My name is Craig Easter, a hobbyist/freelance 3D designer, intermediate 3D printing enthusiast, and beginner programmer. I like technology projects that relate to both back-end and front-end operations of information technology systems, such as database, network, and systems admin. I also enjoy tinkering with 3D printers, Ardunios, and Raspberry Pi.
Tokyo Marui 5.1 HiCapa 3D-Printed Carbine Kit Build (Part 2)
by Joker Tool Works
Disclaimer: This is NOT a kit for a real firearm! Don't do that! It's illegal and dangerous!
0.1)Introduction
Last time, we modeled the kit, and started
printing the minor components. After printing a few mockups, a lot of the parts weren't quite to spec, so a ground-up redesign began. Over the course of nearly a year, the design of the kit is "finished". Let's talk about what's changed, and experiments that took place in between.
An image of the V1 kit. Note that the safety and slide release don't
have much space, and the walls of the receiver piece are very thin.
1) An Experiment
The first of an experimental prototype for improving the kit.
In this test, I made two different variations of the carbine kit. This, the first version, "prototype V0.1," was meant to retain the stock solution and charging handle from the previous model, but was built more carefully around the slide and frame dimensions. This kit printed with some success, but was underwhelming (as it was only meant to "actually work").
This kit is currently available publically to download for free here. Bear in mind that its replacement will soon be uploaded.
The second of the experimental prototype line.
This version of the kit, "Prototype V0.2" kept the same stock solution and general dimensions of V0.1, but added a raised portion on top to facilitate a top-charging handle. While this functioned great, the changes it necessitated for the aesthetic were horrible, and I decided against using this design.
Luckily, after posting the V0.1 to Thingiverse, I received a lot of useful feedback - things such as splitting the receiver into multiple pieces, printing rails directly to the receiver, and ergonomic considerations were mentioned. All of these thoughts have, in one way or another, gone into the official V2 of the carbine kit.
2) Improvements
Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado...
Hi-Capa 5.1 Carbine Kit V2.0, available for free soon.
Version 2.0 of the carbine kit incorporates a bulked-out receiver with better grip detail on the spare magazine holder, an enhanced semi-retained charging handle design, and uses an AR buffer tube and stock rather than the two-bar system of the previous design. The "forward" receiver is divided into five main parts - upper, lower, front, mag grip, and action camera mount. These parts are all readily printable on a 22cm-class 3D printer, making the kit accessible to pretty much anyone with a modern printer, as was the intention. If the action camera is not desired, the resulting hole can be filled with a square peg, which will also be available in the final kit files. With these changes, the kit can reliably be printed out of simple PLA or PLA+ without worry of the kit destroying itself easily.
The only remaining part of this kit that needs to be addressed is the angle of the grip plate. The receiver and grip plate will both have to be printed for me to verify that they're lined up properly, however; if they are, then this kit is absolutely ready for public release.
A preliminary printing of the new dimensions of the forward receiver has proven very promising. Pictures will be up in part 3.
Nearly done now. One more part after this to get it all set up.
With the lid attached, it's finally time to remove the blue cling film from the plexiglass.
It's so large that I, a 6'0", 200lbs man can fit physically inside of it with the lid closed (which I had to do, in order to mend some of the Reflectex around the window after gracefully striking it with my knee in self-defense). The lid, if I had to estimate, has a lifting force requirement of around 80lbs. It can be somewhat uncomfortably opened with one arm. Due to this weight, I have no worries now about the liftgate struts working as intended. I will also likely have to sit inside of the enclosure to install the liftgate struts.
Although I knew this would be a side-effect of the design, in which all corners of the enclosure were sealed, I did not expect the enclosure to be as airtight. Sitting inside of it with the lid on is, in a word, suffocating. The pressure on your ear drums is maddening.
With the enclosure all done, it's time to put the printer in its new home.
Thanks for following along with this journey, thanks to Creality for retweeting my build on Twitter, and thanks to Enotepad for sending me a free spool of filament!
Moving along with the build, I've started putting the insulation in place:
I'm using "Reflectex" aluminum insulation - it kind of feels like bubble wrap with tinfoil on either side. I'm also using Loctite spray adhesive and a staple gun to secure it. The entire inside of the enclosure will be insulated with this material, though it is only really necessary around the bottom of the enclosure. I had to purchase a massive roll of it anyway, and it was cheap, so it's not a big deal.
The lid, which hasn't been photographed for a while, is now painted and has the window attached:
You can still see some of the OSB through the paint, but as I intend on muralizing the exterior, I'm not worried about it.
It is held in with 1/8th" wood cuts held on with wood glue, as well as outdoor silicon sealant around the edges on the interior and exterior sides. While I'm sealing it in the way you might do to waterproof or air seal an environment, this is more to prevent dust from infiltrating around the window. Not pictures is also that the entire interior of the enclosure is now covered in the Reflectex insulation.
I put liftgate struts and mounting pegs on order, but they will take two days to arrive. In the mean time, I'll simply be chucking the door open with a 2x2 beam cut to length. And being very careful not to smack it out of the way while doing so.
With all that sorted, it's finally time to attach the lid to the enclosure and clean up my mess! Once all the adhesives dry, anyway...
Skills we'll be using:
-3D Design (Advanced)
-Carpentry (Beginner/Intermediate)
Recently, I started building the enclosure for my Creality CR-10 S5, here-on referred to as "S5". I needed a VERY large enclosure to fit the printer. The cabinet in the render above is 1.82m tall.
First, I needed to dissect the 3D model into pieces with accurate dimensions. This whole process took around 4 hours, just making the dimensions more realistic and ensuring everything was square.
Then I needed to determine the amount of space needed by the printer. It ended up needing about 76.2cm of Z-axis clearance, 71cm of X-axis clearance, and an insane 1.09m of Y-axis clearance to provide the space needed to move the 50cm^2 bed's full length of travel. I also wanted interior lighting, an acrylic window, and one or two shelves underneath. It was also the idea to line the entire enclosure interior with aluminum reflective material, both as a fire retardant measure and to enhance the heat trapped in the enclosure.
Beginning with the shelving frame, I spent about 4 hours cutting the wood and manufacturing this (I am not very experienced in carpentry, and this ended up rather shoddy, in my opinion, but it works).
I then needed to tackle the enclosure base frame and lid frame.
For the entire 2x2 frame, I used wood glue to stiffen the joins. This worked incredibly well.
After adding the shelving, the frame became much more rigid, but I noticed two of the diagonally opposed corners were lifting upward. This would have to be corrected later after adding casters.
After building the frame for the lid, I noticed that the enclosure would be nearly 2.3m tall when the lid was opened, in my garage which has a 2m ceiling clearance. To get around this, I had to trim off the bottom shelf. This lowered the amount of storage the unit provides, but it prevented sacrificing the entire project.
I then began carefully cutting fitted body panels out of OSB. The two wood panels on the lid's sides were surely the most difficult. The front panel is not pictured because it had not yet been attached, and fitment was being checked. Namely, I needed to make sure the lid would slide in and out of the exterior side panels of the enclosure smoothly. There is around 3mm of "play" at the rear of the lid, and almost 1cm of "play" toward the front. While not looking the best, this means the lid will NEVER strike the sides of the enclosure, which was the whole point.
Once locking casters were added, maneuvering the unit around the shop became MUCH easier - however, as previously mentioned, I did have to shim two of the casters to prevent the cabinet from wobbling. I don't believe it's 100% level, but then again, neither is the floor of my garage.
I have begun painting the enclosure using white exterior house paint. Using this kind of paint will make it so that the paint will actually dry despite the cold, damp air present in my neighborhood at this time. It will also leave a very strong, watertight coating around the printer, in the event the enclosure ever needs to be cleaned.
Part 2 will cover installation of the insulation material and prepping the lid for attachment.
Tokyo Marui 5.1 HiCapa 3D-Printed Carbine Kit Build (Part 1)
by Joker Tool Works Disclaimer: This is NOT a kit for real firearms. First, using this kit on an actual firearm would be a violation of the National Firearms Act, because you'd be converting a pistol into a Short-Barrel Rifle (SBR). Second, that would be INCREDIBLY dangerous, as no parts of this kit would survive under the recoil impact, gas expansion, and powder burn of a real firearm. This is EXCLUSIVELY for airsoft devices, which shoot a 6mm plastic BB at non-lethal velocities using air or high-pressure gas, such as CO2, "green gas" (silicon-impregnated propane), HFC134a (duster gas), and High-Pressure Air (HPA - compressed air).
0.1)Introduction
I have recently decided that, with my 3D printer,
I want to create an original design for a carbine kit, specifically for Tokyo
Marui (TM)-pattern 5.1 HiCapa airsoft pistols.
Objective: Create a carbine conversion kit for a
TM 5.1 that will provide the following: a stable shouldering platform; a
forward grip; second-magazine retention compartment; facilitate accessories
top-of-receiver and under-the-barrel; able to sustain damage from regular use
during airsoft matches.
1)Conceptualization
The first step was designing a very simple
version of the end product. This version, hereto referred to as V1 or Version
1, lacked several major details that would be visible on the final product. I
wanted to capture design elements from series such as Mass Effect (specifically
human SMGs and pistols) and Halo (like the SMG and Magnum pistol).
Initial Concept
After the basic concept of the kit was established, I needed
to start modelling how the parts would lay and coexist with each other.
2) Version 1 and Prototype
V1 kit “finished”.
With the concept fleshed out, I didn’t like the stock design
(see how it’s sitting lower on the guide rods than the inlets in the stock
would suggest? I was having issues with how I wanted to place the stock). I
initially had proposed a mixture of a gutter sight and a standard pistol sight
arrangement. This would later be changed to a traditional gutter sight design.
This design was used for two reasons: One, the primary use of this chassis is
with a red dot or light-magnification pistol scope; Two, gutter sights are more
than sufficient for airsoft purposes.
With the core elements all present, I decided it was time to
print the first prototype of the primary receiver group to ensure proper
fitment and operation.
Version 1 receiver group
prototype. Printed in Hatchbox White PLA at 0.2mm resolution.
In the end, the tolerances against the slide were too tight,
and there wasn’t enough height to properly clear the sights. Also, the trigger
guard slot needed to be extended. The spare magazine holder, using only
friction to hold the spare magazine, was very sufficient in terms of retention,
though may later be assisted with the use of a simple Velcro strap attached to
the sides. These changes were instituted in the second iteration, hereto
referred to as V2 or Version 2.
3) Version 2 and Iterations
V2 concept.
In V2, an optional barrel extension with an adapter was
added. This would allow the user to “swap out” different muzzle devices, such
as extensions, tracer units, and a standard muzzle. These would be retained
using two M3 screws installed into either side of the receiver. An additional
point of retention to the airsoft pistol was also added – two screwholes on
either side of the rear receiver group that mesh with the HiCapa’s grip screws.
Here, we can also see the institution of a “traditional” gutter sight, and the
re-design of the stock. The new stock design reflects more elements from the
Sig MCX pistol-caliber carbine, while still remaining quite simple. This may be
re-designed before the final version for increased aesthetic appeal and
reduction in printing materials/time. Additionally, at the concerns of a friend
for stock mount durability, the stock retaining brackets were extended.
At this point, I began playing with a rear grip extension,
functioning to create a “thumbhole”- like component to the build.
Not a fan…
While the design did look a little tighter with the stock
collapsed, it fell apart with the stock extended. Of course, more detail could’ve
gone into the grip extension area, but I didn’t really like how the look was
changing, so I decided to move forward without it.
While designing this kit, I’ve been in nearly-constant
contact with a person who’s very strongly considering buying a copy of the kit
once it’s finished and proven. I made some visualizations for him so he could
see how it would look in his desired configuration and coloring.
He mentioned at this point that it was also very reminiscent
of the Killzone Spec Ops SMG.
However, at this point, I wasn’t fully satisfied with two
elements of the build: First, I wanted an under-barrel accessory slot; Second,
the charging handle design seemed fairly weak.
V2 charging handle, V2
muzzle adapter, and V2/V3 receiver joining pins/brackets. Printed in Hatchbox
White PETG at 0.1mm resolution.
Due to the nature of the one-piece forward receiver design,
the charging handle would have to be printed in two or more parts. I had
figured at the time that printing the charging handle in bilateral sections
would result in the strongest product, but this was changed for the final
version. Unfortunately, this join ended up being very weak, which caused the
join on the female side to crack both times I printed it. While this would still
work with chemical bonding (we will talk about the trials and tribulations of
chemically bonding PETG later), and the crossbar itself should be quite strong
when bonded, I decided that a better solution would be needed. However, due to
the sheer strength of PETG in this application, I’m not worried at all about
those thin “guide rail” tabs toward the rear of the charging handle. I can bend
those tabs completely 90 degrees and then reset them to the proper position
with no visible damage to the material. While this would work-harden the
material and eventually break it over repeated abuse, it was an inspirational
moment of the build process – that, and a confidence builder in the accuracy of
my printer at this stage. PETG is printing at a much higher quality than even
PLA on my printer.
Video demonstrating the
flexibility and strength of the material used for these parts.
With this in consideration, I moved forward to address the
problems.
3) Version 3 to Present
With the lessons learned from V2, I moved forward with
design elements. I also added a new feature: a GoPro “fork” joint that can be
replaced with a block of material if the mount is not being used.
Feature Creep at its
finest.
It is retained with an M4 screw.
I also extended the forward receiver to accommodate an
under-the-barrel picatinny rail mount:
Version 3 concept - finalization
stage.
Due to the size of the rear receiver and grip extension
sections, they needed to be bilaterally separated and have joins designed. A
solid mounting method to join the rear and forward receivers also needed to be
designed. To avoid the printing size restrictions, I separated the rear
receiver and grip extension into two pieces each, and simply cut “puzzle piece”
joins for each assembly. These would later be chemically bonded and sanded
flush. To mount the rear and forward receivers, a series of 16 holes with
matching “barrels” were cut through the rear and forward receivers, which
would, again, be chemically bonded and sanded flush.
In addition to this, I needed to address the charging handle
concerns. I approached this in two ways.
First, I extended the contact plate of the charging handle
by several times. This gave it a more substantial amount of applied force, as
well as more stability. Additionally, the charging handle existing in this
configuration would reduce and side-to-side “wobbly” of the charging handle
during pushback.
Second, I added a spring guide and “guide” section to the
forward receiver and charging handle respectively. This would further control
the charging handle while also allowing space for a spring to sit between the
face of the HiCapa slide and the charging handle. This results in a fully
non-reciprocating charging handle.
With these two fixes in place, I separated the charging
handle assembly into four pieces – the charging handles on either side (with an
inlay cut for mounting); a central “sled” (which was able to slide between the
charging handle slots for installation); and the “loop” as its own piece
(again, with slots for mounting). The intention is that the “sled” will be
installed with one side of the charging handle already chemically bonded to it,
then the second charging handle would be chemically bonded while the assembly
is in the forward receiver. Finally, the “loop” would be chemically bonded to
the bottom of the sled, resulting in one large piece of PETG for the charging
handle. This resulted in a much more robust charging handle with less
side-to-side play – a much-needed and highly-concerning aspect of the build.
Part 2 coming soon. All parts for the build are currently in the process of printing.
