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3D-printed drill press can drill through metal — costs around $45 to create your own drill press
(www.tomshardware.com)
this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2025
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Also you might need a 400+ USD 3D Printer and the drill bits that can't be printed.
Drilling through soft metals like aluminum and brass is possible with 2mm drills.
...yay?
I mean, I'm all for printing fun stuff just to see if it works. Just don't make it sound like it's a cheap solution for people who need a drill press...
It's a 3d printing forum, most people here already have the 3d Printer for other uses. It's an option for those people. Not someone who is starting from scratch.
Except it is entirely counterproductive and a project for a project's sake.
There are stands that turn your regular drill into a "drill press". 100x more rigid than whatever this is. And with drill presses, you can't have deflection or it'll ruin every part you make.
Alternatively, there are $50 drill presses too. Probably "worth the money", but still more rigid than this.
Well no, toms hardware is no 3d printer forum. I criticized their headline. Sorry if it came across another way.
It's also very doable to get a for-real drill press for the price of making this.
It does kinda say this in the article.
I will add though, the main reason to use a drill press is precision, and it's hard to imagine a 3D printed structure wouldn't flex and warp during use.
Depends in the filament used. Would not use PLA for this stuff.