Fraks Flexarm – Heat-Set Insert Press

The Fraks Flexarm is a tool-balancing arm designed to keep the attached tool parallel throughout its movement. It was created to hold soldering irons to install heat set inserts into 3D printed parts.

It has a large working area for its size, and has quick release tool holders that are held in place with magnets.

Thanks to Zack Freedman for making Gridfinity an open source project, I have included Gridfinity storage into the base. You can read more about Gridfinity at https://gridfinity.xyz/

What do I need?

• You will also need either pocket screws or a wood working fence clamp to secure the base to your work surface.
   
• 4 pieces of 1515 extrusion, all cut to the same length and tapped on either end. I have tested this with 200mm and 270mm lengths.
   
• 10x1x60mm extension springs, these seem to work well for 200-300mm builds. You can adjust the tension rate by moving the spring posts along the 1515 extrusion.
   
• 10x100mm dowel pin and a 10x14x30mm brass Bushing
   
• M10 washer, a 25mm diameter is listed, but any diameter and thickness washer will work.
   
• M5x30 FHCS are recommended, but BHCS are also supported. The springs will touch button heads slightly, but will not affect performance from testing.
   
• You will need a Soldering iron with a heatset insert adapter. I personally recommend either the Pinecil or TS101 Soldering Irons along with the adapter set from CNC Kitchen.
   

BOM:

Print Settings

0.2mm layer heights

0.4mm Line Width

4-5 walls

4-5 top and bottom layers

40% infill

ABS and ASA have been tested

More info can be found on my github https://github.com/TurtleCrawler/Fraks_Flexarm