Surrender, A-Zu
police have surrounded here
Come on, sir
even the paper gun is illegal?
I don't know if you've played a game called "World of Guns"
In this video game
we can disassemble and assemble various of your favorite guns by using the free view
this game also illustrates the mechanism of real guns in detailed
You can actually find a bunch of this type of games
In other words
Those guns simulation games could
give a chance to gun fans who have no chance to play real steel
but get to know more about their favorite guns
To be more specific, it's good for daydreaming at home
However, 3D printing technology is developing rapidly in recent years
We can totally use 3D modeling
and print it with resin or ABS, those harmless materials
to create a complete gun model
It will not have any real steel function
but play this model in hands
should be definitely better than looking at it on the screen
same thing as you buy some garage kits
I bought this set of AR model from a gelsofter who is interested in 3D printing
Except for the buttstock and the handguard, it includes almost all parts of the AR rifle
and except for the spring which is metal
other parts are all made by 3D printing
and some nylon sintering force bearing parts
the receiver and other main parts
are made by the white resin material
photo-curing printing has a great precision
the surface finish is also decent
but the cost is ridiculous, as well
this set of model costs me over 1500RMB (about 250USD)
Compared to the 3D simulation in GunWorld
you can see this printed model
replicates almost all parts of the real steel in detailed
However, it is a big difference between playing games and actually assembling it
No matter how pro are you in the game
these tons of parts will definitely make you like a fool at first
Let's just go step by step, start at the bolt which is the core part
First, insert the nylon sintered bolt into the bolt carrier
you can see the anus-like lugs of the bolt at the front
and the pre-installed extractor
The bolt and the carrier is connected by the cam pin
after that, you can screw the piston on
The nylon firing pin is fragile, so be careful with it
thrust it into the butt of the bolt carrier
then insert the locking pin on to prevent the firing pin moves out
and here is the basic bolt part
This anus-like lug bolt decently simulates the bolt rotating function of the real steel AR
The parts of the upper receiver isn't complicated
just a ejecting port, dust cover, and the forward assist
not hard to assemble
line up the hole and insert the charging handle
then put into the bolt part that you just assembled
the grooves on the barrel extension will fit perfectly to the lugs on the bolt
which helps lock the chamber when the bolt returning to the position
The entire barrel is also printed by the photo-curing resin
14 inches pencal barrel, there are even 6 simulated rifling inside
Positive thread onto the barrel extension, then lock by the delta ring
I didn't find a spare gas tube so let's just skip this part
you can't see it when putting the handguard on, anyway
The surprising thing is
the handguard is totally interchangable with AEG's handguard
so I used a spare nylon handguard directly, perfectly assembled
However, the 13mm CW thread on the muzzle is totally different from the gel blaster toy
and the printed muzzle brake isn't provided, so just ignore it for now
Check the bolt and the charging handle, see if they are moving smoothly inside the receiver
if not, some lubrication will be needed
Finished the upper part, then is the lower receiver
Two ears on the trigger is for assembling the trigger spring
you need to pull out two legs of the spring then thrust it in
put the disconnector into the position
then insert this trigger part into the lower receiver, lock it by a pin
and this trigger group is fully functional now
Before you assemble the hammer, you need to put on the selector first
There is a detent on the selector switch
cooperating with the pistol frip, helps the selector to sit on the right place
After you've done the selector part, assemble the detent and the pistol grip at your convenience
The hammer spring is powerful
so after you assemble the hammer, never ever release the hammer directly just like what I did
otherwise, you will clearly understand how fragile the 3D printed material is
Obviously, the maker of this gun model
has broken more than one hammer when testing it
because he has already prepared a backup part for me
As we know, the recoil spring of the AR is inside the buffer tube
Under the thread of the receiver, there is a buffer stabilizer
which helps to stabilize the buffer of the recoil spring
When locking the buffer and the spring
you need to rotate it and press the detent at the same time
let the lug lock into the groove of the buffer tube
Next, put on the body pins, bolt release,
magazine catch, and trigger guard, those small accessories step by step
Then you finished the lower receiver
The combination of the upper and lower receiver will be easy
line up the hole, then push the pins into the body, you're done
Nylon sintered 30rnd magazine, the outer shell isn't thick
pull out the butt cover and you can see the feeding spring inside
the structure is easy and clear
load up the resin printed model bullet
do you feel something cool here?
Stay still, something even cooler is coming
Insert the magazine, assemble a buttstock
then we complete the entire assembly process
This model replicates the civilian version AR which only has the semi-auto mode
it doesn't have the auto sear which is used for full-auto
so the selector switch is actually a safety
The printed receiver isn't durable at all, obviously
you can see how soft this receiver is after fully assembled
it will not stand under any pressure
Also, the melting point of the resin material is only about 46℃
so don't even think about anything stupid
this is only a model for displaying
Some small springs need to be adjusted after assembled it
too weak to push back to the position
or strong enough to break the entire printed part
After patiently adjusting it, we could finally experience
how does the mechanism work on the real AR rifle
The safety mechanism is simple
the pivot is a half-cylinder type
When it's on the safe, the pivot will lock the disconnector
and on the fire mode, the pivot rotates and gives a way for the disconnector
then the trigger can be pulled now
The trigger and the hammer will be locked by the lug on the disconnector
every cocking will press down the hammer
and be locked by the disconnector
Pull the trigger, the hammer will be released and knock the firing pin inside the bolt
and the firing pin initiates the prime, the bullet is shot
Due to the model is not able to charge automatically
so we could only pull the charging handle to simulate
the process of gas pushing back the bolt and ejecting the case
After ejecting the case, by the power of the recoil spring
the bolt will be pushed back to the position
and a new bullet will also be pushed into the chamber
at the same time, the bolt rotates inside the barrel extension, then locks down the chamber
After firing the last shot
the follower inside the magazine will push up the bolt lock
so the bolt will stay at the back
Pressing this mag release, also known as the tennis racket
then the bolt will be released to the initial position
If any dirt or other stuff goes inside the bolt carrier which leads to a jam
you can push the forward assist
let the bolt go to the position, lock the chamber manually
The basic maintenance disassembly is the scissor separation
only need to pull out the rear body pin, then you can open the receiver directly
The case jammed...
The 3D printing data isn't a rare thing nowadays
if you pay attention to it
you can find various modeling data on their relevant website
However, 3D printing, especially the photo-curing printing
is essentially for the non-moving parts
It is because the resin material isn't strong enough to be used on moving mechanic parts
As you can see, photo-curing printing is very precise
this model works pretty smoothly after assembled it
and it perfectly shows the basic working mechanism of the real gun
especially the details inside the bolt carrier
I am addicted to playing with it
To be honest, the gun type of model
is still in the grey zone under the current situation
but the durability of the 3D printing material, I think
if you have some common sense then you will understand
regardless of the real function, I'm more worried about I might break it by holding it too tight
For me, buying this set of gun model, I am just curious about
how well could the 3D printing perform
If you really want to buy some for displaying or collection
I will recommend those 1:2.05 small scale metal models on Taobao
They also have a good simulation of internals
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At last, stay healthy, see you next time!