It’s Easier Than Going to the Hardware Store: Just 3D Print Your Own Drill Bit Sharpener

For the serious maker and tinkerer, 3D printing is a central focus of activity obviously, due to the remarkable concepts and innovations that can be designed and brought to fruition right at the desktop.

3D printing technology, often described as something akin to magic, gives us the ability to dream something up while we are sitting in traffic tapping our fingers on the steering wheel and to then go right home and execute our plan. Sometimes the design is simple, and sometimes complex. And sometimes it’s a genius little contraption that ironically takes us right back to the basics.

Even the greatest innovators still rely on the most traditional of tools. You can bet the drill isn’t going anywhere anytime soon either–but thanks to 3D printing–and the resourcefulness of Thingiverse member MGX–now we can improve the sharpening process for bits much more expediently. And with the power to make whatever you want, many more basic processes can be tuned and refined to our liking as well.

User Marius Gheorghescu, or MGX, is a software engineer by day and a 3D printing enthusiast in his off time.

“I like to design simple and utilitarian designs–things that have as few parts as possible, and print faster than a trip to the store,” says MGX.

After researching designs, MGX simply conceptualized exactly what he wanted and then put his personal stamp on it with an austere but completely functional design. With his one-piece guide meant for sharpening drill bits on a Dremel or other rotary tool, MGX now has exactly the functionality he needed, with little fuss–or expense.

The design files are available on Thingiverse and while he invites everyone to tweak them, he asks that you note that these are not for commercial use and to contact him for a separate license if interested.

This easy to make 3D print is composed of just one simple piece that doesn’t need supports and screws right onto the Dremel. MGX has tested it on the Dremel 285, 8000 and generic Alltrade tool and points out that it will work with mandrel upgrades as well.

Three guides are included, for 90, 118 and 135 degrees.

“The majority of people will need the 118* and for that the adapter comes in two sizes such that it can easily fit both small and large diameter drills, as well as different diameters in cutting/grinding disks,” states MGX.

He printed the sharpener out of PLA, at 0.2 layer, with 33% infill. It’s a pretty simple project overall, but MGX points out that if you have concerns regarding the PLA melting during use then you may be operating with temperatures that are too high to begin with. He reminds users to “quench the bits in water if they get too hot at the tips.”

This design is a prime example of the truest benefits of 3D printing in offering independence, ease, and affordability, allowing us to see why indeed many predict for the future that 3D printing will take over and transform much basic commerce as we know it.

For MGX, it was easier for him to print up a simple design and make it rather than going to the hardware store and rooting through numerous different models that may or may not have worked for him. As this trend becomes more and more common with desktop 3D printers in homes and as makers and busy people in general don’t want to leave for small items, the sky is the limit for basic, affordable designs that offer the simple functionality we often need at home and in the workshop.

Let us know if you decide to 3D print this design out.  Discuss in the 3D Printed Drill Bit Sharpener forum thread on 3DPB.com.