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Thread: Making that Bullet Collator

  1. #6301
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by GWS View Post
    The 300 is for a printer bed 300mm X 300mm X 400mm, like you find on Creality's CR10 V2 and V3. I use this size for rifle case feeders.

    The Mongo requires a printer with a 350mm square bed like the Ender 5 Plus TylerR uses. I can't print that one on my CR10 V2.

    The original normal TylerR collator can be printed on a Creality Ender 3 with a 220mm square bed. I prefer that size for all bullet collators and works fine for pistol case feeders too.

    Below is a picture of the 300 (left) and the Normal size (right) that I have printed and now use. I only use Proximity switches with variable speed on/off speed control to control collator feeding. As per TylerR's suggestion....I also use a relay to preserve the prox. switch. The big knobs in the middle cover the wonderful TylerR clutch system.....no more broken parts from feeding snafus.

    I trust you then that the Normal size printable on 220 plate is the most slick and suitable size.
    Thank you mates for enlightening me and fill in my questions!
    AND I JUST PULLED THE TRIGGER - or I mean I pushed the BUY button on a 3D printer.
    With the feedback above that a big platform is not needed I went for the recommended one that supposedly most userfriendly, almost crépéd meself when they notified me that the VAT was NOT included. Phew... well at least I pressed the buy button so the hardest job is done I guess. I really look forward to unbox the miracle and fumble up a bunch of rolls of PetG And I really am happy that I found you mates here, you seem like a pleasant helpful bunch of sharpshooters and I cant wait to hang with you guys and learn stuff about 3D printing!
    I will try to find out how to plug it in to the wallsocket before it arrives so I gotta heckuvalot of manualreading to do!!!

    May the force be with you!
    /Silverbullit the Swede

  2. #6302
    Boolit Buddy Sig's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Silverbullit View Post
    I trust you then that the Normal size printable on 220 plate is the most slick and suitable size.
    Thank you mates for enlightening me and fill in my questions!
    AND I JUST PULLED THE TRIGGER - or I mean I pushed the BUY button on a 3D printer.
    With the feedback above that a big platform is not needed I went for the recommended one that supposedly most userfriendly, almost crépéd meself when they notified me that the VAT was NOT included. Phew... well at least I pressed the buy button so the hardest job is done I guess. I really look forward to unbox the miracle and fumble up a bunch of rolls of PetG And I really am happy that I found you mates here, you seem like a pleasant helpful bunch of sharpshooters and I cant wait to hang with you guys and learn stuff about 3D printing!
    I will try to find out how to plug it in to the wallsocket before it arrives so I gotta heckuvalot of manualreading to do!!!

    May the force be with you!
    /Silverbullit the Swede
    Congrats & best of luck with your printer. I've yet to print with anything other than PLA as I was told it is the easiest to work with. I've heard good things about PETG but also heard of people struggling to get it right.

  3. #6303
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sig View Post
    Congrats & best of luck with your printer. I've yet to print with anything other than PLA as I was told it is the easiest to work with. I've heard good things about PETG but also heard of people struggling to get it right.
    Ooohhhhh... well I'm goin straight for PetG!!! And hey Thanks mate, have a feeling I can use all the luck I can gather!!!

    Well holding my thumbs it'll arrive swiftly, I already waited like 33 mins or something, it's taking forever!!!

  4. #6304
    Boolit Bub
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    PETG can be tricky, but it does have more flex than PLA. I am using PLA+ for my stuff. Strong and easy to print. Prints at a higher temp and so far everything is working really well. I would grab a roll of PLA+ to start with to get used to your printer and how these things work. I'm still dialing in my settings for PETG, and I bought a cheap enclosure for printing ABS stuff. Lots of fun. Good luck on your journey. I recommend joining a FB group specific to whatever printer you bought so you can get assistance whit it when you need it.

  5. #6305
    Boolit Bub
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    Updated files.

    Edit; added size 16.
    Attached Files Attached Files
    Last edited by M500; 02-11-2023 at 08:49 PM.

  6. #6306
    Boolit Mold
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    does anyone have the cad file for the large electric box? The pwm I can find and on / off switch doesn't fit in the precut box.

  7. #6307
    Boolit Master TylerR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by johnpcace View Post
    does anyone have the cad file for the large electric box? The pwm I can find and on / off switch doesn't fit in the precut box.
    There are "template" files in the project for the electronics boxes. You should be able to easily add the cutouts you need using tinkercad.

  8. #6308
    Boolit Master GWS's Avatar
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    Well TylerR, as you know my latest winter project has been to make the Lee 6000 sing, and I've finished and showed off the .223 version with electric collators. But my grandkids have 9mm they want to load (you know I don't own a gun in that caliber). So I've used your quick change on the 6000 to quickly convert the press to help them out. Works perfect and the change was just 5 minutes......except for one thing.....collators. Got to convert them too.

    You know I've used the large pistol case plates on most everything, but for 9mm a case or two goes in upside down. Yesterday I was looking at my collection of Ammo Mike sized plates (using that collator temporarily to feed cases to this new press), and that one weird plate with "special" holes for nose-down .45 boolits caught my eye.....so just for fun I dropped it in the little collator to see what it would do in a pinch on "cases", filled it up with 9mm cases (careful to drop them in the center so as not to drop any initially directly upside down.) and mounted spring tube to the 6000 and turned it on. Boy was I surprised! It vomited every case in 3 turns all perfectly base down. Couldn't believe it so I repeated the experiment 3 more times....same thing, perfect instant tube fill.

    So I made another plate last night with DesignSpark M. "normal TylerR" size. Will print and test it today.

    This is what it looks like....simple, simple:



    If it works as good as the Ammo Mike size I will send you the source....you need something new to play with.

    Looks like I may print one more collator normal size....and retire the little one. Not that its not useful, but the motor speed control on it won't slow it down enough as you will see in the coming video. Funny, once the tube is filled to the prox switch, it only goes on for a split second to drop one more bullet....it drops em almost faster than I can pull the handle and feed one.
    Last edited by GWS; 02-10-2023 at 01:15 PM.

  9. #6309
    Boolit Master GWS's Avatar
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    Tested the case collator on the 6000 this morning.....only two hick-ups.....both caused by short stroking....which is all I did while I tested the feeding.

    Overall I think it was successful. Liking the press more and more....and the 3D printed APP quick-change works great doesn't it! Only the insert holder was changed...because the distance between insert hole and screw hole is different for that press.




    9mm Case Feeder.zip

    DesignSpark makes HUGE .stl files so I can't post the plate in .stl. Attached is the source in DesignSpark. Maybe TylerR knows how to make them smaller, but I don't. This is the "normal" plate size not Ammo Mike's size....I assumed correctly?
    Last edited by GWS; 02-10-2023 at 08:11 PM.

  10. #6310
    Boolit Master

    Tom Myers's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=GWS;5532770]Tested the case collator on the 6000 this morning.....only two hick-ups.....both caused by short stroking....which is all I did while I tested the feeding.\[QUOTE]

    GWS,
    Would it be possible to supply a direct link to your design spark workfile and also an stl file for this collator plate model?
    Respectfully,
    Tom Myers
    Precision Shooting Software


  11. #6311
    Boolit Master GWS's Avatar
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    See note at the bottom of my other post...... Wish TylerR could tell me how to make .stl files in his favorite software reasonable....I know it has more fluff in it than code.....because the source file is tiny.

    I created it from a stl.....maybe that's why it is so large.....all those triangles...

    One more thing......my print on the bigger plate is not finished yet, so it is untested....so be aware. The AmmoMike size is what's in the test video.

  12. #6312
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by GWS View Post
    See note at the bottom of my other post...... Wish TylerR could tell me how to make .stl files in his favorite software reasonable....I know it has more fluff in it than code.....because the source file is tiny.

    I created it from a stl.....maybe that's why it is so large.....all those triangles...

    One more thing......my print on the bigger plate is not finished yet, so it is untested....so be aware. The AmmoMike size is what's in the test video.
    OK, good enough.
    I'll wait until TylerR posts something.
    Respectfully,
    Tom Myers
    Precision Shooting Software


  13. #6313
    Boolit Master TylerR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GWS View Post
    Tested the case collator on the 6000 this morning.....only two hick-ups.....both caused by short stroking....which is all I did while I tested the feeding.

    Overall I think it was successful. Liking the press more and more....and the 3D printed APP quick-change works great doesn't it! Only the insert holder was changed...because the distance between insert hole and screw hole is different for that press.

    DesignSpark makes HUGE .stl files so I can't post the plate in .stl. Attached is the source in DesignSpark. Maybe TylerR knows how to make them smaller, but I don't. This is the "normal" plate size not Ammo Mike's size....I assumed correctly?
    Love seeing all your recent developments. looks really cool, and I like the press. If I was in the market for a new progressive I would take a strong look at the Lee.

  14. #6314
    Boolit Master TylerR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GWS View Post
    See note at the bottom of my other post...... Wish TylerR could tell me how to make .stl files in his favorite software reasonable....I know it has more fluff in it than code.....because the source file is tiny.

    I created it from a stl.....maybe that's why it is so large.....all those triangles...

    One more thing......my print on the bigger plate is not finished yet, so it is untested....so be aware. The AmmoMike size is what's in the test video.
    You can control the stl export options in DSM by going to File-DesignSpark Options-File Options-STL. There you can set the level of detail that is output. If you are looking to share anything send it to me and I can post it to dropbox.

  15. #6315
    Boolit Master GWS's Avatar
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    Yeah everything I make I'd be glad to share....just being able to keep the zip files small enough for either the forum or your email is the question....working on it. Expect an email later today.

    Bigger plate is done...looks pretty good....found a new satin red from Matterhackers....like it much better. (my last Dr. Pepper cup made a good photo stand.)



    Now just waiting for the clutch parts to finish.....



    Tyler, which are your final files for your handle/clutch parts that you like best? There's a twist lock on it, now? Plan to print a set up.

  16. #6316
    Boolit Master GWS's Avatar
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    Went to the menu TylerR told me go to, and found a setting that said "export current graphics" and that cut it WAY down even below the source file I sent you.

    So here's the .STL .....hope it's all there: 9mm Case Feeder STL GWS.zip

    Could it be that easy?

  17. #6317
    Boolit Master

    Tom Myers's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GWS View Post
    Went to the menu TylerR told me go to, and found a setting that said "export current graphics" and that cut it WAY down even below the source file I sent you.

    So here's the .STL .....hope it's all there: 9mm Case Feeder STL GWS.zip

    Could it be that easy?
    GWS,

    Yep. It's that easy.

    I clicked on your link and the zip file was immediately downloaded to the last folder that I was working in. I unzipped the stl file and then imported the file into OpenScad in order to ensure the clutch will fit and to create a "9mm Case" label on the plate.

    Before I could import the shrunken (169 GB) stl file into OpenScad, I needed to open the file in Ultimaker-Cura and then export the file as a larger, (625 GB) ASCII format before openscad could import and image the collator plate.

    My Ultimaker-Cura slicer says that the print will be a 13 hour and 6 minute print using 20% infill and standard print quality.

    Couldn't ask for a better outcome and couldn't be easier.

    Good job, GWS and TylerR and thanks again for all of your efforts and expertise.

    Click on the images to view full size
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    Respectfully,
    Tom Myers
    Precision Shooting Software


  18. #6318
    Boolit Bub
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    This is one method of reducing file size that works well.

    https://myminifactory.github.io/Fast...implification/


    Another good way is to use Microsoft 3d builder.

    open file in builder
    import model
    edit
    click object
    simplify
    slide reduction level (1 is normally a lot)
    reduce faces
    save


    The curved drop tubes I posted above were reduced using 3d builder.
    The GitHub link gives you a lot more control over your reduction level.
    TylerR, the drop tubes are yours to do with as you please.

  19. #6319
    Boolit Master GWS's Avatar
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    Easy for you! Good job.....I used to program, but I have a hard time with OpenScad! Nice that you got it labeled.

    Mine finished printing and I subjected it to the superspeed feed test.......100% no upside-downers.



    TylerR.....all yours.....needs the "T" embossed.

  20. #6320
    Boolit Master TylerR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GWS View Post
    Easy for you! Good job.....I used to program, but I have a hard time with OpenScad! Nice that you got it labeled.

    Mine finished printing and I subjected it to the superspeed feed test.......100% no upside-downers.



    TylerR.....all yours.....needs the "T" embossed.
    Holy cow that is insane!

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check