Gunsmithing 3D Printed 316 Stainless Steel magazine bodies

[THEIS]

Hi,

338 CIP external dimensions but spacer, follower and feed lips for short action cartridges.

3D printed in 316 stainless steel.

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[Takashi]

Did you/can you print the follower and spring inside in one shot?

 

[THEIS]

Did you/can you print the follower and spring inside in one shot?

Hi,

Did we? No, Keeping them "independent" allows us to change out the spacer to follower length relationship for optimization of different cartridge shapes/lengths.

Can you? I guess everything is possible but I would think it would not be productively feasible.

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[...]

~$700/mag ?

 

[THEIS]

~$700/mag ?

Hi,

Less than half of that but still cheapest way to test a concept than paying to setup forming dies, etc for stamping.

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[308pirate]

~$700/mag ?

That's cheap for prototypes/proof of concept articles

 

[Jrb572]

That is crazy. Can you share a video of it making one?

I understand it might be a trade secret and you might not be able to.

 

[...]

Hi,

Less than half of that but still cheapest way to test a concept than paying to setup forming dies, etc for stamping.

Sincerely,
Theis

no i hear ya...making 4 prototype mags sounds like a pain in the ass.

DMLS im assuming?...any issues printing that thin? warping?

 

[FuhQ]

Are they AICS pattern?

 

[THEIS]

Are they AICS pattern?

Hi,

Externally they are compatible with AI#20400

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

I'm still waiting for the day we have a viable, commercially available 12-14 round AIAW 308 pattern mag.

@THEIS - please???

 

[308pirate]

That is crazy. Can you share a video of it making one?

I understand it might be a trade secret and you might not be able to.

Not sure what exact process Theis used but here's an example

 

[THEIS]

no i hear ya...making 4 prototype mags sounds like a pain in the ass.

DMLS im assuming?...any issues printing that thin? warping?

Hi,

Correct, DMLS.

No issues so far but we haven't started running magazine changes through the rifles; but there should be no issue at all.

Spacer and follower design(s) will be finished the end of this week.

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[Jrb572]

Not sure what exact process Theis used but here's an example

Holy shit. What does something like that cost to buy.

thank you for sharing the video

 

[308pirate]

What does something like that cost to buy.

The machine?

I don't know for sure as I've never quoted or bought one, but I would think that the ante opens up at half a million.

 

[Jrb572]

The machine?

I don't know for sure as I've never quoted or bought one, but I would think that the ante opens up at half a million.

Yep the Machine

 

[godofthunder]

Hi,

Less than half of that but still cheapest way to test a concept than paying to setup forming dies, etc for stamping.

Sincerely,
Theis

That's actually pretty impressive. The couple of quotes I got (for parts much smaller than a mag) were in the $800/ea range.

 

[THEIS]

Yep the Machine

Hi,

For the machines that can hold multi decimal place tolerances.....680k and up.

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[powdahound76]

How long to “print” the cases as pictured?

Awesome stuff. Cool to see!!

 

[Jrb572]

Hi,

For the machines that can hold multi decimal place tolerances.....680k and up.

Sincerely,
Theis

Can you print a receiver with it?

 

[...]

Can you print a receiver with it?

I mean, they are printing rocket nozzles, suppressor, even the prototype frames for the Hudson H9.....don't see why receivers would be out of the question

With DMLS, you have near 100% metal density, so whatever you can make out of billet you can reasonably make by printing

Some truly amazing bit of kit those printers are

 

[TxWelder35]

Are those mags as printed? Surface finish looks pretty good

 

[308pirate]

Can you print a receiver with it?

I mean, they are printing rocket nozzles, suppressor, even the prototype frames for the Hudson H9.....don't see why receivers would be out of the question

With DMLS, you have near 100% metal density, so whatever you can make out of billet you can reasonably make by printing

Some truly amazing bit of kit those printers are

Not only can you print it, the part is able to be heat treated much like one made from wrought alloy.

 

[THEIS]

Hi,

Plastic printed prototype spacer and follower to test in the magazines.

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[DR&M]

This is awesome!!!! Very cool