OpenBulletFeeder 3D printed bulletfeeder

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  • erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    erwos and ToolAA (or anyone else that has experience), I'm currently trying to decide which 3d printer to go with. I have some time because my wife and I have an agreement...some pieces of the honey do list have to get checked off first. I've got about 3 weeks left and I expect that I'll be ready to order. So the question is: which printer? I'm about 80% already decided on the Prusa Mini, but also considering the Ender (probably 3 pro, maybe v2).
    Prusa Mini is JUST big enough for this. If you are trying to cut it less close, the Ender 3 Pro/V2 would be better. But I'd trust a Prusa far more.
     

    Dalebert

    Active Member
    Apr 15, 2020
    105
    Baltimore County
    Prusa

    Prusa Mini is JUST big enough for this. If you are trying to cut it less close, the Ender 3 Pro/V2 would be better. But I'd trust a Prusa far more.

    Thanks for that...it reinforces the opinions that I've formed from what I've heard everywhere else. Now I'm just disappointed in the fact that they have a two month lead time + shipping time + it will probably be another month before I order...

    By the time I get the 3d printer to play with, ammo will be back in stock.

    Oh well
     

    Dalebert

    Active Member
    Apr 15, 2020
    105
    Baltimore County
    So, I made the above post thanking erwos, then I went in search of a broader 3d printing area of the forum. I didn't find it so I came back here to post again, on a somewhat different, but somewhat related topic. I worked with a friend to print some snap caps and I've been kind of unhappy with them. He used PLA, then did the reprints with something else, (ABS?) a little softer but still not great, the ejector deforms the rim, and the material isn't flexible enough to absorb the impact of the firing pin or bounce back afterward. Now I'm looking at getting him to print something for me on a TPU (or similar) material.

    My idea is to drill out the primer pocket so that it goes all the way through (same diameter) to the powder, then print a piece of TPU in a shape that would replace the powder and also straight out the back of the case to replace the primer.

    I've heard from a few people (everyone I've asked) that TPU is harder to work with than PLA, which is why pretty much everyone starts with PLA.
    Here is what I have so far, but it doesn't look right so I'm questioning some of my measurements: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/de...e=TNVyywcpgluK4ktSAmE-LFapm92yfbaxweEGKBvV9_Y

    Any thoughts on this (by the way, this one is for 9mm, but the goal would be work up one for other calibers also.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    Ok was determined to finish this beast today. I finally got all of the hardware dialed in and the electronics all wired up. Ran about 300 projectiles through and still had 1-2 bullets end up nose down, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

    3ca4b1b7a241038767f1b3b862461a00.jpg


    823f6cc0fefc111158f8a1e51d42b11f.jpg


    d9730fa02e27881832c40c569e70cbbc.jpg


    Probably the most complex 3D print session so far. But I think I’ll get back my 20+ hrs of time in reloading time savings over the next few months
     

    Dalebert

    Active Member
    Apr 15, 2020
    105
    Baltimore County
    Is anyone able to get to the links that ToolAA provided to other 3d printing threads? For me they all came up as "you do not have sufficient privileges"

    Are they behind the '50 posts wall' that I've heard so much about? If so, I'll work on making more posts, but I prefer to only respond when I can actually add something to the conversation in general, so it may be a little bit.

    Thanks for the direction though...in another 10 posts I'll make sure that I check them out.

    Also, ToolAA, your OpenBulletFeeder looks absolutely awesome!
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    ToolAA

    That is very impressive..:party29:


    I got a chance to test it out for real today and made a little video.

    https://youtu.be/mbDzKPImdho

    There are still some problems to work out as follows:

    1) The funnel tube on the case loader is pretty wide and occasionally a case falls in at an odd angle and wedges sideways. I may need to sand it smooth inside or design a new funnel.

    2) I chose to get a capacitive proximity sensor. It only has a 4mm range. Sometimes when the cases fill up the tube the case lands just outside of the range so the indexer keeps running and eventually the funnel fills up and it jams.

    3) The bullet feeder flipper plate may not be adjusted just right. One out of 40-50 projectiles goes into the feed tube nose down. Probably just some more fiddling needed to figure out just the right setting.

    4) Sometimes the projectiles seem to get jammed inside of my hornady bullet seater die. This may be because the diameter of the clear plastic tube is slightly larger than the aluminum ones that came with the die. Probably some dremmel tool work is required to smooth out any ridge in the die.

    5) The bullet seater was never 100% reliable anyway before I built the other addons. However now when trying to load at a rate of 10-15 rounds per minute it puts a real damper on efficiency. I really need to tweak this.

    6) The other problems I have are really with my bench and the LNL press. My bench has a bit of flex so I need to reinforce the area under the press. Also the press is about 6” too low. I notice it more as I’m trying to crank out rounds faster. Also the indexing of the Hornady needs to be adjusted somehow. I would say 1:10 cycles the plate does not click
    Into the exact position. Its like 1-2° shy of locking in.

    However I’m confident I’ll work out these bugs.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    Is anyone able to get to the links that ToolAA provided to other 3d printing threads? For me they all came up as "you do not have sufficient privileges"

    Are they behind the '50 posts wall' that I've heard so much about? If so, I'll work on making more posts, but I prefer to only respond when I can actually add something to the conversation in general, so it may be a little bit.

    Thanks for the direction though...in another 10 posts I'll make sure that I check them out.

    Also, ToolAA, your OpenBulletFeeder looks absolutely awesome!


    You just need to behave yourself and make 10 more useful post then great wonders will await you.
     

    gre24ene

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 6, 2012
    1,519
    I got a chance to test it out for real today and made a little video.

    https://youtu.be/mbDzKPImdho

    There are still some problems to work out as follows:

    1) The funnel tube on the case loader is pretty wide and occasionally a case falls in at an odd angle and wedges sideways. I may need to sand it smooth inside or design a new funnel.

    2) I chose to get a capacitive proximity sensor. It only has a 4mm range. Sometimes when the cases fill up the tube the case lands just outside of the range so the indexer keeps running and eventually the funnel fills up and it jams.

    3) The bullet feeder flipper plate may not be adjusted just right. One out of 40-50 projectiles goes into the feed tube nose down. Probably just some more fiddling needed to figure out just the right setting.

    4) Sometimes the projectiles seem to get jammed inside of my hornady bullet seater die. This may be because the diameter of the clear plastic tube is slightly larger than the aluminum ones that came with the die. Probably some dremmel tool work is required to smooth out any ridge in the die.

    5) The bullet seater was never 100% reliable anyway before I built the other addons. However now when trying to load at a rate of 10-15 rounds per minute it puts a real damper on efficiency. I really need to tweak this.

    6) The other problems I have are really with my bench and the LNL press. My bench has a bit of flex so I need to reinforce the area under the press. Also the press is about 6” too low. I notice it more as I’m trying to crank out rounds faster. Also the indexing of the Hornady needs to be adjusted somehow. I would say 1:10 cycles the plate does not click
    Into the exact position. Its like 1-2° shy of locking in.

    However I’m confident I’ll work out these bugs.

    getting 404 error
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    Thanks. Ill look

    https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4557392/files

    This looks like it would work perfectly. Would really like 2 if possible.


    Something is going on with links in this thread. I tried to download the link but I got a 404 error. I even tried on my laptop.

    Well there are a bunch of primer tube holders out there so I just downloaded which one I thought looked the best.

    Just finished printing.

    7ea3fd1e7d4afec0be871e4d7b1e7105.jpg


    I’ll bring them to work Wednesday just PM me when you think you can stop by.
     

    carpentermatt

    Active Member
    Feb 9, 2009
    208
    Saw that you used a 3d printer to put together a case feeder for your Hornady press. I've debated buying a case feeder for a long time and came across your post and then watched the video of the one you built in operation and now I'm considering attempting to print and build one myself.

    I had a couple of questions if you don't mind taking a few minutes to answer.
    How difficult was the process and about how much time did it take? Was there a lot of tinkering to get it to operate properly? What changes would you make to the design if any? I don't have any experience with 3d printers, is there a big learning curve to get them set up properly? I was thinking to buy one of the Ender 3v2, any thoughts on that model?
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    I had a couple of questions if you don't mind taking a few minutes to answer.

    Lets tackle your questions in reverse order, because I think the answers may make more sense as a possible solution for you.

    Q: I don't have any experience with 3d printers, is there a big learning curve to get them set up properly?

    In general I would describe the learning curve for 3D printing as "accessible to anyone and everyone with the desire to learn. One of the biggest factors to making the information accessible is the sheer amount of online self-help, self-learning, DIY and How-To resources.

    Now the speed at which one masters the information really has a lot to do with your own technical and professional background. Here are the skills that setting up a 3D printer and printing parts will draw on:

    • Mechanical understanding and assembly
    • Basic electronics, use a multi-meter and understand basic wiring concepts.
    • Solid grasp of using windows/mac to download and transfer firmware to your 3D printer and connecting it to your home network.
    • Learn how to use 3D Printing Slicer Programs and understand how the slicer parameters impact the strength and quality of the printed parts.
    • CAD Drafting and 3D design/modeling to create your own designs or modify the designs of others.

    If you have 3 of the above skills or abilities, you'll probably be able to teach yourself the skills necessary to be successful. I will say that while I could have attempted to build all of the parts for case and bullet feeder within a few weeks of getting my 3D printer, I will say the designs and parts were significantly complex that I probably would have had quite a few failed prints before I was successful. So if you are just starting out learning the new skill of 3D printing, I would expect that it may take 1-3 months of learning the ropes before I would tackle such a large and complex build.

    Q: I was thinking to buy one of the Ender 3v2, any thoughts on that model?

    I do not have the Ender 3 myself, but it has a great reputation of being a perfect starter printer for someone just getting into the hobby. It's perfectly capable of making all of the parts in PLA. If you can afford more, and think that a 3D Printer will be a permanent part of your workroom, maybe consider the CR10 V3 or the Prusa MK2.

    Q: How difficult was the process and about how much time did it take?

    From a difficulty standpoint, some of the parts were moderately difficult to print, in that they are large and take 8-14hrs to print. So if your printing process is not really dialed in, you could get half way through the print hand then have some unexpected failure. If you have unlimited time and money to waste on re-printing designs then, eventually you'll figure it out, but in my opinion I would get some smaller prints under my belt before tackling some of these parts.

    Q: Was there a lot of tinkering to get it to operate properly?

    To some degree yes there was, but from my understanding a lot of the case feeders and bullet feeders out there all have some degree of "Tinkering" to get them tuned in. I do not have any other experience with commercial designs, but I will say that the tinkering that I had to do took several hours and even resulted in a few small design changes to get better results. i made some changes to the device which actually pushes the case into the holder to make it more reliable. However I am still having some cases getting stuck in the feed. For the bullet feeder, it's a bit tricky to dial in the correct speed, and position of the incline to get the bullets to flip into the correct orientation. Even when it's setup well, I still get maybe 1 in 30 projectiles dropping into the tube backwards. Also in my case, I'm using the hornaday actual bullet drop adapter in the press. The design is somewhat unreliable and it's something that I really need to change. My biggest issue is not with the 3D printed parts but rather the Hornaday device. There are times when I can knock out 50 rounds without an issue and then I'll have a string of attempts where the projectile will NOT drop into the case.

    Q: What changes would you make to the design if any?

    First and foremost I need to figure out how to improve the bullet seater. Either fix or modify the Hornaday tool or make a new one.

    I'm using a capacitive sensor to detect when the case loader tube is full. Occasionally, the sensor simply does not detect a case. I'm thinking to taking this out and using a LED and photosensor combination which I think will be more reliable.

    I'm still looking how to improve the reliability of the bullet indexer. I would love it if I could get 1:500 failures instead of 1:50.

    To Recap, I would say I've really enjoyed building this. There is no doubt that it's a much cheaper way to add efficiency to the LNL. However, in your case, unless you REALLY want to learn how to 3D Print, it might just be cheaper and faster to simply purchase the devices directly from Hornady.

    Good Luck!
     

    carpentermatt

    Active Member
    Feb 9, 2009
    208
    Thanks for taking the time to reply and for the excellent information. Not sure if I want to take the time to learn another hobby or just buy a off the shelf case feeder but you have given me a lot to think about.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    Anybody still have the stl's for the hornady and ammomike stuff?


    I have the Ammo Mike STL’s that I downloaded as well as the custom parts I modified and or designed myself. What parts specifically do you need? I believe the AmmoMike stuff is still available online. Have you checked Thingverse or his blog? I can post my own stuff on Thingverse.
     

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