screw holes too big

[Ainhoa]

Hi, I am having trouble because my 3D printed body has screw holes too big for the #77 drive screws. I am trying to glue the screws with epoxy (2 component 5-minutes adhesive West system) inside the holes, by first applying epoxy with a needle in the hole and then on the screw bottom. It works usually but some of them break when trying to screw them in. Am I doing something wrong? Does anybody have the same problem? 

Thank you

Ainhoa

[Jakob Voigts]

Hi,

yes this is a common issue when using new 3d-printing services/processes. Some of them end up making the holes too big, some too small.

In your case, and given the price of 3d printing today, the simplest solution is probably to try re-ordering a version with smaller holes, or even a few variations, until you find something that works well for your supplier.

For a solution with less wait time, your method works well, but you have to make sure that the screw is sufficiently oiled before you put it int the glue. WD40 or regular mineral oil should work. Alternatively, you can also try using dental acrylic, which has the possible advantage of not adhering to other materials very well, so it will be less of an issue with sticking to the screw, but i'm not 100% sure on how well it will stick to the drive body either.

also, could you please post an issue together with solution suggestions as an issue on github? : https://github.com/open-ephys/flexDrive/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue

best,

jakob

[Arne Meyer]

Hey, we had the same problem and putting some vaseline around the screws worked pretty well. Put a tiny bit of vaseline between your fingers and rub the screws between them. I would add the epoxy to the threading of the screws instead of putting it into the holes as this might push the epoxy down the hole. Anyway, make sure that no epoxy ends up above the threading of the screws (or cut it away using a scapel before moving screws) as this might block the screws. Otherwise they might break. You should only need a tiny bit of force for the initial movement and after that the screw should turn very smoothly -- even much smoother than putting the screw directly into the drive body.
Arne