Reinforce Your 3D Prints with Steel

Reinforcing your 3D prints with steel wire is an easy and cheap method to greatly improve their strength.
Simplify3D G-Code Script (replace XX with layer number):
{REPLACE "
; layer XX, Z = " "; layer XX
G1 X5 Y5
M25
; layer XX"}
"Manual" G-Code (insert into the G-Code file at the start of the layer):
G1 X5 Y5 ;moves printhead out of the way
M25 ;pauses printer (only works if you print off SD card)

[@leonbrauns]

Some of you criticized that I haven’t included normal, non hollow plastic parts in the test. I also regret not doing that, so today I rerun the test with those. They were sliced with 3 perimeters and 70% triangular infill, so that they include as much plastic as the steel-reinforced parts (even a little more). Pull (Bar): 98.2kg Bend (Hook): 44.6kg Combined (Ellipse): 105.7kg Looking at these numbers, it seems like the additional perimeters that are caused in the hollow parts actually help to increase their strength.

[@racvv]

You may also give information about the weight difference between both

[@mzungu54]

That's weird. What's the printing path of the solid parts? are they different than the hollow ones? I am thinking the alignment of the polymer fibers on the hollow parts are better align to the load path than the solid ones(with a lot of zig-zag maybe?).

[@blauesKopftuch]

Could you tell us the strength / weight ratio or the strength / money ratio? No need to print the parts again, just put the broken parts on a scale. Say you would need to design something with a weight or price limitation, the ratio would tell us if imbedding steel wire is price or weight efficient.

[@alexwhite1387]

what type of plastic you used?

[@fullstack3d135]

It makes sense. When you hollowed the parts you crested layer perimeters within the part. That increased the internal structure. If you increase the layer wall I'd imagine that's another way to strengthen the part

[@michaelbeary]

Look out, the Germans are innovating again.

[@anactualai7427]

Poland:”fuck this” *Poland has left the chat*

[@ziahn5367]

*China Enters Chat* China: "Don't worry we will just sit over here and take notes...... Where did you say you got that filament again?....And you said 3 shell thickness, not 2?"

[@toast2610]

rest of world patiently waits to loot and claim ownership after some event

[@ziahn5367]

@@toast2610 then citizens of diff. countries fight on youtube over who stole what design from who

[@toast2610]

@@ziahn5367 yes they fight for appearances but deep down they know where it comes from

[@billyaguilar5759]

This is one of the most mind f!!! Usefull Thing that i found on youtube for 3d printed

[@olik136]

amazing how much force the parts could take even without the steel- over 100kg on that small hook is like twice as much as I would have guessed

[@antalz]

3:45 don't use an offset plane, use a midplane. This is more robust, because it stays in the middle even if you change the thickness of your part. You also don't need to put a sketch along the profile. Under create, select pipe, then square section. Pipes can also be subtractive.

[@LanceThumping]

Good point, he's getting there but still has some work to do on his Fusion Fu.

[@qvisionstudios]

Thanks for the tips. I'm still learning Fusion and that will come in handy for some projects.

[@ziahn5367]

applies to all CAD work. Parametric relations save so much time when you need to update dimensions or features

[@ManyMagix]

It might be stronger if you use a spiral pattern path around the holes, that way you can use 1 continuous wire and the tension can be distributed across the whole system more evenly. The inner concentric circle parhs dont lend much strength. Just my 2 cents. Great idea either way!

[@robertomartin8731]

If you have the time try to compare it if you inject epoxy on the space for the wire. That way we don't need to pause print, just inject after printing.

[@emiliomota2459]

Damn really a good idea.

[@Dancer148]

I thought that myself but also to Just insert simple iron wire multiple Times to create a sort of concrete.

[@3DDruckHupfer]

Epoxy without any fiber adds nothing to the parts (tensile) strength at all

[@Centritattoo]

@@3DDruckHupfer false...

[@Henroin42]

the epoxy itself is to brittle. it cant take pulling forces but steel

[@JamesTM]

This test isn't exactly fair, though. Your non-reenforced parts still have the hollow portion for the wire. A fairer test might be coming compare then against a solid plastic part and various types of infill. Of course, the hollow area also means that the plastic part has more perimeters than it would if it were a solid mesh w/ infill. So it's possible that it would be even weaker.

[@leonbrauns]

You’re right, I should have included “normal“ parts for a better comparison. However, like you have already stated, the hollow areas do cause additional perimeters and therefore a reinforced part includes as much plastic as a normal part with 60-70% infill. So there might be a small difference between those, but I think steel still wins ;).

[@LukesLaboratory]

@@leonbrauns ​Printing parts with additional interior perimeters might be a worthwhile test by itself! - "solid" part, part with channels/hollows, part reinforced with channels/hollows

[@yura979]

@@leonbrauns minimum infill, maximum perimeters vs steel. Compare strength and total print time.

[@djrobwilliam1673]

It’s not an experiment if the variables aren’t controlled. In this case the geometry effected the results. The oval shape performed 107% better because its radius. The circular holes were able to stretch and snap as the wire within turned into an oval like the natural oval shaped part that performed best.

[@ezequielmolina6723]

Another possibility is use concentric infill. That kind Of infill will be higher the resistance Of the printed model

[@aronrad]

Congrats man! You always have some great ideas to push things to new levels! (Non stretching belt system, carving lenses, and now this) love it!

[@TheDIMONART]

Can you give me a link to Brauns Non stretching belt system??

[@aronrad]

@@TheDIMONART it's in one of his almost 3d printed cnc machine builds. Forgot which part 1 or 2

[@TheDIMONART]

@@aronrad Thanks!

[@forgotrafe]

Interesting, thank you. I have lots of stainless steel cable left over from my bike gear cables that would be ideal. If anyone watching this wants to do the same, I suggest asking at your local bike shop for old gear cables, no doubt you’ll get them free.

[@mohammedfaisalidrees9906]

I had thought of doing this as a project to make a hybrid material using metal inserts, I think the bonding between the metal and the polymer plays a key role in improving it's mechanical properties.

[@pwnmeisterage]

The material properties and part geometries can make things complex. Parts meant for sustained low-fatigue high-stress applications might last much longer if the metal is free to move and flex (instead of the brittle plastic), parts meant for raw strength might perform better if the metal is strongly bonded and secured (to combine strength with the plastic substrate). Weight and cost (and manufacturing complexity or time) are often important parameters which are basically ignored by these simple stress tests.

[@AthanCondax]

Excellent video. Great explanation and pacing. Well-produced!

[@arepa51]

There's a really interesting part of this because if you first made a study of the part and made an conscious study of the stress.. You can reinforce the part in a certain geometry an achieve much better results.. Congrats for work!

[@rexroy8930]

This is thinking outside the box , congratulations! Awesome method !

[@reh3ddoes]

Great idea. Now braze/weld the end points of the wire together and imagine the strength then.

[@haworthluke]

i was thinking this as well my friend i think with a closed loop wire the parts would be considerably stronger again. i also wondered if there was a mechanical way they could be joined like a steel crimping tool.

[@enjerth78]

I was thinking tin plate insert on the inner loops and a tip on the small end where the cable ends come out to a tensioner.

[@laurentrouchairoles8271]

Yes, people could try also to let a space for both end to be next (1cm) and put some cyano glue to join them together.

[@MrJefferson105]

I have implemented this principle in several projects for heating elements . it's all about tolerances great video you beat me to it. 😁 Great work keep it going .

[@RickyMau1]

Good job. I use wire keychain with a screw head on one end and thread on the other end (connect into itself to form a loop or connect another piece as extension). I also use inserts, rectangular nuts (stay away from hex), angle bar with thread , thread insert, stainless tube to prevent over tightening. strategically placed metal pieces for both inside the print and slotted access. For some I don't need to stop the print and instead I designed two matting surfaces with one-way latch and catch, similar to zip-tie. (also ignore them neg comment)

[@anilarkay]

This is awesome and innovative. I want to try this asap but also by eliminating the loose ends by soldering the steel wire loop before adding the second half part of printing. I am planning to make the first half with the placeholder for wires, take out this unfinished print out and precisely measure the length of inlay steel wire to make a soldered loop. Will try to update here on my result. Thanks a lot. Keep rocking!!!

[@_Piers_]

This is one of those wonderful ideas, that once you've seen it, you think - Why have we not thought of this before!? :)

[@EndermanTheMan]

This is INCREDIBLE! Thank you so much for sharing my friend!!!!

[@zilogfan]

I would submit in my opinion that the wire joint is in the worst possible position. If it were mid part in the long axis, the other side (the uncut side) would benefit from the friction around the bend and along the path and you would get maximum strength from this type of routing. A much better routing would be to spiral the ends in toward the center hold to allow the force to compress and clamp the wire while it is sliding in the grove before failure. I would spiral one end around one circular hole and the other end around the opposite circular hold. Please accept my suggestions knowing I love the video and your work. You have contributed excellent work and I appreciate it! Thank you!!

[@DerSolinski]

... so simple, cheap and effective thx mate for sharing this. This idea is worth promoting it to other You Tubers like Tom, Stephan, Noel or Angus. Who needs a overbuild printer capable of laying carbon fiber or glass fiber behind a patent wall if you can simply do that. Brilliant, this is definitely something I'm going to use one day, it is especially interesting to use as living hinges. (maybe some of the thin fine wires in a "radiator pattern")

[@limtbk]

I use the same idea to insert magnets inside plastic.

[@KravchenkoAudioPerth]

Great application of a simple idea! Thanks for taking the time to make this video. This makes me wonder if there may be any gain in strength on the tension test if the wire ends were connected via a crimped connection or even braided into each other. The braiding is possible but not so easy. It would need to be done beforehand so your knew the length of the wire you ended up with after the braiding. The benefit of the braiding the smaller outer diameter of the finished connection. The benefit of the crimp connection is the ease and speed of making it. Thanks for making me think! Mark

[@amrfwws4461]

This is a great idea, and the great thing is I have creality cr 10 max so it'll be so easy and & neat to pause & continue the print.

[@MrDolphincb]

Ich benutze zum armieren Ein dünnes Edelstahlgeflecht, wie es in Spalt Filtern Anwendung findet. Man schneidet die Form mit entsprechendem AußenKanten Abstand zurecht, nimmt löschspitze, um es auf dem Print punktuell zu befestigen, dann Backpapier und ganz kurz Bügel Eisen drauf halten. So können mehrere Schichten Edelstahlnetz eingebracht werden und es müssen nicht die zusätzlichen Kanäle berechnet und eingefügt werden. Das ist viel weniger Arbeit und die Verteilung der Zug und Druckkräfte ist „ großflächiger“ im Material verteilt. Allenfalls hab ich am Anfang auch Stahlseile benutzt, die Enden dann mit Silberlot zusammen gelötet. Vielen Dank für deine Videos, hab schon so einiges gespickt:-)

[@jackdarcy6294]

Very cool video. I think this would be even easier with ABS, where you can print the part in two pieces, add the wire, and use acetone to weld the top on. This would also let you to solder the ends of the wire together to form a closed loop. I'm also interested in using 0.3 mm thick sheet metal as an integrated part between layers. Leaving room for a piece of sheet metal would be even easier, and you could incorporate multiple pieces easily within the same part. The sheet metal could be cut using a laser CNC machine.

[@gert_kruger]

Have you seen the EDM head to cut sheet metal using 3d printer?

[@nomuza1]

this is very interesting I think the key of this experiment is the bond strength between the two materials what if you increase the bonding by applying epoxy or superglue around the steel wire unlike the rebar and concrete in reinforced concrete structure, the bonding between shiny steel wire and PLA doesn't seem strong enough

[@AirCommandRockets]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing the results. It would have been interesting to compare the strength to weight ratios of the two parts.

[@ualdayan]

On simplify3d you can also tell it to stop printing at X height. Save gcode. Then untoggle stop printing checkbox and toggle the start printing at height option, and save a 2nd gcode. You can then tell printer to print file 1, put wire in, and tell printer to print file 2.

[@ray-charc3131]

Something like insert molding in injection molding process....in 3d printing case. You can firstly stamp sheet metal piece and put it in.

[@_Piers_]

This should also work well as a defence against vandalism. I'm going to reprint the parts on my electric bike, that hold the battery in place and incorporate quite a lot of wire. I made the parts overly large so they would be strong, but have always been concerned about leaving the bike as it was still just plastic. The metal should at least slow someone down.

[@satibel]

You can also make the battery removable and put it in a backpack.

[@jmtx.]

Great idea! Definitely something to we'll worth exploring!

[@pentachronic]

Even better.: Use Dyneema or Spectra where the ends are tied together. You won't get a weight issue and you'll get better strength than steel.

[@RangyRs4]

know i know how to make my own rock climbing gear.... . just kiddin

[@chloemcholoe3280]

the 60fps is so satisfying to watch :O

[@psedach]

Very cool. Thank you for sharing this!

[@tgirard123]

This is very similar to the Markforge printer and it's use of carbon fiber. It would be Insanely cool if we could all come up with a cool automated way to mimic that process. Of course, simply embedding Carbon fiber every few layers works too and would probably be super strong. I need to try this.

[@robbiejames1540]

I wonder if one could design a hotend which continously injected a thin steel wire in, so that every layer is reinforced by many thin steel wires?

[@Anonymouspock]

I'd like to see how this method differs if you get a piece of filament and jam it in the same way as you did with the wire. Cura and Slic3r PE (1.42-beta and higher) can do this with the Pause at Z plugin, and the filament change button in the layer view respectively. Actually easier than Simplify3D :) They also both have custom supports. Come to the dark side!

[@DeKempster]

you mean the support enforces of Slic3r PE? becaus that is a joke.

[@Anonymouspock]

@@DeKempster I've found it to be a very fast and efficient way to add supports? I don't see the issue.

[@bellofbelmont]

Thanks. Looks like an interesting idea. Jim Bell (Australia)

[@ethansdad3d]

If M25 doesn't work for pausing on your printer, try M0.

[@DryLog420]

From within the repetier host app, I found that @pause is the good one to use. All depends on your machine and programs :)

[@ameliabuns4058]

Some notes: Nylon might be great for this. Because it's a little flexible it leaves the strength to the steel and doesn't crack Maybe filling the get inside of the metal part with resin can help transfer more forces to the metal I wonder if we can increase the z axis strength of prints similiarly

[@xXZer0Lecam0nXx]

I know this video is a bit old now, but it would be interesting to also compare with annealed, and annealed reinforced prints

[@avejst]

Fantastic idea Thanks for sharing👍😀

[@SantaDragon]

Reinforcement would be great for 3D-printed eboards or parts for bigger drones.

[@volodymyr.kushnir]

Nice idea. But if you are looking for better results you should consider this: If you joining two materials soft and hard you should maximize contact area of both peaces. You should make additional cavities in the printed peaces and then use some filler. It can be anything mixed up with a glue (baking soda, sand, whatever). So the resulting softness would be between plastic and steel. p.s. in general its the same idea how japan sword is made, - where to types of steel are joined, you can easily find smth on youtube

[@SergioFrattaruolo]

Good Video. Use Dyneema or kevlar rope instead of steel

[@ziahn5367]

I LUV KEVLAR. SUCK IT CARBON FIBER DWEEBS!!!!

[@ThePercy96]

man I`m from germany too and I recognized directly the germaness in your voice XD

[@whitefeather3533]

I guess the best thing about this is that if the part does fail when holding something, there's also a last strand holding everything together.

[@Pedro381ispro]

Amazing! I learned a few things outside of this project through this video! Earned my sub!

[@RupinChheda]

This seems similar to why concrete has rebar put inside it. Concrete has poor tensile strength, and the rebar are has great tensile strength. Rebar prevents destructive collapse of concrete due to tension, but provides indicative surface features when the structure is taking too much tensile force, much before it can collapse.

[@TheZarolis]

did the prints without wire had the hollow tubes for the wire in them as well? because if the prints without wire were printed without the hollow tubing, then that would make it weaker

[@egeoeris]

could it be that applied tension made the wire act as an anchored pulley within the print? 2 hole part probably tried to spread outwards, breaking the print at the transition of ring as it tensioned. the tip of the hook should pulled within itself the same direction as the weight. loop was really neat for having a simple road and angle to flex.

[@Blido]

I've done many prints with reinforcement from metal rods, or screws... But never tried steel wire, should try it soon.

[@nsmith0723]

It would be so cool if you could get an extruder head to heat a wire and pass it onto the print. you would need a lot more narrow wire to avoid kinking but there's probably a magic diameter and offset that would work. glass fiber, real carbon fiber stands would be cool too

[@Rr-cr4qu]

you also need to try add rods for compression zones

[@MakingwithLuke]

Love this idea! Gonna have to try it

[@captaincommodore8901]

Do you have figuered out the best way to reinforce 3d printed parts right now? Or a more refined way? Have you tried plastic welding like they use in autosgop repairs?

[@ke6gwf]

You missed one important part. Splice the ends of the cable together. It is really easy to do for low strength applications, and with practice not hard for full cable strength. The easy way, you basically cut half of the strands short on each side, leaving every other strand long, and then interwrap the two ends.

[@tysk5729]

this is cool, i think a keyring would work better for circles

[@tuttebelleke]

Fantastic idea! Soldering together both cable ends would make it much stronger! For that you need to cut cables at perfect length and need to make a curved holder (steel U-profile?) in which you can solder the cables together with the correct bend radius. Why not putting several layers of cable on top of each other?

[@JohnDlugosz]

Or use JBWeld to join them cold.

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

Would you kindly test compressive strength enhancement by embedding solid metal hardware or pouring concrete into internal voids? The concrete would have to cure before resuming so it might be best to do this on a removable bed which can be accurately aligned when it is returned to the printer.

[@thermophile2106]

What was the failure mechanism? Did the wire break, or did the end of the wire pull out of the plastic? Also, if you could pre-tension the wire, you might be able to increase the strength of the part before the plastic breaks.

[@chuvvyyk]

Very interesting idea!

[@bottlekruiser]

Doesn't bending the surrounding surface while introducing the wire also introduce defects into the print's structure? I wonder how the printer deals with that, if at all.

[@JasonEllingsworth]

I think i heard you say you used PETG. For strength in the traditional sense, this material is sub par. I would love to see your method in a regular and carbon fiber reinforced nylon.

[@JasonEllingsworth]

also a method that would be easier and perhaps even stronger, is to make your channel a bit larger than the wire. Print the model in 2 separate parts. Instead of heat pressing the wire in, fill the channel with a 2 part epoxy, and smear a thin layer across the whole face of the model. Press your wire in that side, then smear some 2 part epoxy also the same way on the other half. Press and clamp them together between 2 blocks of wood. This should provide you a large amount of strength as the wire will fully be bonded with the geometry of the model.

[@cescargot]

Can you also plan to add a variant with the cable beeing crimped? You should also make the proper reservation in the 3D model for the crimping sleeve to be hold. IMHO, this would result in impressibe strength. To go further you should also think about better force management, like wire crossing.

[@mahmoudelhawal2556]

A NEW ERA !

[@soulsbreaker]

@cnckitchen should take a look at this too! great video!

[@Rouverius]

Yes, I was going to comment the same thing.

[@klausbrinck2137]

From their accent I guess both are german youtubers and secretly already in competition with each other...

[@soulsbreaker]

@@klausbrinck2137 hahaha I loved the secretly competitors part. Yeah could be but a competition in a good way.

[@NekoSteamBoy]

wouldnt it be better if the ends of the wire would be connected and not lose?

[@DesignedinAustralia0]

Superb work.

[@mrbojangles4155]

number of loops hypothesis seems like you are relying on the friction of the loop, because the wire loop is not re-welded together. more loops would create more friction along the outer surface of the wire.

[@RomanoPRODUCTION]

I am totally reinforced now 💝

[@kiwiaus]

At 6.10 You start to add the wire in the wrong place... The wire should start 180° further around... So the curve takes the strain I would print a spiral recess on the curved ends, so no wire is pulled straight, but around the curve, this will give more grip to the wire Or did you do a double run of the wire, hard to see

[@Bajicoy]

neat experiment and guide! a shame this doesn't handle bending stresses well

[@gordonlewis633]

you can also heat a wire and penetrate through the print

[@mechsparks]

Good work. Is it possible to improve the thermal conductivity of the part by reinforcing steel wire inside the 3d printed part.

[@KiR_3d]

I think it's possible to solder together two metal ends of a wire using some special flux for steel and a low temperature solder (like Rose solder).

[@Ken-nv2hl]

fuck soldering just inlay laser cut sheet steel

[@flopsterbisque]

Yeah, the solder joint is unlikely to hold up at the given stresses. You'd likely have to get it so hot you melt the plastic anyway, unless you could do it before inserting the wire in the piece

[@itzshoulderific]

Awesome concept, wonder how a full metal shaped insert would perform. Also would be interesting to see strength of inserts with layer direction!

[@asadullahkhan102]

i wonder if i laser cut a carbon fibre or glass fibre sheet and use it the same way here steel wire is used.....

[@Matthew-yp6nj]

Very interesting video

[@drumbum7999]

greatly improve *tensile* strength

[@fabioarrua]

i would rather take the approach used in pre-tensed concrete slabs (when the part allows it) with stiff metal reinforcements , but in this case it would be POST TENSING

[@jowjor]

Never thougt of pausing a print to put something inside, but i did something similar with nails and epoxy in small parts for a bike.

[@darkthoughts1688]

Could probably take this further and easier with larger parts. Print hollow with 2-3 shells. Drop the wire in. Finish printing. Drill 2 small holes. Pour in resin, cheap at HD or crafts stores.

[@pashmaster]

You could try layering some steel/stahlvlies between two printing layers (or every 10 Layers) and fuse with a heat gun. This will result in much better distribution of the strain, and load sharing between the reinforcement and filler material.

[@hanneslaurin9768]

could you explain a bit more? that sounds interesting, but what is stahlvlies?

[@pashmaster]

@@hanneslaurin9768 , To reinforce I would use very fine stainless steel mesh or felt (Stahlvlies is a steel felt). Something isotropic for example. The stacking could be as such: 1mm print/1 layer of mesh/1mm of print/ and so on. For good adhesion heating is the key. :-)

[@diegosuarez5473]

Yaaay brooh keep it going and congratulations, am new suscriber

[@VPhanindraBogu]

Nice work, if possible publish as research article.

[@ndanda1693]

Really? I didn't expect a result like this!!! Adding steel wire into a structure makes it more durable??????

[@overover..]

The Newton gag really made me laugh!

[@PiefacePete46]

Excellent! Thank you.

[@C-M-E]

Not bad thinking, but this is really only useful for increasing elongation resistance in one direction. Adding composite encasement would also buff the torsional rigidity.

[@TLoZfan]

he mentions this in the video

[@C-M-E]

@@TLoZfan Ah, must have missed that part. Got about half way or so.

[@SavvygeMediaGroup]

get the wires super thing and laden them within the plastic mix

[@dhupee]

I don't know, how about with carbon fiber wire, then inject it with resin (i know somebody has said the idea), then cure it with oven? but be careful on the PID stuff, sometimes the temperature got higher than your target temp, and.... i think petg is pretty bad on shrinking if u look at CNC kitchen's test

[@daniele0354]

very good ideas, many thanks

[@_droid]

After adding the wire fill the cavity with epoxy.

[@joemama.556]

you should brace or crimp the cable, im pretty sure it will be much more efficient

[@robertavery8897]

I’m actually more interested in the fan setup on ur hot end. Are those fan support drawing available.

[@malaman608]

Great idea... Only one question... What software do you use for 3D drawing? Regards.

[@leonbrauns]

Fusion 360