gear is gear

thats all you need to know

Oh cool thanks for the advice.

You're welcome

Crye time

Have any of you guys messed around with printing gear/gun parts? I have a printer and i really want to try printing a lower on it. I just need to put the stock print head back on so I can print a better cooling nozzle for the upgraded print head.

That lower is going to be complete garbage

even if ar lowers don't go through all that much stress

Tactical knee holes.

Just use your stupid machine to make magazines

Sure, try it

They only have to work for the first 30 rounds

and you can just use piano wire

Depends. If you use the right material and treat it right (ie, anneal it, vapor bath, etc depending on the material) it can be fairly strong. I would start with pla but once I get the hang of it, I would try nylon or something, maybe with carbon fiber filling. A few pieces of aluminum can probably reinforce any areas that you can't get to be structurally reliable with those methods.

@Red Korvo I don't have kneepads for them yet

@Red Korvo printed lowers are shit and are a stopgap

What's the long term solution? Home CNC machines?

suicide

Nice.

like what is your purpose
because sure running a machine shop from your house is the best option for almost-sufficient but it's expensive and impractical

Make unregistered lowers at or or near PSA levels of reliability with minimal tooling. Lower impact and drop resistance is acceptable, but wear and tear, especially from the friction and heat of regular operation, shouldn't be any higher. Using aluminum sheet metal and bushings in certain areas should take care of that.

making lowers on home grade cnc machines is not time practical

and if they really want to effectively clamp down on home firearms manufacture theyll switch to a euro style regulatory scheme that restricts pressure bearing components

and making bcgs and barrels on home equipment is approaching impossible

because thats very precisely heat treated steel

so youd need machines that can accurately cut steel, and an accurate annealing furnace

so your talking minimum of a couple million in tooling tbh

I thought so too... until I saw our Russian friend making a half decent barrel at home with a few hundred dollars in parts.

those barrels arent the hard part dingus

stainless barrels etc are ez

button rifling is ex

*ez

the bcg though

thats heat treated steel for it even to have a chance of lasting

cam track profile in an ar bolt carriwer

the actual bolt of an ar

how you plan to make an ar bolt

look at how square them corners are

those internal ones

its a fucking nightmare