We can make our 3D-printed parts even more capable when we start mixing them with some essential “mechanical vitamins.” By combining prints with screws, nuts, fasteners, and pins, we get a rich ...

When the tool you need doesn’t exist, you have to make it yourself. Come to think of it, even if the tool exists, it’s often way more fun to make it yourself. The former situation, though, is one that ...

This article was updated May 25, 2023. It was originally published Nov. 17, 2009. To put hard, durable threaded holes in plastics, engineers often specify threaded metal inserts that will securely ...