The 10 Best 3D Printing Tools Every Professional Must Have

Cheryl Owens10 Apr 2022

3D printing is the process of using three-dimensional models to create a physical object. It's a type of additive manufacturing that primarily uses computer-aided design (CAD) software and a digital model to "print" parts layer by layer until the desired shape is achieved. 3D printing has been around for more than 30 years, but it became widely popular in recent years as costs came down and people started discovering its many uses. 3D printing has changed the way we think about manufacturing. It's made it easier for people to create prototypes of products and the final product, with faster turnarounds and lower prices than ever before. But 3D printers aren't just for making prototypes anymore. With its wide range of uses, 3D printing is becoming a tool that every professional must have in their arsenal. There are a lot of 3D printing tools available, but here are the ten best 3D printing tools you should consider buying for your business or home office. With 3D printing, you can quickly create prototypes or finished products from designs created on your computer instead of traditional CNC or manual labor. You can also create low-cost items that are typically unavailable in traditional manufacturing methods for your business. The possibilities are endless with 3D printing--you have to find the right software and printer for your business needs!

10 Best 3D Printing Tools for Professionals

1. Glue stick

Glue sticks are an important tool in 3D printing. It glues together parts of the printed object. Before the prints are complete, you need to read and follow the instructions for baking in the tray and allow it to finish drying. Then a layer of glue is placed on the models by a glue stick so that no defects remain after 3D printing. Using a glue stick allows you to fix mistakes more carefully after finding possible mishaps before entering the oven. If there are any errors, such as textures and bumps in your small models, use brushes or scalpels for a gentler correction without distorting the model.

2. Spatula or Palette Knife

A knife is a very necessary tool for 3D printing. It allows you to turn the prints and peel them from their platform. When multiple pieces have been separated, it acts as a tool to clean off excess glue from the models. Picking up pieces can sometimes seem impossible, but having the proper gluing tool can make this obstacle even more feasible. Removing any rubbery bits of glue quickly and conveniently with a spatula or palette knife is important before they harden onto your print.

3. Deburring tool/ Knife cutting mat/ other deburring (debug) tools

3D printing has wide use; it just needs a single deburring tool, which helps to remove excess TPE or ABS. You can try the knife cutting mat technique in your normal daily printing; it is a pretty useful tool. Deburring must also play an important role when 3D printing, making sure to go prints against some filaments.

4. Pliers

We need pliers when converting plain items to 3D printed structures to any parts that don't have enough padding, or there is some gap. For example, we demolish the normal small bottles of metal or plastic. Resin and wood will be welcome anymore; it can change them into new things or turn them into 3D printed object models. That is how it breaks away from traditional things, which get a great experience for customers within the function design of our digital era.

5. Blue Tape, Electrical Tape (electrical insulator tape), Masking Tape

This stick of insulator tape is used to remove the small drops of resin from 3D models, allowing you to view and check your model on the reflected side before turning it into another material. This is a useful tool and should immediately be used when enjoying the design process.

6. Maglube and Unilube

Maglube and unit lube is useful and should apply a very little amount by using the brush included with the plasticine model characters. Placing this kind of glue on 'ends,' back of model connected parts is important, holding them in place until the resin has cured. If a visible part is missing, such as filament gears or other minute gears may easily snap off during handling if allowed to dry in an unsupported state.

7. Tweezers

Tweezers allow the ability to pull items with specific point force if needed. This creates a delicate strength that prompts furthered handling damage, or tear, to a positive point being picked up on. Over splintered or fragile parts should use this kind of tool to carefully pick and pull them out by breaking off the model's skin as little as possible but enough for a user's comfort towards pulling it out together. They are also closely set next to molten hot soldering irons and torches, which can shorten their lifespan, so for that reason, I would recommend purchasing fine quality that easily picks up plasticine like a hand over holding. These kinds of cheap brands will not do the job correctly and have been known to melt in soldering heat if one is not careful. These tools should be stored on a surface that is well away from where heat and flame are being used to fabricate characters.

8. Digital Calipers and Digital Vernier Caliper

Producing 3D objects requires extremely fine measurements in numbers like .0001″. So the obvious tool, to begin with, is a digital caliper to make it as machine accurate as possible for our resin processing methods. We can also use these devices to check our model's details and potentially tweak them before printing.

9. Sandpaper

There are different grain-size sandpapers, and different brands have different properties. Using this calibre, one can read carefully sand instants onto a character's model that need to be evened out or made smoother to cleanliness produce the character. Without getting the lines distorted or elsewhere effects of roughness, this is important for bringing the right appearance of 3D objects within is grasped with your fingers covering the gauge and changes you make to that original created model.

10. Adhesion Sheets (Separator Sheets, Tabs, and Masking Tape)

Separator pads are used during mould making or casting these materials. This can be almost anything from cello paper to Figma masking tape. Separator pads and tapes help break the aggregation of two similar surfaces like two different sections of a model, allowing a user precision in handling that does not produce damages when breakdowns occur during this process.

Cheryl Owens

Cheryl Owens

Welcome to Printlitic! 3D printing became a hobby of mine 5 years ago with an earlier model of Anycubic printer. Since then, I have grown to love seeing what people can build & create, and how these printers can change the world.

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