 one for printing RC car parts
Just noticed the same thing when testing this out. I was very confused for a moment. glad I'm not the only one.
Just noticed the wrong dimensions for the M3 are in the image on the store too. looks like the wrong dimensions are from the M8 boards measurements.
@@Corrado87 I'm just in it for the measurement. I'm making some csv files I can import into Fusion as parameters. I don't plan on printing them.
On the last print, could you add a ruler to the side so you have also the length of a bolt?
I think it would be a nice addition
Related side tip .. you can use Slicer modifiers to add additional walls around holes so that if a hole is slightly too small you can drill it out without compromising the part. The nut cut out with parallel lines is also in OrcaSlicer now as a sacrificial layer/bridge.
With that said, software like Fusion 360 has access to large libraries of fasteners (e.g. McMaster Carr), so once you're comfortable modeling you can import the hardware and assemble, helps to find tolerance issues before you waste filament.
Or use hot tools. Assuming it’s not resin. An old soldering gun does wonders without the force of a drill :)
Thanks!! Providing these pieces free of charge was an act of extreme kindness.
Thank you very much!
Very cool Alex! I’ve purchased your hardware bins in the past and have been very happy with the design. Stoked that these are free. Also, appreciate you thinking about the imperial sizes but as an American, once I started designing in cad, I switched to 100% metric, because it just makes sense!
I don't have a 3D printer, sadly just dont have the space for it, but i could 100% see these being useful in "standard" fabrication or even just bolt sorting when you scavenge/disassemble something for the first time. So many times i have to redrill so many holes cause i guesstimated my clearance wrong and then warped the sheet metal. This is so cool and genuinely genius
Thanks for making such great content! I keep coming back for inspiration and ideas I really appreciate your work. I hope you don't stop making content anytime soon and keep up the great work!
I love your designs. I bought the original Assortment system and then Upgraded to the newer system. My son bought your upgraded system and built the boxes to hold them. Works awesome.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you
Thanks for making this Alex, you just saved me hours/days/weeks of work and frustration, and while visiting your OL store I found a few other things that I had been considering making. I'm new to Fusion so it would have taken me days or possibly weeks to create some of these parts. Now I just need to upgrade my old 3D printer to do your designs justice and get back to the workshop before winter sets in. Keep the videos coming, I always enjoy them even if I don't intend to build anything similar, its always good to learn new techniques.
Very neat to have.
As somebody who works with Blender3D most of the time, I simply have created myself a library of boolean models over the time on stuff I use.
Like a caphead screw is basically two cylinders, if I need throughhole or certain depth I can expand the cylinders in length and the boolean modifier will "cut out" the proper hole in the end.
They already include the tolerance as well.
This is a fantastic tool, if I were to request any thing extra, it would be a card that has the tolerances for heat-set inserts, as well as a cart for m2 and m2.5, for those of us making some more delicate assemblies. Thank you for sharing these files.
I would second that. And thank you for the files saved me a lot of time 👍
Came here to ask for all of the above as well
Also came here for the same thing, would really appreciate and even pay for this!
I came here for that exact same request. Didn’t think of the heat inserts but those would certainly be a welcome addition too
The problem with the heat inserts is that if you buy from two different suppliers, you're likely to get two different dimensions. There's also different types of heat inserts with different dimensions as well-some have brims, some don't, some are thicker, thinner, etc.
I was just discussing the idea of the hole guide earlier this week after re-printing holder for Allen keys a few times to get it right. Thank you for saving me a good deal of heartache caused by messing up holes before I finally got round to creating one myself 🙂
Dude! This is fantastic! Your channel is truly a source for inspiration. Thank you and greetings from Sweden. 🇳🇴🇸🇪
I love how the fit templates for different orientations are designed to work great with whatever printer or settings you use. Super clever because it doesn't actually matter what anything says it is, it matters how they actually work.
As a Canadian, I have to use both logical units(metric), and freedom units(imperial), pretty much daily. Both are engrained in our society.
Yeah, I made some height charts for a friend's kids and they said they use imperial for people's heights. For weights Brits use kg, lbs, and STONES? WTF
Yeah I was thinking the same thing
@@nunyabiz1712 I think where things get muddled is that the US and UK use different versions of the imperial measures when such measures are being used.
@@SmallSpoonBrigadethat's because the US doesn't use Imperial, the use US Customary units. Just so happen to have many of the same units (and some of those are even the same size) but they are, in fact, seperate systems.
@@LiqdPT Oh true, liquid measures can be "fun" due to this. Canada used Imperial gallons before (mostly) going metric, which are 160 fl oz vs the US Gallon which is 128 fl oz.
I'd remembered hearing that the difference was rooted in the British and the USA adopting a wine and beer gallon each. I can't remember which adopted which system.
This very difference has lead to many arguments over volume amounts with my parents, and older generations. They assume that everything they see measured in gallons here in Canada is that old system that existed when I was born... When, clearly, the container they're looking at was produced or imported from the USA, and is using the smaller US gallon, often with the corresponding litre conversion both marked on the containers.
This is a really great idea! I find it especially practical that printing the test cards with your own printer means the specific tolerances are already included. And it’s awesome that with a multicolor printer, you can highlight small details like the text labels in different colors.
yeah those are probably the most useful things here, im going to print those pretty quick. ive designed and printed the exact same thing before but just a small block with like 4-5 holes varying by .1mm to get a hole size that i needed. the genius idea is to put them all in 1 part, and the angled and vertical is just extra smart.
Awesome tools! I've scratched my head enough when trying to figure out what size my clever "overfilled-box-with-important-screws-and-bolts" contains... This will definitely help!
Use " fluted reamers " that are used in machining metal for enlarging holes or drill them out. Reamers will allow for tight fit or loose fit depending on tolerances. They also make expanding / adjustable reamers.
Pause at 16:23 - that says it all about the imperial system ahahah.
Great tools, thanks for sharing the files, I will definitely print those!
Good one. Really made me laugh.
Yep. Me too. Laughed out loud.
I really asked myself if it was intentional or not.
Then I think that it would have been seen in the video editing.
I think he let it pass, to have comments about it.
Clever way to get engagement with comments.
In certain CAD programs (Onshape, for example) you can create a document with variables for all your common hardware dimensions and then use that across all your projects as a linked document. So when figure out better dimensions later on you can update it in one central place and it'll update it in all your projects. So you don't have to wonder about the dimensions again for each project.
There's also a #10 screw that's very commonly used.
The best way to understand the imperial system is to think about it like the English language. It's an archaic amalgamation of standards from different systems. Similar to how English smashes together Latin, French, Greek, and, Germanic other languages, the imperial system smashes together different measurement standards. The numbered screws refer to the wire gauge of the solid part of the screw, whereas the fractional screws measure the outer diameter, the second number indicating thread pitch. Then you have obsolete (but still present in some older British vehicles) standards like Whitworth, that were the precursor to the fractional standards, but where the head size was the fraction and the outer diameter was some roundish number like 0.400 inches.
But when you're putting 1 into 12 into 5280 as your system of lengths and distances, the fastener standard really isn't so bad.
Sounds like we need to grab those few oddball fasteners Alexandre wasn't able to get ahold of, and mail him a little "care package" of the remaining oddball Imperial stuff.
I'd only heard on occasion, about the old British standards. *really* think if someone needs BST or Whitworth, that should be left as "an exercise for the viewer to complete and share".
Same with perhaps other threaded systems like AN-fittings and NPT (National Pipe Thread), UNF, etc., etc.
if someone is adding this, #10 is 0.190in, i guess call it 6/32 too
Also "wire gauge" is not the best language to compare to since "wire gauge" goes in the opposite direction.
English doesn't borrow from other languages. It drags them into the alley and beats them silly.
@@RussellNelson Like what happened to the spelling of many words when the first American dictionary was created.
Dude, you're amazing. A couple years ago I purchased your Assortment Series of storage cubs for the drawers and use the all the time for my shop and office. Now with a Bambu Labs X1 printer, they come out so much better and sturdy. Thanks for your efforts and designs. Keep them coming.
Love all of these. Great ideas and super useful. For SAE, #10 screws are also quite common here and would be good to have on the thread checker. I am trying to switch over to metric for all personal projects though so the others are going to get a lot of use.
Alexandre, you've outdone yourself with this one! This is one of the best useful prints i've seen
somehow i really like the adhd energy vibe of this guy. I admire his enthousiasm, creativity and empathy with people who do not have the stamina to find out all these measurements. I am never going to do woodworking or buy a 3d printer, but if only i had 1/4th of his energy to use for creating software.
Greetings! Love these models and will likely get these because I like them a bit better than the current ones I have... I am an engineer and have to swap between Metric and Imperial units constantly depending on where parts are sourced and availability... I do most conversions in my head now and only verify if it is critical tolerances. I can shed a bit of light on the Imperial numbering... larger fasteners follow the fractional logic based on one inch, but finer bolts would descend into quite a mess of ever larger fractions quickly... not to mention that early bolt manufacturers used coils of standard wire gauge and then cut (or formed) the threads and used a sort of riveting or hammer process to flatten out the head using a die... therefore we get #12, #10, #8, #6, and even #4 and #2 for tiny machine screws... these are NOT to be confused with electrical wire gauges made for copper and having a different set of properties and parameters... (so bloody complicated at times!) But, that was the way it was, with many competing standards until eventually a few shook out as dominant overall. Even so, there are still a few feuds about the "best types" depending on the usage and personal preferences! LOL I am somewhat a chameleon as I use whatever is best for the overall project and either aligns with the most common measurement system in use for the project, or what the customer desires or specifies.
FINALY. @2:01 Someone who correctly uses the term “fit” instead of misusing the word “tolerance” like so many other RUclipsrs often do. 👏 👏 (Tolerance is a range of acceptable outcomes, not how closely parts fit together. You can have a tight tolerance but still have a loose fit, if the parts are +/- 0.005mm but have a clearance of 2mm. They are precisely made, but have lots of slop and play. FIT is the relationship between parts and clearance taking tolerance into consideration. You can even have a negative clearance, which is a press fit, but you need to hold close tolerances to achieve or it’ll be loose and not stay in place or too tight and bind or break.)
I’m not even 5min into the video and I can tell you actually know what you’re talking about and I’m gonna learn some things. Subscribed!
this always bothers me too 😆
Yes!!!! It annoys me so much that 95% of makers out there, even some who seem to be degreed engineers, don’t seem to understand the difference between tolerance and fit/clearance. I’ve tried to educate a few with poor results. 😩 I’m glad someone else out there gets it.
@@davidawaters The importance is getting the message and overall idea across, which they do, even if they maybe manage to use the wrong terminology. This is such a "umm ackshually" problem to have, jeeze.
@@Dealman15 i believe the words are actually important here as a designer needs to have a clear understanding of tolerance, fit, and design clearance. Maybe it’s a “well actually” situation for the hobby/maker world, but this stuff aligns well with industry and you definitely need to know the difference there if you want to be a good engineer. At least that’s what my 22 years of design and manufacturing tells me.
15:55 the US used to have both #10 and 1/4” screws! Very slightly different: A #10 screw has a thread diameter of 0.190 in and 24 threads per inch. A 1/4-20 screw has a 1/4" diameter and 20 threads per inch.
I'm at 4:12, and the answer to everything so far is "Machinery's Handbook." Sizes for things like clearances, tolerances, allowances (for wrenches, etc.) are all tabulated for just about every fastener and situation known to mankind.
And I'm sure everything in said handbook holds true for CNC'd and drilled holes and whatnot...basically for anything with a DIN/ISO/whatever standard. 3D printing is a bit more individual than that, cause the tolerances can depend on anything from motors and belts (mechanical components) all the way to temperature and flowrate (software parameters). The slip-fit on his M8 nut might be a press-fit in my situation. Long story short, there's a some trial and error that needs to happen in order to find the tolerances for your own machine.
I have such a table book laying on my desk besides my caliper and use it at every design I 3d print. Also most CAD programs also have the norms included as features so you don’t have to for example design recesses for screws by hand.
As for slip fits I basically once determined the specific clearance needed for my printer and saved it in my basic preset. Now I can simply use it as an offset to the official norm parts.
I’ve been doing this for years and it’s working great.
Then again, many - if not the majority - of 3D-printer users (of this kind, as in non-Pros), have little to no knowledge of said book. I think this is a brilliant solution for exactly those kind of people aka the target group.
@@pan6593I agree 100%. I’m new to 3D printing, I love it and find the design side way more satisfying than downloading some tat off Thingiverse. But exactly like you say, no background in engineering and no knowledge of tolerances etc.
yes mate BUT not every screw, bolt and nut are the same size. Have you ever bought a set of m5 bolts on Amazon (probably made in China) and then bought another set for the next project at home depot? They might not be the same size. So if I want to print something and create the 3D model I can literally test the holes of my print and know who I need to draw it... Of course you have to do this for each 3D printer you are using in case you have more than one. Even if you change filament or temperature your 3D print may vary and bolts will not fit anymore....
That's what this video is about. Not about books, tables or XLS sheets that's useless unless you want to print 3 prototypes because you used the numbers from the book.
Some companies spend a fortune on advertising and still don't make the most of customer enquiries, this offer of free stuff gets people who might use your services like me, who do not currently use a 3d printer, to register as a customer on your site, for a fraction of advertising costs. Brilliant, thank you for your help, I have saved the download files in a new 3d printer folder so that when I do get around to using one I have your details and a copy of this video, good luck
You can print write protect tabs on top of your template guides, they will look like cassette tapes on your shelf and bring nostalgia.
You are the legend! this is something that i wanted to make, and allways got a headache when trying to make it right. great job man!
Freedom units! 🤣🤣🤣 The fact that you tried for us is much appreciated!
And a free flip of the bird too.
Thanks for making these files available. The next step is likely just to have a library. As in, place the hardware in the design, subtract the hardware from the design, and you are done. I don't know how common this is in 3D CAD, but it's what I do in OpenSCAD, and what electrical engineers do all day.
Good thing about this tools is that if you print them on the same printer as you're planning to print real parts, it will automatically inherit all imperfectnesses/precision problems of the printer. So you can model exactly for your printer even if it's not perfect
Yes and no, technically you would need to do that for each material on that printer.
Since different materials have different shrinking factors if you haven't calibrated that all to one standard already.
Thanks Alexandre, Great tool and appreciate you making it free to the community. Now we just need one for Heat Set Inserts :) .
I forgot about fixing the STL function of the slicer. The repair STL function reported that the file was nor repaired, however it did work to fix the problem I was having. These are really going to come in handy, thanks.
I plan on using these to assist with my RC modeling. It would be great to have a board for 2.0 and 2.5 mm fasteners. Maybe I will work on that.
I'm unable to slice the M3 board. It looks fine when I import it but when I slice it all the printing is not visible. I tried it with Prusa, Qidi and Orca with the same result.
I imported it into Fusion 360 and exported it and that fixed the problem but changed the dimensions of the model. I'm not sure what is wrong with the .STL file but I did not have any issues with the M4 or M5 boards. They came out great. Thank you for posting this.
I've been 3d printing and using cad for 6 years, and I've literally never needed this. Either I use a machinist handbook, or I just use my calipers and add 0.2mm for the tolerance of my printer. I do, however, like the tolerance test board.
The solution to figuring out what thread a bolt is is learning a trade and letting yourself be shamed by your colleagues for getting the thread wrong.
Alex, you are just amazing the things you come up with. Love that you are back to 3D printing!
As someone who has grown up in a country using the imperial system it's no more confusing than the metric system as long as you don't try too over think it.
Under a quarter inch bolt the sizes are numbered ie 6, 8, 10, 12. Then you start going by the fraction of an inch. After the size you have the denominator for threads per inch, ie 32, 24, 20, 16. Examples being, #10-24 and 3/8-16. We also have coarse and fine threads, ie. 1/4-20 unc and 1/4-24 unf.
I'm personally still trying to understand how the metric thread system works for coarse and fine threads.
Metric has fine thread versions, but in my experience (granted I am also American, but work as an engineer for a global manufacturing company so I deal with both systems daily) metric uses the default sizes like 99.9% of the time. For comparison, I feel like UNC (Unified National Coarse) is like ~80-85% and UNF (Unified National Fine) is like 15-20% of uses, with
So if I don't think about it too hard, how will I know which bit is larger when it comes to fractions of inches? I know that a 19 is larger than a 18 without thinking so if an 18 doesn't fit, I know where to look next but whatever you're doing is offensive to logical thinking.
@@johanhalvarsson2148 Fractions aren't for lazy people and if you become familiar with fractions, you will understand them enough to quickly figure out the next common size. Fractions for us are kind of like the base 10 system you use of unit, 1/10th, 1/100th, and 1/1000th of the unit as in meter, decimeter, centimeter, and milimeter. Down to 8ths or 16ths of an inch, it isn't too bad, but for many of us it is awkward to remember 32nds and 64ths. For machining, I like to work completely in thousandths. Metric has it's advantages, but our machines are not built for the metric system, nor is the tooling, or existing parts and building practices. We would have stupid random metric numbers to equal what we use now, so it would be very expensive and a royal pain for people to learn to switch over. It would be one thing to start from scratch, but a quick change is a no go. It is quite a pain using both systems now, with so much imported that is metric.
@@CGT80 I understand fractions, that's not the issue. But if I'm under a car and I notice something is just off I can tell my helper to get the next size in either smaller or larger. I don't think I could tell my seven year old to do that if it was in imperial because he wouldn't be able to calculate it and I wouldn't see what options there were.
It's just not a friendly system, that's all I'm saying. The only problem with it is you do manufacture a few things so sometimes we need a tool or two from that awful system.
@@johanhalvarsson2148 If your son grew up in the US, he would be learning the fractions at a young age, and you would already know the fractions. Many mechanics and tradesmen do exactly what you describe, everyday. If I try a 7/16 inch socket and it is too big, I know that 1/2 is the next biggest and 3/8 is the next smallest. If 3/4 is too small, I know 13/16 is bigger. 3/4=6/8=12/16. 12+1=13. Yes, I know it is a pain and many of us don't love dealing with fractions, but it is the language we learned from a young age. We also have rulers and tapemeasures for engineers......they are in 10ths of inches and feet and we use calipers and micrometers in the base 10 system along with our machine tools having the same graduations in thousandths. Instead of using 1/6th of an inch and 1/8th of an inch, I use 0.063 and 0.125 inches, like the metric system, so it is easy to do the math. It is all about what you are used to. As a trades person, I do wish we used decimals instead of fractions.
WOW! This video, and the free models provided are ABSOLUTE GOLD! I've never "subbed to a channel so fast! So glad I stumbled across this one!!! TAHNK YOU!
Why would you reprint that part (2:27) vs drilling it out? As close as the fit is, I’d imagine it would take nothing to take the amount of plastic out of that hole for a perfect fit. Just curious. Edited to add: Ok Alexandre, out of the gate I noticed you aren’t a “hey watch me print pikachu” kind of guy. That won me. Then I follow the link to your site where the first thing I hit on is these boards. You sir, are a beast. This is EXACTLY the kind of thing I’m interested in. HOOKED! Thank you!
I was looking for this comment. Did you notice the lonely drill press in the background of that shot, right when he said he would have to reprint it?
because 3d prints are usually 75-85% empty space inside (there are some
patterns, but i’m not going into that, look for infill if you care to know more). every side that is external has usually 2-3 walls of plastic before you go to infill, unless you increased it. if you reach the infill, you won’t have strength anymore.
@@zuppy2 Agreed, well aware of the infill and walls issues. They can be configured to accomodate mild adjustments however if this isn’t taken into account, yeah you’d have problems. I agree more, on Alexandre’s approach as to making it right off the build plate. It is, tantamount to painting 3d printed items when you can, print in the color(s) that you want and not need to paint them. However, as in all things, there are situations where painting happens.
He should have a larger wall count anyway to account for fatigue
@@CGT80 it's all about wall thickness. 3D prints, particularly fused filaments which are the most commonly used, aren't solid. They are walls with a lattice structure between the walls. If you strip away the entire wall, with a larger bore, your lattice is compromised because the walls are structural to the lattice. Generally you have some control over the thickness of the walls, but you generally don't want to increase the thickness of walls as it increases the amount of filament and cost that your print will cost. It also increases the time it takes for the printing to take place. There are solid 3D printing methods. The first 3D printing was SLA or Stereolithography produces a solid model. But this is much more costly way to 3D print than fusing filaments through a nozzle.
Kudos to Alexandre for being a good sport and being honest about the pricing of his models and making free to download for everyone!
Wouldn't it make more sense to keep these files digitally in folders and just drag them into your 3d project? Except for those hole templates. Seems like you would want to keep those next to the keyboard
Exactly. Fusion 360 has a hole feature precisely for this purpose.
It is great that you went through all this work to create these fit models. I recommend not printing them and create your hardware CAD file with the cut tool built in. Now you can import your required file to your new model, position it and use the built-in tool to subtract from your model. This will save you tons of time modeling.
In the mid 70s, my country, the US, pushed for a conversion from our primitive system. The idiots won and so we're still using it. I'm almost 79 so there's little hope that it'll happen before I croak. Things have improved some since we ceased to be a manufacturing country and began importing everything. It forces us to have two sets of tools and two collections of hardware. Can you imagine having to make room for a 13/64"wrench? Just know my European friend that most of us know how stupid it is. I love the boards you made. It embarrasses me that I haven't already made some. If I had, they wouldn't have been nearly as nice as yours. You're a treasure.
Yeah I'm still bitter we never migrated to the metric system after I learned all of that. With that said if I'm doing something and I'm ordering online I'm ordering metric all the way...
Fun fact, the US is one of the original signors of the metric - don’t remember term so I use - manifest. But when it came time for the US to convert, the railway companies had built all the railroads using imperial so they objected that it would be too expensive. Corporate interference in politics is nothing new
I'm right behind you on age, and it also saddens me that we didn't convert. And yes it was all politics and that lovely crap. And I feel your pain that we (especially anyone in the 3d printing community ) have to have 2 sets of tools. Even now there are so many things that come from overseas and require metric tools, the USA still drags its heels into converting.
I don’t even know if 13/16" is supposed to be large or small. I have literally no idea
@@Produkt_Ryea really lmao ))
13/16 of WHAT
"Free" isn't exactly free. You still have to fill in all your contact details, which is also a kinda payment, only in your data.
Of all the free information you're getting from this video, the work he does, the files he puts out there for you to download from your chair. You're wining for your email address you already gave RUclips to watch all this ... Dude, skip the ranting, make something and put it out there yourself.
Thank you for developing this! And especially thank you for making them available for free!
This is such a great idea and execution. Super useful!
I really like your ad disclaimer right at the top of the video. Very admirable.
Almost every day at work I try to figure out these dimensions, as if it's the first time, but not any more! I will be downloading and printing the set. Thanks for designing and sharing (for free!!) such an amazing tool set Alex! 🙌
I made something similar to the hole clearence test board a year ago!It really save me time when you are prototyping! never though making one for the screws and bolts, really good job!
The hole sizes are key, especially in the different orientations Alexandre shows. Also, the STL setting (how many facets upon exporting from CAD) matters, because you approximate a circle with straight lines. I also recommend getting a set of drill bits, so instead of re-printing a part, you can modify it. Not suitable for mass production, of course, but this cuts down on cost, time and plastic waste.
Regarding printing holes without supports and the top part collapsing - try making the hole shaped like teardrop - keeping the bottom part perfectly circular but adding a little "tail" on the top. This can prevent the top collapsing
Extra Tip: Dry your filament for consistent hole sizes.
I have found that wet filament changes dimensions of the final printed part.
Thank you for making these available. I'm in Kentucky in America, and I exclusively use the metric system when designing and building anything with my 3d printers. I recently modeled and printed a radio controlled vehicle chassis completely from scratch using tinkercad, and these tools would have been helpful to have. I had drill a few holes larger to be able to assemble some of the parts.
One, friends don't let friends use tinkercad.
Use Fusion 360 or any of the free parametric modelers. (other than freecad, it is designed to be terrible to use.)
Two, just about every slicer has automatic conversion these days so it doesn't matter what units you are modeling in.
Three, the US customary system is superior for anything larger than a grape to the size of a house. Outside of those sizes, you should be careful letting yourself get an intuitive grasp on the dimensions as that is where a lot of mistakes happen.
The US system is designed to work with fractional inches as the smallest "base size" and then thousandths of an inch to give desired tolerance/fit. Fractional inches give you much more freedom of sizes than metric, often letting you do the design work without needing to use a calculator. Need to find the midwaypoint on a 5/8" line? Easy, multiply the 8 by 2 to get you 5/16". Conversely, enjoy getting the halfwaypoint on a 15.8mm line.
One important thing to keep in mind is that the US customary system is designed such that you can work with discrete fractions, you shouldn't be designing things that are 1/7", but in metric, due to the limited discrete units, you can't do designs that are more than moderately complex using the same methodology, you will end up with 1.46mm for example.
Base10 measurement systems are only good for unit conversions, base 12 is where it is at for actual designing. Base 8 and 16 can work well too.
I'm so glad that filament is now also affordable. Like I just ordered ppa from elegoo for 12€ a kilo. It used to be more like 30€ when I got into 3D printing. It's so cool, now I can just 3d print and code my own goto eqautorial mount instead of paying 500€ for 2 motors on a tripodmount.
don't know how long you've been printing, but PLA & PETG for less than €15/kg has been around for longer than I have been printing, which is about 5 years...
Our freedom units, also include "fine" vs. "coarse" threads for the various screw/nut sizes...
Metric also has several thread variants as well. some are more commonly used.
Tusen takk, Alex! Det er fantastisk!
These are probably some of the most useful tools I've seen anyone make for a 3D printer.
In Australia, I have access to both metric and "freedom unit" parts. I almost exclusively use metric though.
I think it would be also good to ad what DIN number those Screws and bolts have. That's easy then to check in the standardized size of that DIN number the measurements for fasteners.
dang, these are so awesome, exactly what I needed on my last thing! I'm learning a bunch of this stuff from 0 and it comes fast but it's a lot of wasted plastic when you're not a trained engineer to begin with.
A huge thank you for the contributions to your loyal subscribers, sincerely thank you!
There are #10 screws which are commonly used.. as an American not sure why the numbers switch from #'s to fractions. I think it may be the size of the head? Because even drywall screws can be called #8 screws.
Thank you for sharing the files. I primarily use resin printers and I'm going to print it on them.
you are a god among men
In about 2-5 years time when people find this video & the templates - statues will be built.
That is all.
Thank you
awesome thanks for the free files. I have them downloaded already and on my to do list to print over the weekend. much love from the uk
The kicker is that you may need to tweak these on a per material basis. You may also find the holes to be a different size than marked in the gauges.
A great video and thank you so very much for making the files for the 'Hole size test boards' and the 'Hardware Design Boards' all available for free, it's very much appreciated, thank you.
Thank you for giving the files out free of charge
Thanks for taking the time and effort to make these. They do help.
I just ordered a couple engineering slide charts. It has all the dimensions for both metric and SAE with conversion charts and material properties. It has not only all of this information, but also hole sizes for tapping of various types of material (50%, 70%, and 90% thread). This is the size of a sheet of paper and only 3mm thick. It's what mechanical engineers use as a reference.
Great work Alexandre! I would love it if you add the hole size for tapping as well!
It's always great to watch an ALCH video! 3D printed circles are inherently problematic since there doesn't appear to be a consistent compensation to account for the width of the track being laid down. Smaller holes can get really plugged up while larger holes get by with a bit of tolerance. It seems there's always a bit of trial and error in the design. The templates are a great idea, but I'd need one for each printer and for each type of filament, to make the fits perfect!
you can try polyholes :P that seems to be way more accurate and looks almost round if you alternate it^^
@@hulpe what would be really nice, is if slicers used a compensation algorithm that behaves like cutter compensation we use on CNC mills. Then maybe our holes and cylinders could match their design dimensions. Cheers!
The problem with this is sometimes it depends on the print settings, if you print at .10, .20, .35 layer hight can really make a difference in wether or not a part fits or does not fit. I like the idea but this may work for your printer and setttings but i dont think that will transfer to my printer. But i guess i will have to try it out. I love it that you were really thinking outside the Box to try to make the workflow easier and faster. You must never sleep, modeling and printing all of these. I live in the us but i design all 3d prints with metric, everyone should. Imperial is for building houses, or maybe furniture. Larry
These are awesome. I still can't 3d model on anything but sketchup to save my life, but one day when I take the time to learn I will come back to print these.
Ty for this Alexandre, really useful. Found myself indeed repeating the same measurements multiple times.
these models are awesome. what a great job! I think I will make similar ones for the compressed air fittings. thanks for your work from Italy 😎
Damn, just wow! So simple and yet so needed. What a comprehensive way to quickly get measurements for a build or model. Definately going to print and use these. Thanks
Great Video! Thank you for your work, this is very helpful for those of us who are starting our design journey.
I purchased two of your box sets in the past. It's awesome that you made this one for free, thanks! I'm from the US so I have spent most of my life thinking in freedom units but when I got into 3D printing I really wanted to understand metric so that is how I think in the 3D virtual world. But in the real world, I still think in freedom units. 😂
Thank you for the great files. I run into the same problem as you all the time, so it makes total sense to print these and have them around while designing! 👍
As an American the bolt and nut board to determine the size hardware you have is great but your metric sizing tool should work just fine imperial hardware as well for printing purposes. Great video, I think this may be the most useful 3D printing video I’ve seen to date. I’m still up in the air on getting a 3D printer, and if I do which brand, and type of printer to get. The resin based seem really cool but I don’t see a huge problem with filament based prints either since if the print lines are an issue there are steps with at least some of the filaments to reduce or remove the print lines.
Was going to say that you can get dimensions on McMaster but I love the idea of actually holding the thing in your hand. Thank you.
to print without support, i have also a tip that i use all the time : I add a layer of 0.2mm which completely fills the hole, and allows a classic bridge filling. then the screw cracks this thin layer easily
Sorry, the sun got in my eyes - "a layer of 0.2mm which completely fills the hole ... " - can you elaborate on that a little, I can't seem to visualize what you're saying. Always looking for these kinds of tips, so thanks in advance for tolerating an idiot. :)
That method is the one I thought he was going to mention. It is inferior though as it requires post processing.
@@KulawyMan sorry I speak bad English. I will try differently. at the level of the bridge layer, you have to fill the hole by making an extrusion (of the hole diameter) of 0.2mm. in this way, it becomes just a normal bridge with a rectilinear filling. and as the layer is very thin, it breaks when pushing the screw into it.
@@myriadtechrepair1191 i think my explication is bad, i have not post processing
You are a 3D printing genius sir. New subscriber here and yes I’m downloading right now!,
This looks nice, but the info of the first tool can as be in a table or figure and be stored digitally or printed on paper. The fit tool is useful as a 3d print, but it also matters how consistent your filament is (or how well/consistent it is calibrated) between different spools.
Never used a 3d printer but I thought of that same solution the moment that you identified the issue so imagined how satisfied I was when I saw that you’ve already done the hard work 😂
For imperial units the most popular sizes will be fairly even numbers with 1/4-20 being the most popular bolt in general. If you’re making the detailed prints like you did for metric start with 1/4-20, then 1/8. 3/8, and perhaps 1/2 last.
Thank you! Good video and very nice design on the templates. These are going to be very useful to use. Looks like a lot of time (yours and the printers) went into creating these. I'm not sure if I have seen any of your previous videos, but it is a safe bet I will now. Thank you for providing these for free.
Great video, thanks for making this and for free. I am appreciative of you making for the units we use here in the USA. How many USA makers don't bother making it for metric also. again thank you
Thanks for these models, they will prove to be very useful.
When I open the 3MF file in Orca Slicer, it changes the filament profile "Max volumetric speed" to "2" which makes the print time almost 12 hours. Was that the intention? In addition, there are surface anomalies under all of the text. These anomalies are on the main top layer of the horizontal hole test board. All I did was open the 3MF file and slice it. The slicer sees them as "inner walls". It's not a functional issue but an aesthetic issue. I'm guessing it occurred in your design software when adding the text. I haven't printed it yet so I don't know if it's a big deal or not.
EDIT: I just checked for this anomaly on the M3 board, it is there also. It appears to be on all of the horizontal boards.
There are also gaps in the text after slicing, for instance the "r" and the "d" in the word "board". And it can be seen in your video at 11:57. This happens after slicing as it doesn't show in the "Prepare" view in Orca Slicer.
The volumetric speed is only changed for the material of the top layer (lines and text). Orca just might not be compatible with the Bambu files or multi-material prints?
@@kingraptor.843OK, thanks for the clarification on the volumetric speed. The way OrcaSlicer and Bambu Studio handle the import of 3MF files leaves a LOT to be desired.
ARTIFACTS FIXED! I've been playing around with OrcaSlicer and discovered that the surface artifacts are due to a setting in OrcaSlicer. The setting is under "Quality"-"Only One Wall On Top Surfaces"-"One wall threshold". The hover-over popup even says this will cause exactly what we are seeing, "If Enabled, artifacts can be created if you have some thin features on the next layer, like letters". It's a feature not a bug as I was beginning to think. You set it to "0" to get rid of the artifacts and indeed, setting it to "0" removed the artifacts under the lettering.
Really like your content and thanks for the free files!!! Got my first 3D printer, a Bambu A1 a month ago and looking for content. Keep up the great work.
Thank you! I appreciate all your time and hard work and sharing with us!
Phenomenal work on providing the Template! Thank you so much-it saved a ton of time. Much appreciated from Bharat! We love metric only.
a little trick i learned back in the r13 times was to always take a cut copy of all fittings and have them as proto1 to not have this exact workflow hinder :) with slicers today you dont even need to know cad.. just make a shape if your liking and cut away the rest, trim the unwanted excess with negative parts and off to the races for fitment. saves a ton of iterations for me.
Hey Alexandre, just a heads up; the M3 design board has some errors in the print file. Looks like hex nut thickness, counterbore thickness, counterbore +washer thickness are from the M8 design board.
thx you, allways nice to see your curiosity and ingenuity. I cant belive you dont have at least a million subs!
I’ve been trying to get writing/lettering like that for ages. Can you explain the process please.