Introduction: Thread ID Tool

About: I'm an inventor / maker / designer based in Portland, OR. My background is in residential architecture, film set design, animatronics, media arts, exhibit design, and electronics. I use digital design and fabr…

I know, I know, you can buy these. I wanted to make my own thread ID tool with all the nuts and screws I most commonly use for projects. This one has metric and imperial with rulers on each side so I can measure length as well.

Step 1: Tools + Materials

  • Fusion 360
  • 3D Printer
    • I use a Prusa I3Mk3S for just about everything. It's the best bang for your buck, in my opinion- very well made, 3D printable replacement parts, accurate and reliable.

  • 3D Print Filament
    • I used Matte Fiber PLA from Protopasta for this project, but pretty much any filament will work. I like this stuff because the finish looks really good.
  • Srews and Nuts: The sizes and threads I used are shown below. All metric threads are standard.

Fusion 360 is free and it's awesome. I use it for everything I design and fabricate.

Student / Educator License (renew free every 3 years)

Hobbyist / Startup (renew free yearly)

Follow along with this Instructable to model your own!

Step 2: 3D Modeling

The youtube video shown here explains the modeling process. I basically just imported a bunch of McMaster-Carr components.

Step 3: 3D Printing

For this print, I used 30% infill, which I'm told has the optimal structural strength to material use ratio. I always use rafts when there's a larger surface area on the bed- I find it prevents warping.

The STL files are 3D print ready, so feel free to use them if you want the exact same nuts and screws that I used. The graphic files have the ruler and label graphics that you can print out and stick to the top of the tester.

Step 4: Assembly

The assembly is pretty straightforward. The screws go through the holes in order the nuts go in the nut pockets, and the laser etched graphic panel is glued to the top with E-6000.

I added a keyhole feature so I could hang it on a wall as well.

Step 5: Test Your Fasteners

I'm really happy with how it turned out. The nuts and screws are very secure, the spacing is just right for avoiding nuts getting stuck without making the piece too big, and it looks nice in my shop.