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You're not wrong, but technology is advancing fast. AR lower takes a lot less punishment than this.i would not buy a 3d printed lower at a gun show.....period.....hell, im hard pressed to buy ANY commercial product that is 3d printed.
im guessing bubba found a 3d model of a lower and printed it on his $200 printer.....it will last maybe a magazine.
when you design in polymer, and especially for 3D prints, you cant just port over an aluminum part and expect it to work.
most 3d prints suffer from Z-layer Anisotropy....essentially they want to delaminate along the layers.
with a properly designed 3d model.....and a proper 3d printer (mark forged ONYX at a minumum) you can create a half decent lower.
that being said, i would much rather just buy a polymer80 lower and have a much better product.
oh absolutely, metal DMLS is going to be a game changer in manufacturing in the near future....hell, 3D printing in general is going to challenge traditional manufacturing within our lifetimeYou're not wrong, but technology is advancing fast. AR lower takes a lot less punishment than this.
Porsche Puts 3D Printed Pistons to the Test
The new technology boosts Porsche's 911 GT2 RS by another 30 horsepower.www.designnews.com
Of course that wasn't done on a $200 printer
With Generate, a user uploads a STEP file into the software, chooses faces on the CAD model, and inputs the amount of load that the face will be subject to and the preferred weight reduction. Using finite element analysis and the company's voxel-based design algorithm, Generate will remove large, nonvital chunks of a model, leaving an organic shape that still performs the basic function of the original part, but without all of the excess weight.
3d printers can use metals now. It’s only a matter of time until reliable, non-polymer lowers are produced. I know when I have a high enough net worth i’m going to buy one of those toys and see what I can come up with (probably a bunch of overpriced paperweights, but a man can dream!)Anyone have any experience with them? Saw some at a gun show the other day for sale. Was wondering what material they were made of and if they would actually hold up under real stress.
Gun show? You mean the place they charge you $15 entry to sell you shitty jerky for $5/oz at?
They have stuffed animals at your gun shows?Hey, they have stuffed animals too... And $1000 AK's and M4's, which one is worse I don't know.
I can probably cut an 80% for you out of a 2x4 if you like, it'll be stronger and since cheap as fuck seems to be the way you're going, I'll do it all for $190!
Seriously though, I doubt it's there yet and I don't know why anyone would be interested in it beyond novelty.
Now forged carbon fiber, that shit looks interesting.
You could also buy it from your buddy and then sell it back when you’re doneYou might want one of these. You put in 80% lowers, and it completes them. It's like $2100 but if you and a couple of friends want to split the cost it could be worth it. Sharing the cost of this with a couple of friends might not be legal but whatever.
Ghost Gunner
ghostgunner.net
PLA is one of the stronger printable materials, stronger than PETG and ABS.
The current dimensions for an AR lower just don't lend themselves to pure plastic. It could be done, but it would require a MUCH bulkier lower.
This^^^. See the CavArms polymer lower (no longer in production) or the KE Arms lower (in pre-production)...Even for us with lame little FDM machines, there is much better stuff than PLA (nylon is a good start).
This right here is something I've been saying for a while. The part was originally designed to be constructed from forged AL7075. Even a proper injection-molded part, made from a good resin, would need to have different wall section thickness (some of it for strength in the final part, some of it to improve manufacturability).
The correct way to do this is with a ground-up redesign, starting with an understanding of the various forces involved.
Those are injection molded, which lends itself to a whole host of different variables to play with that aren't available in 3D printing at the moment.This^^^. See the CavArms polymer lower (no longer in production) or the KE Arms lower (in pre-production)...
I was introduced to 3D printing by a co-worker in about 2008. He had a ”gear set” that he had printed at home. It looked like he had cooked angel hair pasta, roughly arranged it into the shape of a “gear,” and allowed it to dry. He was beside himself with glee. I was all like “3D printing won’t ever be a thing, but that’s a cool, I guess.” I was wrong. But, I won‘t be buying any gun show 3D printed lowers either...
Hey, they have stuffed animals too... And $1000 AK's and M4's, which one is worse I don't know.
I can probably cut an 80% for you out of a 2x4 if you like, it'll be stronger and since cheap as fuck seems to be the way you're going, I'll do it all for $190!
Seriously though, I doubt it's there yet and I don't know why anyone would be interested in it beyond novelty.
Now forged carbon fiber, that shit looks interesting.
Even for us with lame little FDM machines, there is much better stuff than PLA (nylon is a good start).
This right here is something I've been saying for a while. The part was originally designed to be constructed from forged AL7075. Even a proper injection-molded part, made from a good resin, would need to have different wall section thickness (some of it for strength in the final part, some of it to improve manufacturability).
The correct way to do this is with a ground-up redesign, starting with an understanding of the various forces involved.
There are some continuous carbon fiber filaments that look promising, but it needs to be fully explored. It’s not so much the printer sometimes as it is the material/humidity in the material/ printing temp. If it’s just an item like a lower a high end printer isn’t needed, but the material has to be higher quality.Hi,
Just FWIW and personal experience utilizing 3D printers for different prototyping projects.
There is not a 3D printer under 600k that can print metal to a degree that it is safe to use.
Even printing some of the polymers and ABS, etc etc are done on machines that are 500k+
Sincerely,
Theis
Totally agree. I print all kinds of trinkets with my 3D printer. I would never attempt to print some of the things that people are trying to sell. It’s great for scope throw levers, printing a lower in my opinion would be a waste of time. It’s just asking too much from a 2-500 dollar machine and a filament not intended for the job.Hi,
Just FWIW and personal experience utilizing 3D printers for different prototyping projects.
There is not a 3D printer under 600k that can print metal to a degree that it is safe to use.
Even printing some of the polymers and ABS, etc etc are done on machines that are 500k+
Sincerely,
Theis