Themaninthesuitcase F-11D Standard build

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

And we are back in business! E3D delivered the parts nice and fast but it was project time that was short.  I rebuilt the whole print head with new plastics and it's gone together much better as the parts were better printed this time.

 

I've printed and rough sanded the new TLJ style rear barrel (with some extra holes), a new Hengstler bracket (also with extra holes) and the TLJ End cap (not sanded).  I recently swapped to use esun PETG and it's proving to sand really nicely, considerably less work than the PLA and PLA+ I have previously used.

 

 

I also quickly threw the back end together for a rough preview and I think it's come out really nice.

 

 

I need to print the new clip but that means swapping the resin in the Elegoo Mars which is just a faff so I keep putting it off. I also need to check I actually have enough black resin left.

 

Really all that's left now is a few coats of filler primer on the new parts and getting it all smooth then final colour and electronics.  So another 24 months then?  In seriousness there isn't a huge amount left that's not filling and sanding.  The electronics will more be a case of fitting, and ordering a the connectors I need for that. 

 

Winter is indeed coming so not sure how I'll work around the cold and wet but I'd like this done by spring now if I can.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

I did some sanding today between jobs and decided it was time to glue the "folding stock" parts together.  The seam needs to be filled, but I actually got a pretty good line with just the glue so filling shouldn't be too labourious.

 

I also decided to re-model "Trigger 1" whilst I am mucking about with fusion.  The supplied one is a big blocky and chunky and I'm not a fan of it.  I saw in a Facebook group some one did one based on a real one so I did the same.

 

Now I am no gun nut so I just googled and ended up using an H&K MP5 as a basis.  Now it's not exactly canon but it looks better, will hopefully feel better and also I could add a switch if I want to.  There should be room for a small tactile switch, though a micro switch would be better.  I did rotate the angle from the reference image to match the model as I'll need room to get to trigger 2 but I'll do a test print and see how it goes.

 

 

Again I've only ever used 1 fire arm in my life so don't expect too much here, I just wanted something a little more realistic.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Prefect is the enemy of done.  So I've been messing about again.

 

With new trigger 1 in place I decided I preferred the placement of it to trigger 2 (the rear blocky one). So I wanted to make this the switch that activates the torch.  I now am able to use both triggers with a switch should I want to, with would be brilliant for a full sound and light effects if you're into such things.  I am not I just want the torch and the red LEDs to work.

 

I've changed the new trigger to allow the use of a micro switch which works really nice.  The biggest issue was securing it, I could have used glue or something like that but I wanted to be able to remove/replace it if needed with out having to reprint the part.  After a lot of messing about I opted for two M4 grub screws which centre on the mount holes on the switch.  Sadly these will be visible from the outside but will be on the body side, and black in a black part so you will need to look for them to see them I think.

 

 

The micro switch fits along the length of the blaster so the trigger will act on the switch nicely.  The positioning is just perfect so that the switch will also act as the return spring, and gives about 3-5mm of trigger travel.  It's not a huge pull but it's enough to know you're doing it.

 

 

The extra big hole in the above part is to allow wires to come through from trigger 2 if needed.  The microswitch being offset gives the room for the wires.

 

Once sanded the holes blended in a bit nicer, I've tapped them M4 with a tap so the grub screws go in nice and easy and should mean the paint won't get trashed at assembly.

 

 

The rear barrel will sit above the black part so I've updated it to add the extra holes for the wires from both the triggers to be able to come through.  This is printing as I type.

 

I also did an inventory and have noticed I either never printed or lost a few parts so I'll need to get those printed.

[The5thHorseman[TK]]

Note sure if you still need anything at this point, but I can send you the 3D files in .step format if you'd like. Just keep in mind that most of them will have edge fillets 'baked in' which might get in the way. 

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

12 hours ago, The5thHorseman said:

Note sure if you still need anything at this point, but I can send you the 3D files in .step format if you'd like. Just keep in mind that most of them will have edge fillets 'baked in' which might get in the way. 

It would be nice to have them if you don't mind!  Some of the mods get very slow in fusion working with the meshes so if I was to go back again having the step would probably speed things up a lot!

[The5thHorseman[TK]]

I've sent you a download link by PM.

Like I said, keep in mind that the 3d modeling for these is kind of jank. I'd probably recommend using those files to rebuild from scratch the components you need rather than modifying them. I speak from experience saying that it can be extremely tedious trying to edit janky files.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Thanks Germain, I've got those now.  Baked in or not the step file hopefully will be a bit easier than working on the raw meshes which can be really slow for tasks like Booleans and so on.

 

If I need to make any further modifications I'll see how I get on with these.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

In what seems to now be tradition: Celebration has spurred a fresh kick of First Order enthusiasm. And is also traditional I've started by re-doing work I've already done.

 

I remembered that I had the STEP files @The5thHorseman kindly sent me.I imported these into Fusion 360, and organised things.  This done I re-did all the TLJ mods I did previously on the STL files, in about an hour or so vs a lot more before!

 

Pretty picture time.

 

Standard colours doesn't show much:

 

 

But if I enable "Display Component Colors" it shows things much better.

 

 

Pink is all the original file.

 

Edits are:

• Front barrel - has the 2 extra top holes (I have made a picattiny rail that fits, undecided if I will remake this again)
• End cap - removed a lip to better match reference images
• End cap - Swivel - removed old hole and added a rear mount notch for a D ring. This seems to my eye to better match the reference. It makes it very simple to add a D ring as it's just clamped in place as the part is held on by an M3 screw.
• D Ring - I've modelled one but this is a place holder for a metal one I plan to get shortly.
• End Cap - Clip - squared off the corner, still nut 100% on this one but I still think it's different to the TFA one.
• Rear barrel - This is the big one. Removed the "ring" and old slide and put a new one in on the front face.  

Bar the End cap - Swivel this is all effectively the same as what I have already done (and released). The swivel will be added once I check it works as expected as I need to confirm the wire diameter.

 

 

I have also started rebuild some of my custom parts starting with "Trigger 1"

 

 

This is effectively a recreation of the one I have already printed but given it uses S curves isn't quite the same shape, pretty close though.  It has the extension out the back to trigger a switch but I've yet to re design this. This gives me 2 buttons at the grip, one for each trigger that I can use to trigger different things.

 

Currently I plan to put the front torch on one trigger but not sure what to do with the other.  The obvious choice is a blast sound and lights but I know I would use it and space is "limited" in these, and a lot of the rear barrel is already taken up with the battery, charger and main power switch.  The other choice is I fit a latching switch somewhere for the torch and then I have 2 momentary buttons I don't know what to do with!  The torch is pretty bright though so having on when wanted on a trigger seems sensible? What do other FOTKs do?

 

 

Answers on a post card.

 

 

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

I've been busy re-applying my mods to the STEP files, I won't reprint everything but more than I initially planned!

 

Does anyone happen to know what the hardware size is for the @R2Dan leg bracket?  I thought it was M6 but these have HUGE heads that would need plates the seem thicker than what they look to be.  Also what would be the correct spacing for these (on centres if possible).

 

I may as well bake this into the model and possibly even have a space for a heatset insert.

 

Finally black on these blasters: Matt black or Satin?  I was looking at my stock of part finished stuff and I seem to have a bit of a mix.  It's subtle and I may still use a mix of both: mostly Matt with "rubber" parts being satin seems like a nice balance.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

I've been carrying on poking the 1s and 0s around.  

 

I think I have managed to fit a micro switch into the front hinge of the blaster, well actually a "miniature" microswitch which is a decent amount smaller but can still take 3 Amps so hopefully will be up to the job.  The idea is this can work the front torch rather than using triggers to do this.

 

Fitting the switch was not too bad, but getting the wires out was harder.  I've opted to run two small tunnels either side of the mounting screw and through into the box section of the front stock, which then can run up into the barrel before entering the hollow core of the blaster.  The switch will be held in place by an M4 grubscrew, so should it fail it can be removed and replaced without worrying about glue.

 

 

You can also see on this image 2 location pin holes I added as I struggled to line this part up on my unfinished blaster.  This is just 2 1.75mm holes for some filament offcuts.

 

I still need to order the switches and check fit but it should work and gives a nice option for a switch in a place that makes sense.

 

I also struggled with getting good results sanding the Magazine end cap, so I broke it into 2 parts. The main cover, and the button.  In theory you could also make this a working button but I've not done that. Yet,  I suppose you could do it with a tactile switch stuck through the cover. It should be about the right size.

 

 

Finally I have also been working on full lights and sound setup, because apparently I needed more work before I can call this finished *

 

I have based this on an Arduino Nano as I have several to hand and they are cheap, a cheap DfPlayer audio board, an old laptop speaker but want to try some others, a 1 watt 6 Pin RGB, some neopixels and 2 switches.

 

The current working setup has a primary trigger that fires a blast, and a second that toggles the front torch on an off (Yellow LED in what follows as the white one was annoyingly bright).

 

A blast triggers the sound effect, sends a streak of down the side that has a short dimming tail to help convey the motion, and blips the Red part of the front RGB holds it very briefly then fades out quickly. Again this attempts to convey motion and cool downs.  The main issue I have is the audio lags by up to 1/2s.  If you keep audio running, each new trigger is instant, but from a cold start there can be a big delay which won't do.  I am wondering if this could be the fake DFPlayer board I have, but I don't really want to pay 3x the price for a real one due to handling fees at the vendor.  More work on this to follow  I am sure.

 

As mentioned the 2nd button toggles the front torch but now I have a front switch this leaves it open to other uses which I've not decided on yet. Plus the option for the extra button on the magazine cover, though if I'm not sure what to do with 2 what would I do with 3? Nice to have hardware that can be expanded though if I can make it fit.  I also need to work out if the torch should remain software driven, or if the front switch will just do that directly and so simplify things a little.

 

This will all go on a custom PCB designed in KiCad and which will be available publicly, along with the software. The software is already if you know where to look  

 

 

The JST XH headers, are bulky but give a degree of ease to assemble as you can do all the soldering away from the easy to melt blaster.  They may yet still go away, especially if I want 3 switches to read in software as well.

 

And as a reward for reading all of that drivel here is a demo of the blaster and it's all important hidden mode. Sorry it's vertical I made it for the gram.
 

 

* I am aware the irony of using the word finished in a thread that dates back to about 120BC

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Some very nice detail work there, well done

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Test print time!

 

The theory works!  This is some 7/0.2 stranded wire which is in the 24AWG ball park.  It says the OD is about 1.2mm but which means 0.8mm clearance but the curve makes it a little awkward to thread.   You can thread the wire both directions but you need to use tweezers to do it from inside the well which is a little tedious but means it's not un repairable if a wire breaks in an awkward place. If you're extra fancy use PTFE coated wire, it's a little stiffer so once the initial thread is done it slides easier and pushes better making the process less awkward.  If you haven't tried some, it's pretty cheap on AliExpress just plan ahead.

 

 

I don't have a switch as mentioned before but it all looks okay from this side.  You can see the very tiny M4x3mm grub screw I have that will work nice to hold the switch but not stick out. a M4x4mm should also fit, and I have in stainless steel which will blend in better on a finished piece but that means moving stuff to get to them.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Still poking 1s and 0s but also worried some plastic today.

 

I wasn't happy with the solution I had for the front torch. It was inelegant and required cutting up a torch that was really a bit too large.

 

So I went back to the reference: A photo of a screen used TFA item sold at auction (see the gallery)
 

 

So what we can see here is the torch pokes out through the silver cap slightly, and seems to run the length of insert.  It also seems this is friction fit and fine tuned with duct tape.  Standard.

 

So our options become:

• Try find the original part Germain spec'd, but has been out of stock for years. 
• Find another torch:
  • There is the "AtomLight" but this actually looks too small and the light sounds a bit dim anyway.
  • The Maglite Solitaire LED looks to be about the right diameter according to the specs but is pretty long.  A new "Folding Stock 2 - Flashlight 1" would need to be designed that doesn't need the screw to hold it using friction or a click fit, and to allow the torch to extend back into the blaster further.  With a screw you wouldn't be able to remove the holder to change the battery.
• Whole arse a custom solution using of the shelf parts and can hook into the power for the lights you need anyway.

Obviously I chose the latter, but may get a solitaire anyway to try.

 

I have a number of LED bezels lying around, like any normal person and decided to try using one to mount the ultrabright 5mm LEDs I bought ages ago.

 

This is what I ended up with:

 

So the Bezel holds the LED in place solidly, the back of the mount has mostly been removed to give access to fit the LED. A "fake" torch sleeve fills the empty space and a 12.5mm glass watch face creates the look of a real torch. I hope anyway.

 

 

I had the afternoon off for an appointment so ran off a set of parts and quickly threw some paint on to show contrast.  Sand your prints people, this is just proof of concept stuff.

 

Front view, I might paint the inside of the inner collar silver to lighten it up a bit and reflect the light.

 

 

Side view, there is no lens here so add about 1mm of extra length to the black ring. After seeing this I felt the lens was too far back so have moved it forward 1mm so its not so set back.

 

 

And finally the most important feature as this part is actually oriented and I keep getting it wrong.

 

 

I think this is going to work out.  It will look close to the real one, certainly for a casual look, and still give the the ability to switch it with out twisting the end.  Be that via the front grip or an other switch. Still TBD on that one.  Making it just "passively switched" vs "actively switched" in software controlled would free up a decent amount of real-estate on the board but on the other hand more control more better and you cant change hardware later. 

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Bit more work this week, though not as much.

 

 

The hinge fits both the submicro and normal microswitch.  They have a different feel to them.  The submicro is very light but the standard is pretty solid.  The front screw for the grip is just in the right spot to act on the micro switch.  For the small switch an 8mm screw is about right but for the fill size the standard 6mm is the one you want.  At least I think, I need to mount the hinge to the under barrel to be sure.

 

 

The mounting is slightly different between the 2.  Both use M4 grub screws, the smaller just one in the middle and on the larger 2 fit into the mounting holes on the microswitch.

 

 

It's a little more visible than I'd like when the front grip is hinged down but given you'd probably be holding it I think it should be okay. Maybe swapping to a non-lever type could fix this, but may need a little "button" added to the grip. The screws will face "in" towards the body so even when hinged down they shouldn't be super obvious. 

 

I also hit a wall with the audio on my effects unit.  Basically unless something is already playing the lag on DFPlayer Mini is far too long (between 0.5 and 2 seconds).  I spoke with some one who knows what they're doing in this field and they said they spent ages trying to work around this a while ago and didn't find one either, so went another route.

 

So another route is to be taken!  I have picked out some new parts, which I have yet to order as they are a fair chunk more expensive than what I was using. Well the main board is about 8x what the nano clone costs, the audio board isn't actually too bad.

 

News when I get further I suppose.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Wednesday Update!

 

I've been working on the D ring 

 

I picked up some 32mm rectangular loops, I think for bag straps, from eBay. They are 32x19x5mm.

 

 

To make this work I have adjusted the swivel cap to make it notched so the ring just drops in and is then secured between the swivel cap and end cap. I then cut a small section from the D ring 

 

 

This all then mounts using a 10mm long M3 cap head screw.

 

 

Looks great?  Nope looks way too big.

 

You can see it's way too long, and a bit too chunky.  Time to pixel peep the reference:

 

 

It's not great resolutions but I think the diameter is more like 4mm. The internal measurement looks like it wants to be about 15/16mm.

 

So it's not actually million miles out, though at this scale small differences are a bit obvious. I've just been hunting and found some new loops that seem to be a better match.

 

On to something else I've been working on.  Pew pew noises.

 

I got some new parts. The new development board is a Teensy 4.1. This is a significantly more expensive board than the import nano I was using, about 10x more.  But it is also far more capable.

I have paired this with a small 3W DAC that takes the digital audio from the Teensy and put it out into the 28mm speaker, which is the same sort of size used in lightsabers I think.

 

After a few worrying moments where I thought I'd cooked the board, but turned out to be a bad bread board, I ended up back where I was before with the old setup.

 

I added a 3rd trigger option, currently I imaging I would use this to run the torch from the switch in the front.  I don't have to but once hardware is made you can't change it, software is easy to change.

 

The audio wasn't too hard to add, once I read the examples anyway.  The default amplification is reasonable, but can be significantly increased if wanted though I found this was distorting the small speaker I have.

 

 

The basic concept proven I went back to the PCB for this all to go on.  

 

The biggest concerns are it needs to be small, and I need to be able to get the SD card out still.  This means I need around 10mm clear after the teensy.

 

 

This is roughly where things are.  The capacitor will be laid down to save space. This smooths power in moments of sudden high draw, like say turning on 21 neopixels and a 1W LED all of a sudden.

 

I may or may not use the JST-XH connectors.  It will make removal easier, but they are also a bit bulky.  Soldering would be more reliable but more of a head ache, JST-PH are also an option, smaller but have lower current capabilities, which will matter on the 4x one as that's going to the external power switch on the side of the magazine.

 

 

I've opted for small surface mount parts to save room, but will be a pain to solder.  To make life easier, all SMD are the special hand solder variants to give a bit of a bigger pad to solder to.

 

There's not a lot left to do on this other than "draw the rest of the owl", that's a reference™.

 

I have a few final details to add to the 3D model. Somewhere flat to attach the neopixels to the barrel, somewhere to mount the speaker and I have an idea to help focus the red light for the mag and hengstler I want to try.  Once that's done, I can start printing bits, order some PCBS and do some test building of things.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

I ordered some new D-rings and have given it another go.

 

 

This is a 32x16 with 3.5mm wire, though it was sold as 4mm.  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332599616886?var=541707004666

 

I've taken a picture in roughly the same position as the reference above for comparison.

 

 

I think it's probably still a tiny bit long and maybe a tiny bit thick but close enough for imperial work. That and ordering all these rings is adding up quickly!  32x12x3 is probably on the money.

 

The way they attach is the same as before but I've made the gap a tiny bit wider so if I want I could add in a threaded insert.

 

 

The ring looks some what off centre for some reason.  I measured the error in my cut, and it's only 0.5mm off centre.  So not sure why it looks so off, maybe it's just a case of the ring not being perfectly square or something.  That said no one is going to notice this, worst case I file off 1mm and it will have 0.5mm slop each way.  I cut this one with a Dremel and it gave a far cleaner cut than a hack saw, it was also faster and more accurate, the hack saw cut on the previous ring ended up a lot wider than I meant.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

I have now finished re-printing all the updated white parts that I will be using FDM for.  There's a small handful I want to use resin for but means being in the mood for the fails and clean up!

 

First change, location pins!

 

 

I found this hinge part a bit awkward to align previously, and I also want to try and avoid glue on this if I can to allow for repairs to if needed.  The pins are just off cuts of filament saved when changing rolls.  The parts have a 1.8mm hole in them, it needs a small amount of cleaning with a drill bit to get a perfect fit.  I also have these on the hengstler but those are to follow in black resin.

 

Second change, orientation marks!

 

 

I am also tempted to add a couple of location pins as there is a tiny amount of slop.  I won't re-print though as the part this attaches to is a 7 hour print and would be a waste of filament as it's otherwise fine.

 

Third change, hardware mounts for the holster bolts!

 

 

 

Pictured with the wrong screws, and I will use nyloc nuts as well, this is just what M5 hardware was to hand.

 

The screw size and spacing was checked with @R2Dan and should fit his aluminium holster when I eventually get round to ordering one.  

 

The idea here is to save having to mark up and drill out for the M5 screws when a nylock nut built into the part will be a far better solution, and hopefully stronger.  The design has enough room for a nyloc nut and then the rest is a tight fitting hole so the screw is supported for as much of its length as possible.  I also have a plan to make some real aluminium face plates "on a budget", I just need to get round to finishing them and ordering them.

 

Finally, and just because organic support is cool, the main body of the blaster.

 

 

This is the part I don't fancy reprinting just for the location pins.  I will wait until I have the magazine mount printed before I glue anything to help ensure it all lines up.

 

Next up is all the black FDM parts.  Whilst I have a bunch from previous printing in a box, I noticed that the files changed between me first downloading them and what is current so I wanted to have a full set, the edited version I have been making are based on this updated version.  I may end up building both at some point.

Edited July 24, 2023 by themaninthesuitcase
Fix broken image link

[GermanRedrum]

I am looking for either chrome or polished steel parts for the f-11d, but I can’t find a solution. Anyone know where I could get some?

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

13 hours ago, GermanRedrum said:

I am looking for either chrome or polished steel parts for the f-11d, but I can’t find a solution. Anyone know where I could get some?

Most people just paint them as far as I am aware.  If you look at the reference the more hero weapons appear to be metal, but are a sort of satin ish finish, maybe brushed?, rather than a real polish.  The stunt weapons are just painted silver.  I am not 100% on what I will do yet, I'll probably run off a few tests in the various metal finishes I have to have and pick the best.

 

R2Dan does a machined aluminium plate for the pistol and F-11D iirc.

 

I also have the 1st run of a F-11D plates arriving next week, but still very much a theory until I try them.

Edited December 31, 2023 by themaninthesuitcase

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

On 12/30/2023 at 4:48 PM, GermanRedrum said:

I am looking for either chrome or polished steel parts for the f-11d, but I can’t find a solution. Anyone know where I could get some?

 

They exist, but I'm not aware of anyone consistently producing them at the moment for sale.

 

Edited January 4 by TheRascalKing

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

2 minutes ago, TheRascalKing said:

They're exist, but I'm not aware of anyone consistently producing them at the moment for sale.

I think I remember seeing these now, though as you say it’s not some one doing a regular run. 
 

As I am feeling a bit extra I might see what a run of say 10 scope rings would run to, maybe the support bar thing too. The simpler parts with less machining steps. 

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Delivery day (was Tuesday)!

 

Same place but 2 things.

 

First the main PCBs for my effects setup have come

 

 

(top as the come all joined on 1 assembly, bottom with the daughter boards cut free)

 

There is 1 small balls up, I somehow managed to delete the "mouse bites" before getting them made.  These are a line of small holes that make snapping the 2 extra boards of simple, and tool free.  I've added them back to the files now, just incase I need to make more.  For now I just cut them of with some side cutters.

 

I have the transistors, LEDS and most of the bit to build up a test board but I need to make a parts order for the resistors and a few spare bits.  Seeing as January has approximately 8000 days I'll probably do that next month.

 

For those who know a bit about electronics, I've opted to use SMD parts to keep things small as space is a premium.  So here is a through hole version of the transistor, the kind I am used to and the SMD version.  The exact same part, just a different "package"

 

 

Small and fiddly is an understatement.  At least SMD parts are a fair bit cheaper so I need not worry about parts costs.

 

The other parts that came are the parts for the thigh bracket!

 

These are 2 1mm Aluminium PCBs cut to match the printable ones.  One change I have made is adding the 5mm holes to save having to drill for these.  The spacing is 69m which should give a good fit in an R2Dan holster (once I get one).

 

 

Again there was a small, irritating, balls up.

 

The aluminium PCBs are single sided, so I assumed wrongly that if you ensure there is no copper on them you will get 2 clean aluminium sides.  The reality is that the "copper" side has some kind of grey coating on it. Which on the rear most plate was the side I wanted on show.

 

 

top to bottom : Grey PCB "top" side with poorly placed part number, Aluminium rear side with some text I added to say who made them, Aluminium face sanded with 240 and ruined, Aluminium face sanded with scotch bright probably close enough, Top plate with aluminium face side as expected.

 

I also forgot to move the "part number" to a place it won't show once the fab house populates it. On my design it fit behind the front plate, on the final item it was longer so was on show.  

 

I have also fixed this and will probably order a new set at some point.  No huge rush now as I will be able to prove the theory with these.

 

To try make lemonade I tried to sand the printing off of the 1 aluminium side.  I started with a 240 sand paper and this was FAR too aggressive.  I then tried some scotchbrite.  This mostly worked but has left some small and but visible scratches. Lastly I tried some 800 grit which seems to have worked, a couple of tiny scratches but you have to look to see them.

 

 

Because I know they are there I will almost certainly order some more. I have already updated the production files to ensure they end up how I'd like them.

 

As these come as 2 parts I need to assemble them. To do this, easily and get a good result I've made a jig.  This is 3d printed to a close tolerance to help align everything.

 

 

The bottom plate gets put in first, then apply a few keenly place dots of CA glue and pop the top on. Next is a compression plate and finally 2 5mm bolts go through the whole lot and ensure it's all aligned, and act as clamps while the glue dries.  There are 2 nuts on the bottom side so it's all nice and robust.  This will need to be done reasonably quickly, but I won't use accelerator so should be okay.

 

With any luck I'll test this theory tomorrow but see how it goes.

 

 

 

[Sly11[Admin]]

So much detail work going into this, Chris, what an amazing build thread.

I can't wait to see this one complete and of course a video of it in full action

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Made the first one up using a "medium scratched" back plate.

 

 

Worked almost perfectly.  I used a few small dots of thick CA glue and there was just enough squeeze out to glue it to the jig 

 

I got it out with a bit of careful leverage from one bolt. I will remake the jig with a couple of holes in the back I can poke it out from.  I also did a bit of light dressing to the edge to remove the glue but will see if CA remover does a nicer job.

 

And as for this.

On 1/4/2024 at 6:55 PM, themaninthesuitcase said:

As I am feeling a bit extra I might see what a run of say 10 scope rings would run to, maybe the support bar thing too. The simpler parts with less machining steps. 

 

I was expecting a price of about $ but it was actually not too bad (because China I assume) based on 10 of each scope ring. So each set would be in the $20 ish range at this qty, but I need to buy 10 sets and I have no independent indication of quality atm.  I'll try find some examples of their work and make a decision another time, probably the day after the quote expires.

 

I also requested a price for the scope rail but there was a section that didn't meet the minimum thickness requirements. I could probably make it work for me but then everyone would need a custom matching hub as well so I suspect that's off the table.  I will have a think though, it's a problem with the screw hole location so maybe leaving it off and relying on adhesive is an option.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Small amount of movement, only a test but promising.

 

I thought that having a movable hinge on the front grip could result in a lot of stress on the threads that may eventually just strip out of the blaster.  To fix this I have added some heat set inserts.

 

 

This gives me some nice metal threads that can't wear out.  Similar to how I have added space for nylocs in the body for the "holster" bolts.  In hindsight I wish I had used inserts here as well. If I have to reprint I probably will do.

 

 

I also added them to the magazine mount. I have a power switch mounted here so ease of access is important, and so is a secure fix.

 

These are easy to add.  I just need a hole the right size added the the 3D file, I have values setup for this now.  Once printed I simply drop in an insert which has a "nose" to locate it, and then use a special tip on a soldering iron set to 210C to slowly push them home.

 

 

Dead simple.  

 

Like all projects as I near completion on them I look back and think of all the things I would do differently if I started over and adding these more widely would be one such change.

 

I have some electronics parts on order, so hopefully my next update will be on that front.  I also have some printer updates happening which I am hoping will release the flow on parts I need to complete the build.

 

Then it's "just" paint