Well, this weekend, we did it. Mark designed a 3D printed coiled magazine, I printed it, and Brian K integrated it into a fast gun cannon. It held pressure and fed ammo to the gun as it should. Thoroughly happy with Mark's work, and I'm printing more for the Southeast Group to test The cannon in the pic weighs the same as a cannon with a regular copper tube mag, but it's more compact, and costs less (not factoring in the price of the printer!). No, I'm not producing them, sowwy Lawyer-wife forbade it on liability grounds. After more testing, if Mark decides to release the files (they are his, after all!), you may try printing your own. Or, better, you can get out your CAD program and design them!!
i knew i should have bought a 3D printer when i had the cash. i seen the pic. and that is cool. great work guys, although wouldn't a disclaimer work if you was to sell them, more less saying , it was my choice to buy and use it, and i understand if i shoot my own eye out ?
Dearest Mr (MadBoy) TugBoat, I represent a the heir of a wealthy British family, all recently perished in a tragic family photo accident. His name for sake of reference is Ralph. I write to you in hopes that you might assist me with obtaining the needed items for my client to fulfill the requirements of his inheritance. I need no bank account information, but might you be willing to send me a printed coil of such shape and dimension that one might be capable of rolling a .177 bb down its interior pathway, thus I might complete the craft project similar to a marble run required to achieve my client's inheritance? I offer repayment in the form known as USD through the fabled messenger service known to be the pal of a man named Pay. Sincerely yours Afaux Prince
I am having weird problems with my browsers and the forums; Chrome won't let me type in the text box, but it WILL allow me to click on the boxes for editing. IE will let me type, but I can't even SEE the buttons for editing, adding pics, etc. The cannon mags are technically still in testing. Since testing began, there have been a few minor changes to the design and this may not be the final design. I posted mainly to 1)show off, and 2)let people know that it's possible and that it is being tried. It IS very exciting news, granted. The Southeast Group (Brian, Carl, and I) were giddy with glee that it worked. Even if I was willing to print them for people, I would not do so without Mark allowing it. Even then, my wife would still probably kill me. As for disclaimers/waivers/releases, they really don't do much for me in court, as a good attorney can shred one given a bit of time and the scent of money. So, hang on for now, and we'll see where it goes. I will continue to post updates because it's cool stuff. The other stuff that I've printed have not been a pressure vessel, and thus I have no trouble selling/giving it to others.
The files will be made available for anyone to use. After all, it's just a cute plastic coil. No more than a fancy loading tube really. If you pressurize it or turn it into a gun, then you are responsible for it. Although a NON-attribution license might be good...
Just so everyone has an idea what the magazine looks like. So when I make the 75 round magazine, should I make it larger in diameter or taller? Or a little of both?
Is there a particular reason to make coils? Why not a nice rectangular prism with an internal layered set of pathways?
I think you could make it rectangular, although I think the corners might be a little tricky. I've seen a magazine that Stephen machined from aluminum that was basically a rectangular block with a single layer zig-zag passage. The coil appealed to me because 1) I know it works and 2) since the radius of the coil is constant, there are no potential jam points.
ant farm,yes ant farm how much is that ant farm in the window. or how much donation forfor the plastic ant farm. lol
That's fine for single turrets, but for duals or triples, the interrupter in the center doesn't help But we did talk about it.
I have finally finished printing all the parts for my Ormerod, and for Brian K's. Which means that I can finally print a bunch of magazines for myself, and ant farms for people who want to play with ants. UPDATE: I printed a pair of magazines intended to be for dual sterns...
So...Full...Of...Win Are you epoxying the brass to the magazines? No issue of blowouts at the joints?
I never saw any failures when they tested the first one, but I want to do more extensive testing once I print a few of my own. So far all we know is that it feeds correctly, and it survived the first few test shots without exploding.
We attached the copper tubing to the mags using an ABS/Acetone slurry. I've got 3 printed besides the original one, and more to come. Explosion-risk-wise... I rate it as exceedingly low. 1) pressure is low, and the wall thickness of the magazine is suitable for the pressures that we're exerting. Additionally, the cannon only comes close to seeing full pressure for a fraction of a second, when the BB is at the O-ring, just before it pops free. So there 's not really a huge amount of pressure being applied to the cannon, and it doesn't meet the definition of a pressure vessel in any case.
OK, silly question what PSI are you testing in , and what would you dare to test at your max? to insure safety to your ship and self. some times you have to break it to know the limits. but please be safe doing so. no point in shooting your eye out. Just saying . say test 1 would be 150 PSI , and do a free flow test of 4 seconds of air blasting through the systems , then do say 4-6 shots back to back or the whole magazine all at once, basically empty magazine test and full magazine test. i really don't know just trying to be help full.
