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3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

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Sporkboy
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Re: 3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by Sporkboy »

I am now breaking spring bars!!!
[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 18d1d0.jpg[/IMG]

These were with rev. 1.5 printed on a 45 degree angle. They aren’t pretty, but able to kill 1.5mm spring bars. I have some 1.8 ones on order.

[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 4666ec.jpg[/IMG]
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Re: 3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by Sporkboy »

OK, a slightly bigger update for the end of the day. I was just so excited that the adapters stopped breaking that I had to share. I am testing 4 different 45 degree orientations to see if there is one that prints well and looks good. That print is running now.

[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... e6eb1d.jpg[/IMG]
Here we have rev. 1.4 and 1.5 with the little wedges.
Oddly enough the break simply shifted to the end of the wedge.
[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 83c2f3.jpg[/IMG]

If I add a rectangle closer to the center and push the wedges out then that should help further. I am hoping that doing so will allow me to print vertically as it is cleaner, uses less support plastic and is quicker to clean up before use.

At any rate, the broken spring bars means that at least functionally, I am very close to having someone other than myself use a set of these. I may need to end up printing these in another material anyway since PLA is sensitive to high temperatures which could lead to failure. There is the annealing process, but I lack the equipment to do so in any accurate and reproducible fashion.
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3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by Sporkboy »

[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... d91cd2.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... cbb626.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... c1f21b.jpg[/IMG]

Behold, rev. 1.5 at the best angle. It looks pretty good. Not perfect, but much better.

[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 3e2127.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 2aa2f5.jpg[/IMG]

As you can see, the topside looks OK, but the bottom is messier. That is the trade off with the technology. It will never look injection molded, but the function is what I am after here. That I can even do something like this is pretty amazing to me.

[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... b0ed01.jpg[/IMG]
Here we have the orientation that worked out best. I am tweaking settings to try to make it a bit creamer, but I am approaching a happy place with the process.

Things pending:
-a few angles cutouts/additions so that it looks more like it belongs on a gshock and not something with so many straight angles.
- they take 23mm spring bars and not 22.
-additional stress testing /springbar destruction.
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Re: 3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by watchpalooza »

Sporkboy wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:58 pm [IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... d91cd2.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... cbb626.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... c1f21b.jpg[/IMG]

Behold, rev. 1.5 at the best angle. It looks pretty good. Not perfect, but much better.

[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 3e2127.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 2aa2f5.jpg[/IMG]

As you can see, the topside looks OK, but the bottom is messier. That is the trade off with the technology. It will never look injection molded, but the function is what I am after here. That I can even do something like this is pretty amazing to me.

[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... b0ed01.jpg[/IMG]
Here we have the orientation that worked out best. I am tweaking settings to try to make it a bit creamer, but I am approaching a happy place with the process.

Things pending:
-a few angles cutouts/additions so that it looks more like it belongs on a gshock and not something with so many straight angles.
- they take 23mm spring bars and not 22.
-additional stress testing /springbar destruction.
I wonder if it is possible to 3-D print the inverse as a mold, and then cast the piece.
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Re: 3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by Sporkboy »

FTE wrote: I wonder if it is possible to 3-D print the inverse as a mold, and then cast the piece.
You could. It would be a solid piece, but still have what looks like layer lines. The more often used approach is to print a positive, smooth it somehow and do a version of lost wax casting.

Using a metal 3D printer would also work, but I am not sure how big the benefits could be over machining a piece of steel.

What material were you envisioning for a cast?
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Re: 3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by watchpalooza »

Sporkboy wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 8:28 pm
FTE wrote: I wonder if it is possible to 3-D print the inverse as a mold, and then cast the piece.
You could. It would be a solid piece, but still have what looks like layer lines. The more often used approach is to print a positive, smooth it somehow and do a version of lost wax casting.

Using a metal 3D printer would also work, but I am not sure how big the benefits could be over machining a piece of steel.

What material were you envisioning for a cast?
I was thinking the piece itself would be molded from an ABS-like plastic material, so the mold would need to be able to withstand holding the melted state of that material. Either a high-temperature plastic or metal would seem fit.
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Re: 3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by Sporkboy »

FTE wrote:
Sporkboy wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 8:28 pm
FTE wrote: I wonder if it is possible to 3-D print the inverse as a mold, and then cast the piece.
You could. It would be a solid piece, but still have what looks like layer lines. The more often used approach is to print a positive, smooth it somehow and do a version of lost wax casting.

Using a metal 3D printer would also work, but I am not sure how big the benefits could be over machining a piece of steel.

What material were you envisioning for a cast?
I was thinking the piece itself would be molded from an ABS-like plastic material, so the mold would need to be able to withstand holding the melted state of that material. Either a high-temperature plastic or metal would seem fit.
With casting ABS, or any other plastic, we are now in injection molding territory. This is beyond my area of ‘expertise’ in manufacturing techniques, but I do have some thoughts...

The material would have to withstand the temperatures and pressures of the molding process and then be able to release the material. Metal is usually used for these types of molds.

With molding. I believe that you would need to drill out the holes in the post processing stage. This would require a drill press and appropriate jigs. Unless you wanted to make a large quantity of these then injection molding is probably not a great option. Metal molds cost in the hundreds of dollar range, though once they are made the cost per part is trivial. Usually the rule of thumb is that if you need thousands of something then injection molding makes sense. That said, some people do injection molding on the ‘hobby’ level. I am thinking about the person you that makes LEGO compatible guns.

Alternatively, the print could just be done with ABS, which I can work on after getting the PLA version down. I have been using PLA as it is the friendliest to use as far as fumes and ease of use goes.

I would also like to try this in PETG (soda bottle plastic) as this is a nice tough material. Printing in Nylon is also an option, but I am not equipped for that.

What technique is used depends on if one wants to sell these things in quantity. Personally, I do not since I like hobbies to stay hobbies. Opportunities keep popping up, but I am no entrepreneur.
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Re: 3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by Sporkboy »

I have been continuing to refine the design and I am up to rev. 1.10. The pile of old models is growing.
[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... bd3e22.jpg[/IMG]

I have made a few small additions, but the little wings on the side make the model more difficult to print, so the will have to go.
[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 920957.jpg[/IMG]
It still won’t work with 22mm springbars, but that isn’t urgent at the moment.
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3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

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The wings are gone, and I have decided to try to print vertically again as this generates the cleanest prints that are easy to clean up after printing. To that end I am beefing up the weaker areas considerably. If this works thenI will send out beta test adapters out later this week[emoji3][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... d5aad5.jpg[/IMG]
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Re: 3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by Sporkboy »

Rev. 1.15 is back to breaking spring bars and I even managed to bend the 18mm ones, so now the adapters don’t fit flush. [IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 084aa8.jpg[/IMG]

Anyway, it isn’t perfect by any means, but it will work for Beta testing.

[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... c9e883.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... fcd4dd.jpg[/IMG]
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Re: 3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by Sporkboy »

Heading to the post office with beta tester parcels. Printed a couple in orange just for fun.
[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 1ca031.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 09ae82.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201903 ... 98af16.jpg[/IMG]
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Re: 3D Printed 5600 NATO Adapters- Work In Progress

Post by Boourns »

Hey [mention]Sporkboy[/mention] what's the status on these? Can I buy a set for my 5610 from you?
I wish that watch were 38mm?
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