3D printed AR-15 magazine
- Thread starter SCDL
- Start date
Darn!
The five round mag in the original post has been taken down by thingiverse! I'd have asked a friend who's just got a 3D printer to make one to test out.
Has anyone here already downloaded it to share or know where I can find the file?
The five round mag in the original post has been taken down by thingiverse! I'd have asked a friend who's just got a 3D printer to make one to test out.
Has anyone here already downloaded it to share or know where I can find the file?
Defcad is great, but I cannot find the five round magazine in their downloads, which is the one I'm after, as it's something that I'd be able to print and use, rather than collecting files of AR lowers, mags and silencers that would constitute little more than a political statement about the futility of gun laws.
You want a 5 round? I can do that. Why not ask me? Hell, I can cut down the IGES file for the 30 round to whatever size you want. Toss in a workplane wherever you want and say "slice". Done. Add a few nubs for the base plate and Bob's your uncle...
Where abouts is your friend... Is he interested in trying a .458 Socom mag...?
That rib is for stiffness, not specific to 5.56 5.56 double stacks on either side of it. It's the same reason why Alexander Arms states that the maximum overall length of .50 Beowulf is limited slightly due to the fact that the polymer magazines have a stiffening rib on the front inside surface. This is non-existent in stamped magazines.
I could remove it. I just dont' know what the net effect will be. It might play a role in keeping the follower aligned better. Remember, a stamped magazine has more internal ridges down both sides, which ensure follower alignment, whereas a pmag only has one on either side.
There are other reasons I can see in this design why 458 Socom might not feed reliably out of it. Not to mention using 458 Socom on a mag will probably get you sued for trademark infringment. lol The owner of it is pretty sticky about it apparently.
I haven't notched the front of the magazine out deeper for .458 SOCOM, whcih is what's required in order for them to feed from standard GI mags.
I could just mark it as being ".45 caliber equivalent" then.....
It's kinda a work in progress. I've only put about 2 1/2 hours into the design based on the defcad models, and my own pmag takeoff.
I am very I interested in this I will pm for some more info.
I've made quite a few 3D printed parts from Shapeways (a company in the netherlands).
They use a Nylon-12 (IIRC) material for their plastic, the "strong Flexible" type and can dye it.
Its very cool for making prototypes and for certain parts, for example I made magazine baseplates for my handgun that are extended so I can use a flared mag well. The down side is YES, the material isn't extremely strong, and under certain types of load the feed lips would definitely crack, or something would break on it.
I also made an MP5-SD handguard for my USC-UMP conversion (although I don't use it often) which has a very skeletonized interior to reduce cost mainly, it's still about 1/8th inch thick at most places which is the minimum I would go for anything structural. It still has 2/3rds of the handguard supported by the factory USC receiver.
So while it's a very cool way to make stuff, and some structural parts are feasible to make - Something like a magazine is not, unless you had the space to make thick feed lips. If you wanted to make a single or 1.5x stack magazine then it would possibly work, but it will wear out quite quickly. The fibreglass re-enforced nylon 6-6 or Nylon-6 they use for most gun/magazine parts is an extremely strong plastic for it's weight and volume.
ETA
That would be a perfect type of project for Shapeways. I don't have an LAR 10-rounder (or a pinned 30 rounder) but It would be very easy to make something like that, and for the time and energy probably a very good price too.
If you have a .STL (Stereolithograph) file, you can upload to shapeways with that file, they even have a "dyed black" version of the White-stong-and-flexible although it's a bit light for my tastes, its died deep enough that light scratches won't show.
If you have any measurements for the stuff, I could do some 3D modeling and upload it to my shapeways account and have it listed for anybody to purchase (I don't have a business account so it's just payment to shapeways! FYI). If you're interested shoot me a PM
If that's the case, simply make the front end that much thicker. The magazine will be more durable for it and only cost pennies more.
On a side-note. Can someone jot down the functional dimensions for the .308 AIA Enfield magazines?
I'd like to know this as well.
