Making that Bullet Collator

[stanford]

From you guys experience what do you think would be causing flat nose bullets to jam a lot and also have quite a few go down the tube in the wrong direction.

Any suggestions?


Thanks

[GWS]

Best if you be more specific....what caliber, brand, and weight of bullets.

As for jams.....you may need to slow it down a little to give them time to drop, but angle might effect that too.

If they are going down the wrong direction, you need to adjust the slide so that it allows nose down to drop into the slide to be flipped, and nose up to ride around on top of the slide to the hole.....also there is a relationship between bucket angle and slide as well. More angle allows nose up bullets to rest on the back of the holes and be less likely to fall into the lower part of the slide and be flipped.

Tyler will probably have more insight to add.

[TylerR]

From you guys experience what do you think would be causing flat nose bullets to jam a lot and also have quite a few go down the tube in the wrong direction.

Any suggestions?


Thanks

SWC's can be tricky. GWS explained most of the concepts. Another video would be helpful to troubleshoot your issue.

[stanford]

Since I am just testing I am dropping the same bullets over and over to see whats working. I am seeing where it jams a lot, then some will down the hole fine, other will be backwards etc. Let me make a video and put it up.

I am using .45 @ 230 grains for my tests.

Not sure what category to put these videos in, I have adjusted speeds, angles, sometimes I will get all going in the same direction and other times they will not.

https://youtu.be/Nzay5zqiuoI
https://youtu.be/_VSM3slp0Pk
https://youtu.be/QDBwHCCCpYg

[Tom Myers]

Since I am just testing I am dropping the same bullets over and over to see whats working. I am seeing where it jams a lot, then some will down the hole fine, other will be backwards etc. Let me make a video and put it up.

I am using .45 @ 230 grains for my tests.

Not sure what category to put these videos in, I have adjusted speeds, angles, sometimes I will get all going in the same direction and other times they will not.
https://youtu.be/Nzay5zqiuoI
https://youtu.be/_VSM3slp0Pk
https://youtu.be/QDBwHCCCpYg

Tilt the bucket back. Way back. 65 degrees or so. Let gravity hold the bullet back in the slot, so that if the bullet is base down, the base can ride along on the plate ridge, on past the drop hole and, if the bullet is nose down, the nose can slip off the plate ridge and drop into the hole

[TylerR]

Tilt the bucket back. Way back. 65 degrees or so. Let gravity hold the bullet back in the slot, so that if the bullet is base down, the base can ride along on the plate ridge, on past the drop hole and, if the bullet is nose down, the nose can slip off the plate ridge and drop into the hole

Bingo. collator should be run at 45-50 degrees tilt backwards minimum. I know this thread is huge at this point, but many of the issues you are running in to have been addressed several times.

If you understand the concept of what makes the bullet either drop, or ride past for a round trip, you can troubleshoot just about any issue. Proper plate with the right ridge. Proper angle to match. Those are the keys.

[stanford]

Tyler, I had been trying to search the thread for what I need but it's really difficult and all my searches start me on page 1. I will give it a shot in a little while and hopefully I can get it working so I can complete my project.

[stanford]

Tom and Tyler, I tried tipping it back quite a bit more and everything seemed to work a lot better. Its not perfect but I am still experimenting to see if I can get them all with the tip down consistently.

[rjz5400]

it also has been mentioned but that little hole on the back/inside or the flip plate is for a screw. you adjust the spacing of the plate by taking it out and unscrewing the head to push the plate further away from the main body, that fixed 90 % of my TC bullets getting flipped if they were already correct.

after watching the video this might not be your problem, i am always assuming everyone is doing what i'm doing, nose up for loading

[stanford]

it also has been mentioned but that little hole on the back/inside or the flip plate is for a screw. you adjust the spacing of the plate by taking it out and unscrewing the head to push the plate further away from the main body, that fixed 90 % of my TC bullets getting flipped if they were already correct.

after watching the video this might not be your problem, i am always assuming everyone is doing what i'm doing, nose up for loading

I am definitely going to have to try this later. This might also solve my issue with the jams that I have all the time.

[CS223]

I had to print a few parts today one being the spring adapters. Something I found was the large spring that I ordered from Double Alpha for the MB was 15mmOD/13MM ID and the option in the Parts Generator is for 15.5mm/13mm. I was wondering what folks were using for this spring

[TylerR]

I had to print a few parts today one being the spring adapters. Something I found was the large spring that I ordered from Double Alpha for the MB was 15mmOD/13MM ID and the option in the Parts Generator is for 15.5mm/13mm. I was wondering what folks were using for this spring

All of the springs are 2mm more OD then ID. so 15/13 is normal. The extra .5 mm is to give some room for the spring to easily fit. did you try it?

[CS223]

All of the springs are 2mm more OD then ID. so 15/13 is normal. The extra .5 mm is to give some room for the spring to easily fit. did you try it?

Not yet, wanted verification before I printed the parts. Tnx!

[rjz5400]

I am using my feeder to size cast bullets on my xl650. I've already got a couple of the kinks ironed out but more to come!!

I printed little pillars to push the boolits into the pass through sizing die and am currently just using the lee red catch cup to collect them. ill do an STL dump when i have it all figured out, im planning to make a modified drop tube with attachers to lift it up and dispense the boolit, as well as a version that accepts the smaller linked switches from the zip i got, they are very thin mechanical switches.

lastly im going to design a little arm that connects the primer tube to the bullet die so that actuated the drop rather than the "case" which is now a small pillar so it doesn't hang up in the sizing die.

I hope all that makes sense. a fun project to avoid handling the bullets individually at all!! cast in sixes, Size on the progresize, PC in bulk 4 or 500 at a time and then load with the feeders also!

[TylerR]

I am using my feeder to size cast bullets on my xl650. I've already got a couple of the kinks ironed out but more to come!!

I printed little pillars to push the boolits into the pass through sizing die and am currently just using the lee red catch cup to collect them. ill do an STL dump when i have it all figured out, im planning to make a modified drop tube with attachers to lift it up and dispense the boolit, as well as a version that accepts the smaller linked switches from the zip i got, they are very thin mechanical switches.

lastly im going to design a little arm that connects the primer tube to the bullet die so that actuated the drop rather than the "case" which is now a small pillar so it doesn't hang up in the sizing die.

I hope all that makes sense. a fun project to avoid handling the bullets individually at all!! cast in sixes, Size on the progresize, PC in bulk 4 or 500 at a time and then load with the feeders also!

Sounds like a cool project. Would love to see it in action.

[rjz5400]

here is a similar setup that inspired me, i tried to duplicate it but my 3d printed die did not trigger with the shorter narrowed cases. i'm gonna actuate it separate from the case. anyway ill update when theres something to look at.

where do people host videos anymore?

https://youtu.be/CgW2JLPoUJ8

[stanford]

Tilt the bucket back. Way back. 65 degrees or so. Let gravity hold the bullet back in the slot, so that if the bullet is base down, the base can ride along on the plate ridge, on past the drop hole and, if the bullet is nose down, the nose can slip off the plate ridge and drop into the hole

I finally got everything working properly without any jams or bullets going in the tube in the wrong direction. I had to reprint a few items at a slower rate than what I was printing before. Once printed and I tested everything was working pretty good. I just wanted to point that out since it seems like when your prints are not too good you will have issues on the collator.

And yes, I also had to tilt my bucket way back.

[TylerR]

I finally got everything working properly without any jams or bullets going in the tube in the wrong direction. I had to reprint a few items at a slower rate than what I was printing before. Once printed and I tested everything was working pretty good. I just wanted to point that out since it seems like when your prints are not too good you will have issues on the collator.

And yes, I also had to tilt my bucket way back.

Glad you got it spinning.

Can you give more detail on which parts you had to re-print, and what exactly was bad about them? Also, what resolution did you use for your prints?

[stanford]

Glad you got it spinning.

Can you give more detail on which parts you had to re-print, and what exactly was bad about them? Also, what resolution did you use for your prints?

I noticed on my collator plate there were some elephants feet on the bottom of the plate, I tried sanding them off and it didn't help much. I decided to re-print the slide plate #7 first and that made a difference, then I did the collator plate #7 again. My prints were from months ago and I didn't have the chance to built the thing as I was too busy learning how to build a cnc machine so I could cut parts to make my bullet sizer. Once I was finished with that project I came back to the collator which would sit on top of the machine and that's when my issues started.

It looks like I will have to re-print most of my parts since they were not printed with precision in mind when I first started. Everything is printed now @ .12mm and I had to lower my printing speed down to 70mm/sec which proved successful. One thing I must say is your drawings are so precise that when you print these parts you have to make sure that your machine is truly calibrated and leveled or you are going to have issues. I saw all my issues disappear once I printed out the new pieces at a slower speed, it will take longer but you wont have the headaches.

Now I have to re-print all the other calibers that I had previously done. Most people print at 50-60mm/sec, I normally print 80-90, but for this job you have to slow it down to get good prints. Your prints will take a bit longer as I mentioned but its worth it.

[RedBarachetta]

Well I have just about everything printed. I started assembling and I ran into a small snag. The micro switches I was planning on using are way too stiff and they stop the case from passing. I am now trying to decide whether I should go with a Proximity sensor or a photo cell. My only concern with the Proximity sensor is that it states it detects Fe (iron) but I make my own rounds out of lead. Will that be an issue? What do most of you prefer between the two?