Hello!
So I decided, as a way to improve my cad skills, that I would take an old laptop of mine and design a case around the motherboard and use it as a micro PC in my work area. I have nearly all of it designed, just shy of the power button.
On account of not having a sautering iron, I would rather avoid sautering a button on and was trying to go a more analogue approach by printing a button into the case that could maybe use a compliant mechanism to press in and come back out, but I am very uncertain how to go about it.
Any help appreciated
I just got lucky with the RadioShack unit having been the most convenient option and a 900 series iron. I got into electronics long before 3d printing. The hot knife attachment mixed with Xacto blades has some uses and the attachment is nice for a way to add a longer threaded stud for other custom stuff.
In a pinch, it might be possible to add a single threaded turn to a sharp conical tip, especially if you can find the cheapest copper ones without the hard plating. Before I learned about the 900 series tips from McMaster, I had a couple of conicals that I used a die to cut a single thread into. That thread is enough to save the insert, but the ones from McMaster make the task more precise in a press jig that can pull too. There is a decent chance of getting an insert out methodically and saving a larger print with the threaded removal tips, you’ll just need a larger diameter insert if you can get the old one out cleanly.