Replacement nibs for Wacom graphics tablets

Printing plastic replacement parts is the what makes 3D printers really useful. Even though these nibs for the graphic tablet pens are probably not easy to print due to their small size I wanted to try it.

So I measured the diameter of an original Wacom nib and it came out to be 1.75mm. Notice something? This is exactly the most common filament diameter used for 3D printing. So there isn't even a need for a 3D printer to make some of these.

The only challenge is to get a nice round head on the nib. You can try it with PLA filament and some heat but it's quite tricky to get good results this way. What worked perfectly for me was using ABS filament and some acetone.

Here's how to make the nibs:

Cut off 26.7mm long pieces of some 1.75mm ABS filament. Then use sanding paper to get a flat backside and to get the head of the nib roughly into the desired shape.

Now dip the head of the new nib into some acetone and wait for a few seconds. Then twist the head against a hard object to make it smooth and rounded.

ABS seems to be a bit softer than the plastic used for the original nibs. So the nibs will wear down faster and maybe feel a little bit different than the original ones. Since the material costs are negligible changing the nib more often shouldn't be a problem though. For me there was no noticeable difference using one with my Bamboo graphic tablet. It worked the way it used to and recognized different contact pressure.

This instruction comes with absolutely no warranty. Make sure the filament has exactly the right diameter (cheaper filament has noticeable variations sometimes) and there no obvious imperfections in the piece used for the nib. Otherwise the nib could brake or jam in the pen.

Category: Replacement Parts