Tuna Tin S (9) Installing screw inserts in cabinet

 Still learning Fusion 360, a rocky experience, I designed a simple test block to practice putting M3 inserts in 3D printed cabinets for the Tuna Tin S. 

The inserts were ordered off Amazon  Here's a link. 

The test block is PLA material and consists of an array of 4 mm diameter holes in a 10 mm thick block. The infill is set to 20%, and the wall thickness set to 0.8 mm. 

I used a 10 Watt Ungar Princess model soldering iron.  According to Ungar's 1967 catalog it was newly introduced for microelectronic soldering at the time.  The heating element has, according to the catalog, has a tip temperature from 550F to 650F.  The soldering iron belonged to our grandmother, Ruth Chandler, who was an assembly worker at Dorsett Electronics in Tulsa in the 1970s.  So the iron is around 50 years old  ;-)  . 

I placed the insert tapered end outward on the tip of the soldering iron. 

I let the insert heat up for awhile, then inserted it into the hole of the test piece.  It sinks into the test piece gradually,  and I stopped when the top of the insert was even with the surface of the test piece.  Alignment doesn't seem to be much of a problem.  A recommendation from a YouTube video, linked here, is to stop inserting the insert when the top is just above the surface of the plastic, and then do final placement pushing the insert flush with a flat tool like a hammer's striking surface.   I tried that way and it worked well.  I also tried just doing the whole thing freehand and didn't see much difference in alignment.  The screws I used were 8 mm long M3 screws. 

The screw is driven by an Allen wrench.   I can exert quite a bit of torque, as shown in the photo below, and the insert holds without breaking the plastic.

I'm planning to use these M3 inserts, along with M2 inserts to design all 3D printed cabinets for projects going forward.