Tips for 3D Printing Press-Fit Parts

3D Printing & Imaging Workshop
Tips for 3D Printing Press-Fit Parts

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There’s common adage that you shouldn’t attempt to fit a square peg into a round hole, which seems to imply that you should use a round peg instead. While that may be true in a number of metaphorical and literal applications, I’m about to argue that when it comes to designing press-fits for your 3D printed projects, a round peg may be the last thing you want for an easy, predictable, first-try-fit into a round hole. When you’re done reading this, you’ll have a basic toolbox of design ideas that will help you make press-fit pins that fit the first time, every time.

To be completely fair, a round pin and a round hole is exactly what you want for a typical machine design application where the parts are metal. The exact dimensions and tolerances required for a permanent or semi-permanent fit are called out in any number of references, and they are easily achieved with a drill press and a lathe. When it’s time to assemble the parts, a hydraulic press, liquid nitrogen, or torches can get involved.

Let’s say, hypothetically, you don’t own a machine shop. Instead you’re limited to what you can do on your new 3D printer. You’ve designed some parts but, for one reason or another, those parts need to be assembled after they come off of the build tray. There are several different ways to do that, of course, but I’m going to focus on the press-fit option for now. I like press-fits because they are easier to draw in CAD compared to snap-fit and they avoid the necessity of glue but also don’t preclude it. Lastly, press-fits are an entirely 3D printed solution so you don’t have to worry about having the right hardware on hand.

Let’s start where I started a few years ago when I got my first 3D printer, with a basic and seemingly obvious press-fit design that looked a lot like what you see in this figure. I added a flat spot to a slightly undersized pin so it would print horizontally, but this is essentially a round peg / round hole design. I also added chamfers to the ends of the pin and the two mating pieces. Simple enough.

Round Pin / Round Hole Press-Fit Design
Round Pin / Round Hole Press-Fit Design

After no fewer than six tries resulting in too loose or too tight of a fit, I finally zeroed in on the perfect sized pin. I have used this design in a number of projects (like the purple paddle boat) and it works just fine if you’re willing to go through a few design iterations, but what I found was that any variation in design dimensions (eg. length or diameter of pin) or printing conditions (eg. a different printer, different material, different orientation) left me guessing what that right clearance should be between the pin and the hole.

The 3D Printed Hamel Monohull Paddle Boat a Basic Press-Fit Design
The 3D Printed Hamel Monohull Paddle Boat a Basic Press-Fit Design

As one of the organizers for the Moat Boat Paddle Battle held at the Bay Area Maker Faire this year, I was on the hook to design a 3D printed camera mount for the race course. I wanted to use a press-fit design but didn’t feel I had time to fool around with many iterations to get the perfect fit, so I was motivated to try something different.

The problem, I decided, with the round peg / round hole configuration was twofold. The first issue is that it provides too narrow of a design window. The fit quickly changes from too loose to too tight in an almost unnoticeable change in clearance between the mating parts. The second shortcoming is that once you’ve found that window, you’re stuck with having to remember, and then draw, all of those precise clearances in your 3D modeling software.

I felt like a better solution might be to make the pin and the hole different shapes like shown in the next figure. The idea was that by limiting contact to the corners it would concentrate the stresses caused by forcing the pin into the hole and make both parts have more ‘give’. This would hopefully increase the design window enough so that I could design the parts for a zero-clearance fit which would mean no more guessing or remembering. If the mating piece has a 1.00” hole, the cross-corner dimension of the pin also wants to be 1.00”.

Polygon Pin / Round Hole Press-Fit Design
Polygon Pin / Round Hole Press-Fit Design

The final design is what you see belowThis particular part was designed to fit into either 3/4” PVC pipe or the larger diameter of 3/4” PVC fittings, so I had an opportunity to test two different ‘pin’ cross sections. In both cases I didn’t bother with guessing how much clearance was needed, I just gave my press-fit cross sections a shape that would provide some flexibility, and made sure my contacting surfaces came off the build tray the exact same dimensions as hole they were intended to go into.

Press-Fit Action Cam Fitting for 3/4" PVC Pipe and 3/4" PVC Fittings
Press-Fit Action Cam Fitting for 3/4″ PVC Pipe and 3/4″ PVC Fittings

The larger of the two cross sections was a fancy ‘spline’ design that ended up not having any advantages over the much easier to draw hexagonal octagonal cross section intended for the smaller hole. If I had to design this again, I would just stick the hexagon octagon cross section for both. Regardless, I was happy with how both cross sections fit into their mating parts, and was able to achieve that satisfaction on the first try — something I know I wouldn’t have been able to do with a completely round cross section.

This explanation isn’t intended to dictate what shape to make your press fit parts. The takeaway here is that by changing the shape of your press-fit piece, you can design a more forgiving fit — one that will let you skip the hassle of figuring out what clearance you need and simply design around zero clearance. I’ve had time to experiment with some other shapes which are presented below along with the earlier examples.

Alternative Pin Designs for a Zero-Clearance Press-Fit into Round Holes
Alternative Pin Designs for a Zero-Clearance Press-Fit into Round Holes

Each has its advantages and disadvantages but the last one (bottom right) is my favorite for now. The hexagon octagon shape is easy to draw, the hole through the center provides a little bit more flexibility and the presence of this feature in most CAD software makes establishing concentricity with other parts easier. The flat bottom allows for strong horizontal prints and the 45 degree angles print great. I’d encourage anyone reading this to try these and try their own as well.

15 thoughts on “Tips for 3D Printing Press-Fit Parts

  1. Brad Boyer says:

    Nice article! I’ll use this learning for sure. That last shape is an octagon though, not a hexagon.

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  2. indolent83 says:

    Minor nitpick, but you keep mentioning a hexagon when your pictures are showing an octagon.

    1. Tips for 3D Printing Press-Fit Parts Kurt Hamel says:

      Right you are, those are defiantly a octagons. I missed the 1st grade on identifying basic geometric shapes and never looked back (apparently). ;-)

      For you or anyone who is wondering if I meant to write ‘octagon’ in the post or meant to draw a hexagon in the figures it is the former.

      I haven’t experimented with a hexagon but I would bet on similar results.

  3. cfishy says:

    Here’s what I did to friction fit a 1/2 NPT threaded PVC pipe. Worked great. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:937999

    1. Tips for 3D Printing Press-Fit Parts Kurt Hamel says:

      Genius.

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  5. Kyle Mercik says:

    For clarification, that pin in the bottom right, the octagon, has that hole going all the way through it? Because from the view provided, it looks there is just a dimple in the face of the pin.

    1. Tips for 3D Printing Press-Fit Parts Kurt Hamel says:

      Kyle,
      The cylindrical hole in the octagon pin goes all the way through. I’ve gotten away with a blind hole that is only as deep as the engagement of the pin. You’re right though, in that view it could go either way.

  6. Jd_42 says:

    This was excellent. Thank you for sharing!

  7. Tommy says:

    I wish i stumbled on this page a bit sooner.
    Recently i encountered the challenge to create a design with “press-and-fit” properties for assembly.
    I came up with solution 7 from the article, using ribbons, for a minimum-but-just-enough-friction. I think this is the way to go if your parts aren’t cylindrical.

    have a look here:
    http://tommyrombouts.eu/?page_id=1495
    (best view on ribbons on image at the bottom of the page).

  8. Mark L Evans says:

    The first time I saw this it was interesting, but I skimmed over it. Today, about 4 days into owning a printer it is exactly what I was looking for. Thanx

  9. RibRob710 says:

    Would that be the same the other way around? So I want to press fit a 1mm diameter magnet into a 3D printed part (a flat surface). Would I here make the hole for it in an octagon shape?

  10. shantobd says:

    3D printing — also known as additive manufacturing — turns digital 3D models into solid objects by building them up in layers. The technology was first invented in the 1980s, and since that time has been used for rapid prototyping (RP).his web page provides an overview of 3D printing technologies, as well as their present and likely future application. For a full list of 3D printer manufacturers, bureau services and other market players, please see my http://best3dprinter4u.com/

  11. Daniel Guimarães Scatigno says:

    Really great article! I haven´t started to print, but I´m designing pieces to fit and I was guessing about those clearance spaces! Good

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Kurt Hamel is a classically trained mechanical engineer working to bring digital manufacturing and the innovative spirit of the Maker culture to the otherwise conservative shipbuilding industry.

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