And even if you don’t want to 3D print an AR lower, it is fun to make your own hand-stops, grips, and other little things.
I just started a new forum and it is gun friendly. Show us your 3D printers and projects there. I will be posting photos and videos of things as I make them when my printer arrives. This is the one I am getting:
Seriously, on this gear geek forum Ron and I are the only ones getting into 3-D printers? I had Chadbag pegged for a bot farm in his basement…
Ron- sweet machine! Loving the dual extruders. It drove me nuts trying to decide which one to buy, and I ended up going lowest-cost-denominator with the Printrbot. Just to get my feet wet. Looked at Trinkline, Type A Series One, various Mendel versions, Soliddoodle, almost rationalized a Makerbot 2X, but that is way to rich.
I think there will be some new stuff out in the next 12 months. More Dual or full color heads. More materials and better refinement.
The lowest price model that can maybe print a working AR lower is $800.
The one I ordered is $999, but I am getting some options like dual extruders, an upgraded computer, and an LCD controller, and it will be about $1225 plus shipping. They claim it will ship in four weeks. I expect it to be at least twice as fast as the $800 one, and has a larger print area, and is made from nicer parts.
Someday… Right now I have no resources to play around with this sort of thing and if I did, would probably go for some sort of CNC-router to work wood since I want to build (e)guitars and that sort of thing.
Plus, my neighbor is set up already and we’ve already talked about doing some stuff, some day when we both have time… (ETA: he is a competitive shooter [recently medaling in almost every event at the Utah state championships] also interested in self defense)
Ron- sweet machine! Loving the dual extruders. It drove me nuts trying to decide which one to buy, and I ended up going lowest-cost-denominator with the Printrbot. Just to get my feet wet. Looked at Trinkline, Type A Series One, various Mendel versions, Soliddoodle, almost rationalized a Makerbot 2X, but that is way to rich.
I think there will be some new stuff out in the next 12 months. More Dual or full color heads. More materials and better refinement.
That’s cool. Wonder how it sounds made out of plastic, since supposedly the wood and all that contribute to the sound.
I am more interested in electric bass at the moment using exotic woods and stuff like that… Hence the CNC-router stuff I’ve been looking into, for when I have more resources.
The 3D printing stuff is on my back burner though.
Got my printrbot in. Worked out some kinks and calibration working with PLA, and I’m making my first ABS stuff tonite. So far just accessories for the printer- glass clamps, locks for the bed levelers. Made some ear bud holders.
I’ve found that getting an accurate measure on the filament diameter is critical. I’m mostly printing at .2mm (200 microns) except the first layer which is 325 microns. It seems to set the base better when I do that.
Do you have any favorite gun related items to print? Saw you over on printrbot, haven’t been to your forum lately. I hit 3ders.org everyday- great stuff there- and fresh articles everyday.
I still haven’t designed anything. Just getting my head wrapped around SLic3r right now.
Has anyone tried to make a magazine tube and then buy the spring? You could probally make the follower and the baseplate as well. Would be an intresting way to get hard to find magazines when there is a run on them.
I’m looking at replacement base pads first for my akdhal m1919 shotgun.
It seems most natural to print it like a tub, but that would orientate the layers with the forces of the spring and base lips. Printing it like a phone booth I guess would be smarter? I don’t have support material so I might have to do something odd.
Maybe print it in two parts so that they layers can run perpendicular and then glue it together…
A full mag would be simple till you get to the feed lips.
Of course that is with direct printing. You could also set up molds a lot easier…
3D printed comp. Says it is made from Inconel. Interesting idea that you can make internal chambers you could never machine in. Maybe a game changer in suppressor technology if you can translate it into bigger objects?
Sometimes egg heads don’t realize that people in industry do it for a living, often for a life time, and have to get people to pay them for it…
Ron, love your work with the nylon and the Bowden conversion…
What printer(s) do you have? I thought you were buying a german one, I see you have the small printrbot, but you also have a larger printrbot or is it a Mendel?
