Review on MakerBot Printer Nozzle Cleaning by Kamo by Issac Burnett

I think they are regular #78 twist drills that are glued into aluminum handles, but they don't align axially as desired, presumably due to the large holes in the handles. I suppose this reduces the cost, but that's about all there is to say about this design. I have found corrective bandages useful but cumbersome, and bending too much is likely to break the denture, even if handled gently. They bend or break easily with the slightest force, so I don't belittle the delicacy in the slightest. The user must use dexterity, apply a light touch and rely on the drill's rotation to get the job done. Never try to pound or knock out dirt, these drills are not designed for that. The real reason for the low rating is that the #78 drill bits are 0.406mm (0.016") long, which is exactly what I measured. I have to be). This just makes them too big (assuming the print nozzles meet the 0.4mm specs). I could feel sidewall resistance when using one on a clogged brass nozzle I hadn't thrown away yet. I didn't break the brass and ended up drilling the hole all the way, but it took time and patience and I did it just to see if I could do it. Then I tried them on a new (i.e. unused) hardened nozzle and none Of course, forget about drilling through hardened steel with these. Regardless of the nozzle material, I think the action of these "clean-out drills" should be limited to clearing plastic clogs - you don't need to cut the metal from the walls of the hole. Machining irregularities can affect flow smoothness, and a potential nozzle ID change will require extrusion rate recalibration. Obviously brass nozzles are relatively cheap - IMO it's more time and tool efficient to just throw them away and install them when needed. Brand new. But having recently bought some much more expensive hardened bits, I wanted to see if these drill bits could effectively salvage them if needed. They are unsuccessful for this, but maybe only because the wrong bit size was used. It is still possible that this concept will work. Elsewhere at Revain, a dozen "mini twist drills" in the desired size sell for about the same price as this set of 5 handle drills. All you need is a suitable pin vise and then you can choose a more suitable drill bit size. For example, drill #79 (0.368 mm diameter) is slightly too small for a 0.4 mm nozzle and drill #74 (0.578 mm) is slightly too small for a 0.6 mm nozzle. These slightly smaller drill bits should still remove any blocking plastic, or at least the vast majority. Squeezing out (and/or pulling cold) the cleaning floss about a foot should do the rest. I'll try bit #79 if needed, but for now I'm hoping it helps someone.