Some days you just need to take a break and make something fancy. Reprinted the props in bronze PETG.
Finalizing the gun layout. Added a magazine fill port to the D turret deck section. Added locking pins to the turret bodies to keep them in place. The barrels are able to go into either slot so the C turret haymaker will be in the right barrel slot to clear the deck. They are all at the max 20* down I am putting the 3d printed magazines on hold. They dont feed well enough at 150psi to be used in combat. The coil feeds perfect, I think I need to rethink the 'helper' air position. I bent up some copper magazines and roll tested them for now. Also updating the superstructure to my more detailed standards. The goal is keeping everything as modular as possible. B and D turret will be self contained under their deck sections. Since the entire superstructure comes off, C turret is already modular.
Going to reprint the turret bases after a redesign but… wow. It feels like a milestone to get the gun layout started.. Theres not much left to “plan” just to install.
This is what I meant by modular. I have plenty of room to mount the solenoids to the deck sections making the air and power disconnections. I hope that makes maintenance easier since these just unscrew in small, workable sections. The magazine ports are molded into the deck to make them easier to fill.
Well poop… Printer is going to be down for a bit. Ripped the sheet magnet holding the PEI sheet down.
Alright.. enough playing around. New superstructure printed and painted. Need to make some cranes, but thats a project for another day. Have to get back to internal layouts and wiring everything up.
Battery box is printing. It will hold 2 batteries per side as well as the drive ESC and RX. I am hoping 4x 3S 5A batteries will be enough for a battle. The firing relays will be housed in a separate section for ease of maintenance, upgrade, and trouble shooting. The solenoids will be attached to the deck sections under their respective canons.
Man… this is like tetris.. gotta figure out how the heck everything fits… Any one have a source for smaller than 12oz CO2 tanks? I have a 12oz that I was going to use since I have it. And while it fits, I could use the space for other things… BTW I’m NOT spending $50 on one from BC.
Did some searching. The only readily-available CO2 bottles are bigger ones, 16 to 24oz. If you want smaller, you need to get a HPA bottle and put a CO2 valve on it. For example, this 0.22L HPA/SCUBA bottle is also a 5oz CO2 bottle: View: https://www.amazon.com/HPDAVV-Paintball-Bottle-Filling-Aluminum/dp/B07DS9P6V5/ref=sr_1_89?crid=3FQA865DFOKNG&keywords=9oz+CO2&qid=1644464065&sprefix=9oz+co2%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-89 That would, however, require you to also purchase an on/off valve and get it installed by a certified airsmith. By the time you do that, BC's price tag doesn't look so bad.
It just makes no sense for them to be $50 for a 5oz when a common 20oz is literally $20. Ill scrounge around on the used paintball gear market. I mean, I have the space for the 12oz, it is just getting it in and out of the hull, but I might modify the cross supports to make that easier. I have been contemplating doing that anyway for the pump.
I saw some other HPA bottles on Amazon in other intermediate sizes. You'd have to do the math to convert from liters HPA to ounces CO2, but that's just math. Or as you mentioned there's ebay and other resellers. Most of the stuff I saw was 20's and 24's, but one of the first items on the list was a lot with one 20oz and two 9oz bottles.
I suppose Ill stick with the 12oz. It fits, just need to do some fun weight distribution and some interesting pneumatic line snaking.
A little light in the bow. The 12oz is all the way forward. I have plenty of room for ballast in the center line. By my calculations, I will need about 4lbs to bring her down level on the water line. I’m still missing 2 batteries which should help with the stern weight (about a pound light)
Gotta take a little pride in her appearance. Ive got the internals all worked out. Just need to tune in the guns (any build weekends coming up…?)
After a good discussion with Will and careful reconsideration, the pump routing was crap. So I removed the glued in rear support and made it removable which has the added benefit of making the motors easier to access. The pump sits further aft than it was before and is easier to access.
