Making that Bullet Collator

[GWS]

I'm thinking that a collator isn't going to work for bullets no longer than they are wide. Is that the case?

I failed at my latest proximity sensor tool.....two things.....I forgot the slot for the wings on the end (dumb, forgetful)....and I found that, at the tiny layer height, the threads are too wide, and the sensor just slides in.....so I erased the posts on it and went back to the drawing board.

Also, I do not think my slicer deals well with horizontal threads.....at the top closure there ARE no threads....looks like a bandaid up there. Must be doing something wrong, but I don't have a clue yet. I may be back to two prints for one tool.

[TylerR]

I'm thinking that a collator isn't going to work for bullets no longer than they are wide. Is that the case?

No it would not. It has to be at least a little longer then the diameter, or there is really no way to stop it from going in sideways.

[lablover]

The only thing I can thing to do is go a little smaller (7.0mm-6.9mm) and maybe bump the plate diameter to 180mm. Can you show a quick video?

what is the height of these bullets again?

9.90 mm tall. I think GWS might have hit the nail on the head as they may just be too darn short. Not the end of the world. I’ll try and get a video today but basically when at the bottom of the bowl they like to fall it sideways so the nose is against the collater wall and base is against the wall of the plate in a hole

[TylerR]

9.90 mm tall. I think GWS might have hit the nail on the head as they may just be too darn short. Not the end of the world. I’ll try and get a video today but basically when at the bottom of the bowl they like to fall it sideways so the nose is against the collater wall and base is against the wall of the plate in a hole

That means you have 2mm to play with. I am sure it can be made to work. Let me generate a plate using 7mm as the caliber and plate dia of 180mm. I will load it up in 3d cad and see what the tolerance looks like. One sec......

[TylerR]

So by my measurements, if you go with 6.9mm as your caliber, and 180mm as plate dia, you will end up with 9.3mm from the inside of the hole to the wall of the collator. That should be enough to stop sideways ones. And the actual caliber would be 8.1mm. so .2mm of clearance.

[GWS]

My print looked exciting as it sat finished on the bed.....



I removed most of the support and turned it upside down! Ugh! What a disappointment!



Those aren't threads...those are a chaotic mess! Guess I can't print threads horizontally even with .12 layers.....

[noacess]

I had a couple more design ideas for future improvements:

1. Make the slide plates T shaped or maybe just have a notch in one corner so you can't put them in backwards. Don't ask me how this came to me as a feature
2. Has anyone considered using a 0.25 amp circuit breaker instead of fuses to prevent jams from destroying collator plates? Something like this is what I was thinking: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Te-Connecti...wAAOSwS6ZaypIS

[lablover]

So by my measurements, if you go with 6.9mm as your caliber, and 180mm as plate dia, you will end up with 9.3mm from the inside of the hole to the wall of the collator. That should be enough to stop sideways ones. And the actual caliber would be 8.1mm. so .2mm of clearance.

I’ll give that a try. Thanks a bunch

[djinnpb]

TylerR, with the Slide_Feed_Nose_Up_#11, did you find a sweet spot on the angle? I'm finding that the nose flipping on the 247gr 300bo boolits sometimes flip around the ramp and drop in the tray. The ramp might need to slide in a touch further (maybe 4m) I'm going to experiment with it. Can you share the step file by chance?
They seem to drop right after the ramp every so often once flipped. Thinking maybe the ramp is closer to guide it for a tick longer or the flat riding spot out just a hair? I tried various angles and speeds. Video below:

[noacess]

TylerR, with the Slide_Feed_Nose_Up_#11, did you find a sweet spot on the angle? I'm finding that the nose flipping on the 247gr 300bo boolits sometimes flip around the ramp and drop in the tray. The ramp might need to slide in a touch further (maybe 4m) I'm going to experiment with it. Can you share the step file by chance?
They seem to drop right after the ramp every so often once flipped. Thinking maybe the ramp is closer to guide it for a tick longer or the flat riding spot out just a hair? I tried various angles and speeds. Video below:

I had to have a really steep angle for mine to not have any issues. Granted all my bullets are plated or FMJ 208 - 220gr.

[TylerR]

TylerR, with the Slide_Feed_Nose_Up_#11, did you find a sweet spot on the angle? I'm finding that the nose flipping on the 247gr 300bo boolits sometimes flip around the ramp and drop in the tray. The ramp might need to slide in a touch further (maybe 4m) I'm going to experiment with it. Can you share the step file by chance?
They seem to drop right after the ramp every so often once flipped. Thinking maybe the ramp is closer to guide it for a tick longer or the flat riding spot out just a hair? I tried various angles and speeds. Video below:

Thanks for the video. Can see very quickly what's going on there. That should be an easy fix. Just need to pull out the flat ridge after the flip. I just posted it up.

I just threw one on the printer to make sure there are no unintended consequences from the change.

As a side note, I suspect more angle would correct that from happening.

Looking at the video again, my suggestion has been to use the small sweeper and disable the "flipper" arm.

[djinnpb]

Thanks for the video. Can see very quickly what's going on there. That should be an easy fix. Just need to pull out the flat ridge after the flip. I just posted it up.

I just threw one on the printer to make sure there are no unintended consequences from the change.

As a side note, I suspect more angle would correct that from happening.

Looking at the video again, my suggestion has been to use the small sweeper and disable the "flipper" arm.

Ah yes I see the flat ridge change. Thanks for that! I just started printing it also to give it a go. I'll try that and more angle.

I will use the small sweeper too. I tried that at first and then just pulled the spring out to let the flipper.. well. just flip about :P

Will report back once it finishes.

[TylerR]

Ah yes I see the flat ridge change. Thanks for that! I just started printing it also to give it a go. I'll try that and more angle.

I will use the small sweeper too. I tried that at first and then just pulled the spring out to let the flipper.. well. just flip about :P

Will report back once it finishes.

Initial test went perfect. No way bullets can slide off that plate after they flip now. The other reason I advise a good amount of angle is to reduce the number of bullets clinging to the side of the collator and riding all the way to the top, where they can interfere.

[GWS]

I had a couple more design ideas for future improvements:

1. Make the slide plates T shaped or maybe just have a notch in one corner so you can't put them in backwards. Don't ask me how this came to me as a feature
2. Has anyone considered using a 0.25 amp circuit breaker instead of fuses to prevent jams from destroying collator plates? Something like this is what I was thinking: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Te-Connecti...wAAOSwS6ZaypIS

Really? is #2 a possibility? They aren't cheap when you have to buy 9. $42 for 9 of them.....be nice if someone sold them in ones or twos. And how do you know .25 amp would work the way you want? Asking for learning's sake......

The Proximity part that failed:

I wondering what the gurus think about two prints that thread together in the Tee! HaHaHa.....I have a long ways to go on making threads obviously. I used the exact same thread on the horizonata as the vertical that works fine......yet in Horizontal the sensor just slides in.....I don't understand that....anyone else Know why that might happen? Please?....

[TylerR]

Really? is #2 a possibility? They aren't cheap when you have to buy 9. $42 for 9 of them.....be nice if someone sold them in ones or twos. And how do you know .25 amp would work the way you want? Asking for learning's sake......

The Proximity part that failed:

I wondering what the gurus think about two prints that thread together in the Tee! HaHaHa.....I have a long ways to go on making threads obviously. I used the exact same thread on the horizonata as the vertical that works fine......yet in Horizontal the sensor just slides in.....I don't understand that....anyone else Know why that might happen? Please?....

If is was me I would consider printing as two separate parts that will pressure fit together and could be held in place by a small dab of glue.

[GWS]

That's what I did last time....it worked at least, so I guess I'm back that.

[RedlegEd]

Really? is #2 a possibility? They aren't cheap when you have to buy 9. $42 for 9 of them.....be nice if someone sold them in ones or twos. And how do you know .25 amp would work the way you want? Asking for learning's sake......

The Proximity part that failed:

I wondering what the gurus think about two prints that thread together in the Tee! HaHaHa.....I have a long ways to go on making threads obviously. I used the exact same thread on the horizonata as the vertical that works fine......yet in Horizontal the sensor just slides in.....I don't understand that....anyone else Know why that might happen? Please?....

Hi GWS,
Not sure what went wrong with your print. When I printed mine, I did it horizontal as well, and it worked fine. I usually have the opposite problem in that my internal threads tend to be too tight and I need to scale them up slightly to get a good fit.
Ed

[djinnpb]

Initial test went perfect. No way bullets can slide off that plate after they flip now. The other reason I advise a good amount of angle is to reduce the number of bullets clinging to the side of the collator and riding all the way to the top, where they can interfere.

Pulling that ridge out worked brilliant. Tested with 247gr NOE cast and 125gr Nosler BT and all was well. I added those two to the bullet compatibility doc.

[noacess]

For 308 / 300BLK what die are you guys using to expand the neck of the case so flat base bullets seat nicely from the feeder die?

[djinnpb]

For 308 / 300BLK what die are you guys using to expand the neck of the case so flat base bullets seat nicely from the feeder die?

I've always just used the Lee universal neck expander die.