3D printed front sight for LP400

[wasatch]

The adjustable width front sight on the LP400 is flat facing the shooter which to me caused it to appear gray sometimes, black others or reflect glare in some circumstances. They work quite nicely with the angled surface facing me reducing reflections and the surface finish being very black and matte. I could've done a better job with the set screw though. My next ver will use a smaller metric set screw instead of the 6-32 that I had. The material is a fairly hard plastic so I'll see how well the corners at the top of the sight wear. Three different width sights printed and delivered were about $14.

[ghostrip]

they look very nice .. :)

[Pfelicio]

Look really nice! ...would you share the 3d? I guess they could be printed in metal (several types available )
I would love one 4 my lp400...maybe a 2,5 mm would be a nice fit?

[wasatch]

Here's a link to the .stl file needed to get a print.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwq6Dt ... sp=sharing

The pic shows how it ought to come out.

The hole for the fixing set screw is not threaded.

Let me know how they turn out for you.

[NosfyBe]

Very nice STL! In what material was it printed? Polyamide?

I just noticed that 3D printing in steel is not that expensive... (https://i.materialise.com/materials/steel)
Ofcourse steel doesn't make sense for a front sight :)

[wasatch]

Thanks! Yes, the sights were printed in polyamide. The least expensive option. The flat black textured surface is very non-reflective which is nice but the fine corners may wear quickly. The black color is applied as a dye.

Thanks for the link to i.materialise. I need to investigate other options. I tried printing a muffler for a Steyr but it came out a bit crooked as explained in the picture. I'm not sure why yet. I'm in a dialogue to see if there are design features or material choices that will help with print robustness. The design features that are possible with 3D printing exceed traditional machining, especially considering cost.

Not being a machinist this is a really great, relatively inexpensive way for me to be able to realize my ideas.

[NosfyBe]

some advice:
If you want something 3D printed in EU don't mention it's for a gun or weapon. A lot of companies will refuse making it.
They don't want to be linked to making 3D printed guns or any parts of it.
So don't mention anything in the file name that can trace back to being a gun part.

[wasatch]

Thanks for the tip. Are those concerns country specific or technology specific (3D printing) or type of gun part specific (firing mech & barrel vs accessories like silencer)? The Netherlands seems to have pretty relaxed gun regulation whereas the U.K. is very tight. Both countries seem ok with silencers.

Yesterday I was reading that in Australia it is illegal (with jail penalties) for having just the 3D files to print a gun (firearm).

[NosfyBe]

Well I wasn't talking about the legal stuff... just the "ethic code" of some companies in the EU. I know from experience that some of them don't want to print parts that even remotely look like a gun(part).
But your concern about the legal part in every country is a good question to ask. Silencers are a big No-No in most EU countries.

Keep us up to date of your future projects! Very interesting.

[Pfelicio]

Wasatch: thanks very much for sharing, really apreciate.

That said...I have some questions:

- Did u made it 2,5mm for me ? Dam me, poor explanation:I was talking about the set screw, from what u said and the picture, I was thinking that a 2,5 or 3mm metric screw would work fine ...sigth width for target shooting should be around 4mm (walther triangle is 3,5-4-4,5mm if im not mistaken)

- Can u export the file in DXF, or some other vectorial format I can open with AutoCad, please ( architect LOL )... I would change the width and screw diameter and then putput a .stl apropriate for the printing material..

[wasatch]

Oh, got it. Sure no problem. Here are the formats I can save as, which would work for you?