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Thread: 3D Printed 22 Caliber Pellet Mold

  1. #81
    Boolit Master
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    Here's A Hastily Modeled Computer Rendering Of What I Was Alluding To

    This is a quick and general CAD rendering of what I hope will be the final iteration of my Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat.

    The dimensions of the vat itself remain basically the same. The only difference are the input and output flow ports.

    These will be easily removable and allow for the adjustment of the angle-of-flow. They are designed to slide right into place.

    The exact placement within the vat corner walls will be adjusted as soon as I take delivery of the HDPE plastic material I've ordered.

    In the mean time I'll continue to run my flow tests with the 3D printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing vats I now have to work with. I'll be uploading those flow tests next week some time.

    Incidentally, I went ahead and ordered that slightly more powerful Peristaltic Pump I mentioned in one of my previous post.

    I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for this particular project. I really believe it's going to work out well as a resin mixing tool that doesn't need me to constantly monitor it as my prints are under way.

    Please note; this is just a computer rendering. The final vat may have some very slight cosmetic changes but the purpose and the function will be the same.

    HollowPoint
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Last A-R-M Vat.JPG  
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 11-28-2021 at 11:01 AM.

  2. #82
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    Flow Simulation Testing

    I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with this latest Automatic-Resin-
    Mixing
    Vat project.

    I believe I've managed to come up with the final version that will serve my specific needs.

    In the past four weeks I've changed my Resin-Mixer design four times. With each different design change I discovered that there was a better or simpler way to make them more efficient and user-friendly.

    Versions one, two and four will be pictured at the end of the video. Version four is the Final Version.

    Version three is the 3D printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat seen in this Fluid-Flow testing session.

    As usual, my videos are unprofessional and kind of choppy but, I think they contain just enough visual information to give you a good idea of what I was attempting to achieve with this Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat project.

    Please take the time to pause the video whenever you see some text coming on screen. It's information that I either screwed up or failed to mention.

    The final iteration of my Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat will be machined out of a piece of solid HDPE plastic.

    WHY machine them out of HDPE plastic? In the event that my 3D printed vats cannot or will not hold up when subjected to prolonged contact with non-cured liquid 3D print resin, HDPE plastic is one of the very few types of plastic that I know of that, WILL hold up.

    HOW do I Know This?

    Go into your resin stash and look on the underside of one of your bottles of resin. You will see in bold embossed lettering, the letters "HDPE."

    The plastic bottles used to store, sell and ship the 3D print resin we print with are made of HDPE plastic. This is the reason why I will be machining my two final working prototype Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vats out of this specific type of plastic.

    If I find that my 3D printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vats DO NOT hold up, then I'll be machining them out of HDPE plastic if or when I ever need more.

    For now, I only need a couple of them so, I should be covered either way.

    I hope to be upgrading to a slightly larger format resin printer during the holiday sales season. By then I should have everything worked out to where I can either 3D print or machine myself a new Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat as needed.

    I'll be back with updates when I get farther along but, before I end this particular update I just want explain to any who may be new to the progress of this project, why I've designed this Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat.

    It was designed as a tool to be used for increasing -even further- the heat resistance of the "High Heat Resistant" resin I've been working with in order to 3D print my single cavity bullet molds. These bullet molds are used for casting bullets out of molten lead. (625 to 640 degrees Fahrenheit)

    I've already succeeded in 3D printing and casting with a slightly altered factory formulation of the Siraya Tech Ultra White resin. It's just that the bullet molds I've 3D printed will only hold up to the heat of the molten lead for about 15 or twenty casts
    before they succumb to the overwhelming heat.

    By being able to add more porcelain powder to alter the factory formulation of this already great resin, it increases the heat resistance enough to prolong the life of my 3D printed bullet molds even further. The more evenly I can get the added porcelain powder to suspend within the factory formulation of this resin, the higher the heat resistance; AND, the higher the heat resistance, the longer the service life of the 3D printed bullet mold.

    This is my reason for coming up with this Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat design.

    I'll be back with updates when I get farther along.

    One last thing: Make a mental note. If you start seeing that some or all of the 3D resin printer manufactures start introducing some kind of resin mixing vat of their own with their latest crop of resin printer offerings, now you'll know who they stole the idea from.

    https://youtu.be/OKvJ7RY_S7A

  3. #83
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    All Of The Parts I've Ordered For This Project Have Finally Arrived

    My CNC mill has been sitting idle for a little over a year since delving into 3D printing.

    What this means for me is that I've just about had to re-learn how to use my mill and the CAM Software that I use to convert my CAD models to the G-Code needed to be able to machine them into existence.

    I just about have it all done. I'll be ready to do my machining next week.

    I bought just enough HDPE plastic to machine two Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat prototypes. This means I have only enough room to screw up once and still get a good usable resin vat.

    I'll also be printing one last vat with my filament 3D printer. I still want to experiment with letting one of my filament printed vats sit full of resin overnight. I want to see with my own eyes exactly if or how the 3D print resin affects the resin vat. The down side to this may be that I'll be ruining some resin if that experiment does go south on me but, I just can't wrap my head around how liquid resin could ruin a solid PETG plastic resin vat. The only way to know for sure is to try it.

    I've been told by "Experts" that a 3D printed resin vat will not hold up when subjected to direct contact with liquid un-cured resin. If it fails, then those experts will be able to gloat and tell me, "I Told You So." If it succeeds, well, good. That's what I was hoping for all along.

    I know my title states that all my ordered parts have come in; I take that back. I'm still waiting for the silicone rubber gasket material I need to be able to fill my vats with resin so they won't leak; then I can do the testing on the 3D printed vats.

    I'll be back with another update next week.

    HollowPoint

  4. #84
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    I'll Be Cutting Alot Of Air Tomorrow

    Just to clarify; I'm not meaning to say that I'll be throwing alot of farts tomorrow. I got all my milling tool paths setup in my CAM software. The computer simulations all looked good but, I want to run through all the tool paths on the mill by letting it go through all the motions without actually cutting anything.

    It's been a while since I programmed my mill or machined anything with it so, the pucker-factor will be high when I actually do the cutting. I anticipate my little CNC mill will be spitting out strands of black HDPE plastic spaghetti the likes of which I've never seen before on any of my projects. I've never machined plastics like this before.

    I'm happy to report that I got that last 3D filament printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing prototype finished up. It turned out real well too; just like the previous prints. I also made the four little easily-installed, easily-removable and easily-adjustable input and output resin-flow ports.

    I was running low on 1/2" aluminum rod so I made those flow-ports in such a way that I could test them with both the 1/4" inside diameter tubing used on the slightly larger peristaltic pump I recently ordered and the smaller 1/8" inside diameter tubing on that slightly smaller pump I had previously ordered.

    Through a stroke of Sheer-Dumb-Luck, I found that the slightly larger pump did very well without having to go through the hassles of wiring it with the previously purchased little potentiometer in order to control the flow of the fluid I'd be pumping through it. That was relief because, there are two things that really I suck at. One is mathematics and the other is electronics.

    The rubber gasket material I ordered also finally showed up so I was able to completely assemble my newly 3D-filament printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat. I filled it with water just to see if it would leak, and to do some quick tests with the new pump. So far so good. I'm letting it sit over night filled with water just to confirm that it doesn't leak

    Once I confirm that it's not going to leak while holding a less viscous liquid like water, I'm sure it will do fine holding a thicker liquid like 3D print resin. I'll then fill that same 3D-filament printed resin vat with some 3D print resin and let it sit for a day or two. I'm really curious to see if that non-cured liquid 3D print resin will do any kind of damage to that PETG filament printed vat.

    I mentioned before that I was told by the "Experts" that pouring liquid 3D print resin into a 3D printed vat or container would have detrimental effects on those 3D printed containers; or in my case, resin vats. These "Experts" know more about this kind of stuff than I do but I'm holding out hope that they have never personally done such a thing themselves. They were just offering their advice based on what they'd read and not actually on what they'd ever done to prove their claims.

    Heck, even if these "Experts" are right and my 3D printed vat melts away into oblivion, I'd be real happy just to have that 3D printed vat hold up for two or three print sessions before it showed signs of failing or succumbing to whatever negative effects that 3D print resin might impart.

    That would be more than enough time for me to print up a couple of batches of single cavity bullets molds. This would then allow me to prove my own theory that, thoroughly mixing the added porcelain powder to the factory formulation of the resin I use to print my bullet molds will in fact increase the heat resistance of the molds; and thereby increase the service life of the 3D printed bullet molds.

    I don't want to get ahead of myself though. I'll just have to take it one step at a time. I'll try to take some photos of this latest 3D printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat within the next couple of days so I can show you all where I'm at with this project. Even if the 3D printed vat doesn't work out, I know now that the HDPE plastic vats that I'll be machining in the next day or two will work out when subjected to prolonged contact with 3D print resin.

    I'll be back with more updates later.

    HollowPoint
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 12-08-2021 at 12:56 AM.

  5. #85
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    The Torture Testing Of My 3D Printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat Has Begun

    This is just a short video update to show you all where I'm at with this Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat Project.

    As always, my video quality is very low so again I'll be asking you to pause the video whenever you see any kind of text coming on screen. This text is generally something that I screwed up during my ramblings or something I forgot to include.

    In addition to this PETG filament 3D printed prototype resin vat, I'll also be machining two additional vats out of HDPE plastic within the next couple of days. That way if my torture tests fail to produce the desired results I'll still have a couple of usable Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vats to work with.

    There is an embarrassing side note to all of this. It's something that I had not taken into consideration in the designing, machining or printing of my resin vats. I had not considered the fact that with the larger inside diameter hoses I'll be using to pump my resin into and out-of my Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vats, this means that the four or five ounces of resin I have left to work with will not be enough to actually print my next batch of single cavity bullet molds.

    Initially I'm more than sure that everything would work as designed but, even if I put all four or five ounces of the resin I have left into the vat, enough of it would be sucked out of the vat in fairly short order that I'm afraid I'd run the risk sucking in air and blowing out bubbles on
    the input flow end. I can't run the risk of bubbles getting into my resin mix. That would be a terrible mistake to make.

    If I were printing another batch of single cavity bullet molds without the Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat as before, I'd have more than enough to print three more bullet molds.

    This just means that I'll have to save up some more nickles and dimes to buy another full bottle of the High Heat Resistant 3D print Resin before I can actually print more bullet molds. With the thoroughly mixed resin that this Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat was designed to deliver, (minus the air bubbles) there's a far, far better chance of ultimate success.

    I think it's still going to work out for me because I still have the HDPE plastic vats to machine and test, followed by the fabrication of four more input and output flow ports and possibly having to fabricate a couple of the small rectangular metal frames that fit on the underside of each resin vat.

    The 3D printed frames I'm using now seem to be working fine but I'd feel more comfortable with ones made of a more rigid material than PETG filament.

    By that time I should have the money saved up to buy another bottle of resin. I'm inching my way toward the finish line. I can't wait to print out that next batch of bullet molds. I'm optimistic about the greater durability of my next set of those prototype bullet molds now that I've come up with a way to keep my resin thoroughly mixed.

    In the end, I believe that all of this will have been worth while. Not just for me but for any 3D-Print-Nerd that happens to be a bullet caster or mold maker who dreams of 3D printing molds that are able to cast certain types of metals; metals that were formerly out of reach of the 3D resin printer.

    Thanks for sticking around for as long as you have. I'll be back to show you all how the machined HDPE plastic Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vats turned out.

    Even though it's outside the scope of a couple of the 3D resin print groups that are following this project, I may video record some short snippets of the machining process of those HDPE resin vats too. Why? Because there's more to resin 3D printing than just resin 3D printing.

    I'll be back.

    https://youtu.be/Amv5r0brkcg
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 12-08-2021 at 11:55 PM.

  6. #86
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    Day Two Of My Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat Torture Testing

    So far so good.

    Neither the vat itself or any of the pieces of different types of materials I've left emersed in my 3D resin filled vat show any kind of deterioration or damage. In fact, at this point they all appear to be in no different condition than they were a couple of days ago when I started this testing.

    I contacted those "Experts" that had cautioned me about my 3D resin vats not holding up and I got a sense that they were sort of back-peddling in regard to what they had told me.

    As I had kind of suspected; none of the three "Experts" I had consulted about this had ever really tried it themselves. Their words of caution were based mainly on book learning more than actual hands-on experience. I'm not knocking them. I only wish I had as much book learning experience as they do but, on the other hand, if I did have this kind book learning under my belt I most likely would not have even tried this to begin with. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.

    So what does this mean in the grand scheme of this project?

    Well, I still plan on finishing up the machining of my HDPE prototype vats and using them first but, what this really means is that now I can simply 3D print my Automatic-Resin-Mixing vats as needed; and I can be confident in the fact that they will not melt away or deteriorate into oblivion in short order as was indicated by the "Experts."

    Regarding the HDPE vats that I would be machining yesterday:

    I did my "Air-Cutting" tests, and everything went exactly as my computer simulations showed that they would BUT, when I went to do the actual cutting on the part, I could immediately tell that something wasn't right cause my end mill was cutting into parts of my HDPE block that it was not supposed to cut into. Fortunately, I caught it in time so as not to ruin a perfectly good piece of HDPE plastic.

    Have you ever heard the saying, "Measure Twice, Cut Once?" Well, I did this. I always to this with my projects so this was not to blame for my end mill shaving off parts of my plastic block that it was not supposed to. So this kind of left me scratching my head.

    Upon careful inspection I found that the culprit was caused by me "Assuming." When I had cut my blocks of HDPE to size on my table saw, I had "Assumed" that the blade on my saw was at a perfect ninety-degree straight up and down angle to my work piece. Unbeknownst to me it was tilted just enough to result in one side of my HDPE block coming out wider on the top of the block than on the bottom of the block.

    So, when I placed it on the mill for machining, I had placed it with the thinner side up. This meant that when I indexed it before cutting, my end mill would naturally be off by the same amount that my crooked saw blade (my "Assuming") had left me with.

    Since I caught it in time, I was able to just trim down and square up my block of HDPE and salvage this block of plastic. This also meant that I had to go back into my CAD and CAM software and redo my models and my tool paths to compensate for the slight dimensional changes I had to make to salvage my blocks of HDPE.

    I think I got it under control now. Even if I still manage to ruin both blocks of my HDPE vat workpieces, I can still fall back on the fact that if I do manage to screw this up I can simply 3D print them now.

    There's light at the end of the tunnel. I can see it more clearly now.

    HollowPoint

  7. #87
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    All Of My Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat Components Are Finally Done

    All of the components for my Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat are now completed.

    I've ordered some additional tubing for my 1/4" Peristaltic pump. The tubing I had previously ordered was a bit too stiff for me to easily thread in and around the tiny work area within my small resin printer.

    The new tubing is some of that silicone tubing. It's medical and industrial grade so I'm sure it will hold up well when subjected to extended contact with 3D print resin. My ongoing torture testing has confirmed that it would. The 1/8" tubing I was using for my 1/8" Peristaltic pump was included in my torture testing. It seems to be holding up real well so I see no reason that this incoming 1/4" silicone tubing won't work out for me.

    I'll also have to make some slight mods to my printer as well. These mods will be in the form of simply altering the height of the two small vat-anchoring points.

    My 3D printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat is 1-1/2" tall. The factory Vat and the HDPE machined vat is 1-1/16" tall. It's a simple modification that will allow me to use either vat by simply adjusting the height of the little vat-anchoring-points up or down.

    There is also a small 3D printed housing that I'll have to print for holding my pump in place within or outside of the 3D resin printer but, all of these have already been modeled and will soon be ready to print as well. I just have to decide if I want to place the pump inside or outside of my printer.

    It's all coming together. I'll have the money I need to buy another bottle of the High-Heat-Resistant resin within the next few days.

    Just to give you all an idea where I'm at with those Flow-Ports, here's a screen shot of the Flow-Ports as they'll be oriented on my filament printer's build plate.

    You know: The more I get into this 3D printing stuff the more I'm thinking of selling my CNC mill and just buying a smaller verticle mill instead. It seems that for the kind of projects I've been doing and plan on doing in the future, I can just as easily do them on my 3D printers. Having a small or mid-sized verticle mill will still allow me to do some basic milling when ever I need to.

    I'll be back when I get farther along.

    HollowPoint
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails flowports.jpg  

  8. #88
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    Now I Wait For The Stars To Align

    I thought I'd gotten everything done that needed doing.

    I also thought that since I live in Arizona I would have no need for an inline heater to keep my resin heated to the optimum temperature for printing with my newly finished Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vats.

    It appears that the weather here in Arizona has conspired against me and we've hit a cold snap.

    My printer runs in the back storage room where there is no air conditioning or heating. This means that if the weather continues to stay as cool as it's gotten then I'll also have to order the components to build a resin heating setup.

    It's nothing that's really hard to do; it's just that it adds to the time it will take me to finally be ready to print some more bullet molds.

    The original design of my Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat had already included the option to integrate an inline heating element.

    The components I need to print in order to facilitate this inline resin heating pod had already been modeled. It's just that I didn't think I'd ever need to use it. Looks like I was wrong. (again)

    I got just about everything else ready to go. The bracket that secures my Peristaltic Pump to the outside-back of my resin printer is done. The Pump-Housing has been printed. The tubing I need and connectors are all ready to go too.

    Some of the money that was to be used to buy another bottle of resin will now be diverted to buy the couple of components that will make up my inline resin heater/reservoir.

    Below is another CAD rendering of some of the components that I've modeled and printed and some (the smaller components) that I'll be printing in the next couple of days.

    I've also included some photos of the partially assembled and installed pump-bracket, pump-housing and other components as well as a shot of the four finished Automatic-Resin-Mixing vats I have to work with once I'm ready to do some actual printing.

    Now I just have to wait for my financial stars to align again so that I can get back on track for buying that bottle of resin. I have to mention here that this is just a hobby for me so I don't mind saving up expendable-income to do this kind of stuff. When it comes to budget constraints I like to be meticulous about it. I guess one could even say I'm anal-retentive about it.

    Still, once I get rolling on a project I hate having to wait while I stick to my financial guns about all of this.

    I'll be back with more updates as I get farther along.

    HollowPoint
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails PumpHousingAssembly.JPG   PumpBracket.jpg   PumpHousing.jpg   vatsNports.jpg  

  9. #89
    Boolit Master
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    I Found The Money To Move Forward With This Project

    It was right under my nose all this time.

    I have a Spare-Change-Jar on my dresser that I put all my spare change in each time I empty out my pockets.

    I generally use this spare change at the end of each year to buy my new hunting and fishing license. It's like an annual ritual that never fails me.

    Just out of curiosity I thought I'd check and see just how much spare change I had accumulated this year. Wow: it was enough to pay for my fifty-seven-dollar Hunting/Fishing Combination license with enough left over to buy the Heating element and controller I need to complete the Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat project.

    I'm back in business. With any luck at all I'll be able to do my next single cavity bullet mold print next week some time. Hallelujah! Things are looking up.

    In case any of you were wondering; if there had only been enough spare change for one or the other, I would have spent it on the hunting and fishing license for sure.

    HollowPoint
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 12-20-2021 at 09:35 PM.

  10. #90
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    Just wanted to let you all know that I'm still here. This project is ongoing; it's just that the holidays and the delivery wait times have set me back some more. I was sure I'd be able to start printing this past week but, not so.

    I actually got just about everything ready to go. I'm just waiting on one last-minute part to show up and that should get me to the full-ready-to-print stage. I found that just from sitting for a week or so, the 3D printed frame that screws up into the underside-channel of my vat had begun to buckle at each point where a screw was placed. I need more rigidity in that frame like the one found on the factory resin vats in order to eliminate this waviness. It has to be perfectly flat when installed otherwise the FEP/Clear Plastic sheet on the bottom of the vat will not rest flat on the UV lamp.

    Next week will be filled with my annual medical checkups and such followed by a few days of helping out a friend with her pickup truck, then I'll be back on track.

    I'll try to take a photo of the mods I had to make to the cabinet of my 3D printer just so you know where I'm at with it. Spoiler-Alert; right now it looks like a Jr. High-School science project that went horribly awry. No matter. I just want to confirm that it's all going to work for me and then I'll deal with refining the curb-appeal.

    Incidentally; I've tweaked my Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat's CAD drawing so that I will have them updated to be able to mill a prototype out of aluminum. It's not really necessary since my 3D filament printed vat works just fine. I just want to have it on hand in case I decide to do something more with this project than just use it for personal usage.

    HollowPoint

  11. #91
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    Moving Along At A Snail's Pace

    I finally got around to taking some photos of some of the alterations I've made to my 3D resin printer in order to accommodate the taller Automatic-Resin-Mixing vats that I printed with my filament 3D printer and that I milled out of HDPE.

    Right now it looks like something out of Frankenstein's laboratory or, like I mentioned in my previous post; "It looks like a Jr. High-School science experiment gone awry."

    No matter.
    I just want to get it to work for now. I'll deal with the aesthetics later.

    I did some last-minute fitment tests with everything hooked up so I could raise and lower the build plate to see what kind of clearances I was getting all the way around.

    I'm so happy I did these tests because I was fully prepared to do my first prints without ever checking my clearances.

    By slowly lowering the build plate I found that I had failed to account for the thickness of the arm that the build plate attaches to.

    My build plate would not go all the way down to the home-position. It stopped about a quarter of an inch before reaching the bottom of its movement because it was hitting the top of the rear-most vat wall.

    I can easily mill off enough material from the raising and lowering-arm but, I don't want to make any kind of irreversible alterations to my printer.

    Up to now, all the mods I've done to accommodate the new Automatic-Mixing-Vat can be easily reversed. At the very least, those mods can be covered over to make them look like they're supposed to be there.

    What I ended up doing instead was milling a notch on the rear-most wall of the vat to allow my build plate to be able to travel all the way down to the home-position. Unfortunately, doing this means that I will no longer have a new vat that is capable of holding more resin than the factory vat.

    This just means that it was a good idea to incorporate an additional resin reservoir to hold the additional resin I'd need to keep the vat filled high enough throughout the print session for the pump not to start sucking in air and blowing bubbles into the vat.

    In some of my recent posts I made it a point to mention more or less, the estimated time before I'd finally get to the actual print session to print out my next batch of single cavity bullet molds.

    I'm going to have to stop doing that because it seems that each time I throw out a timeline, something comes up to throw a monkey-wrench in the works. It's like I put the whammy on myself or my project by stating when I'll be printing another bullet mold.

    At this point I just want to say that this project IS moving forward. I'm just reluctant to give any set date when I'll be printing up another batch of bullet molds; other than to say, Soon; hopefully very soon. I've got everything ready to go now, except for the free time to do it in.

    UPDATE: Wouldn't you know it? After I went to the trouble of milling that slot on the rear-most wall of my 3D printed Vat in order to get the clearance I needed for my Build-Plate to reach its Home-Position, I discovered that I could have simply lengthened the little metal trigger that trips the Homing/Limit-Switch just before the Build-Plate reaches the Home position.

    This will require another modification to get the build plate to reach down low enough into the taller Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat to get to the Home-Position. I wish I would have discovered this earlier. It would have kept me from hacking up a perfectly good 3D printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat. Now I have to make a couple of easily swapped-out little extension plates.

    Imagine if I would have gone ahead and milled off some material on the arm that the Build-Plate attaches to. I'm glad I decided against it. This is what happens when I get into to much of a darn hurry.

    Oh well, I have enough filament left on that last roll of PETG filament I bought to print out one more of the taller Automatic-Resin-Mixing vats; then I think I'll be home-free. I've already started that print. It should be done when I wake up tomorrow morning; unless of course, I just put the whammy on myself again.

    HollowPoint
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails PrinterMods.jpg   Reservoir.jpg  
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 01-05-2022 at 11:40 PM.

  12. #92
    Boolit Master
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    A Bit More Waiting

    I Think, but I'm not sure that at this point I'm waiting for one last piece of this puzzle to arrive.

    Back when I first started posting this project over on the Epax 3D Resin printer Group on Facebook; as well as the Siraya Tech 3D Resin Printing Group and the 3D Resin Printing Group, I got alot of support from all of these parties.

    All the way up until a very small number of Anti-Anything-Having-To-Do-With-The Shooting-Sports individuals started raising a fuss about the subject matter of my projects. It didn't matter to them that my project centered around 3D resin printing and this new High-Heat-Resistant application for resin printing that I was working on.

    All that seemed to matter to these two or three individuals was that my project seem to trigger them into enough of a frenzy that I got the distinct impression that the administrators of these groups started showing signs of caving into the pressure of political correctness. They were afraid of having their groups shut down by the Facebook supreme authority.

    Although I believe they still supported me and my projects, they seemed kind of antsy from that point on. It was then that I quit posting updates of my project on these groups. Only by linking my 3D printed bullet molds project to my YouTube account did it seem to relieve some of the pressure being felt by the administrators of these Facebook groups.

    I mention all of this because up till then, certain individual within these groups were graciously providing help in the form of resin to work with and insights into chemical reactions and compatibility when different resins came into contact with different print filaments. Stuff Like That.

    Now, this project is finally winding down. One of the above supporters had graciously agreed to send me out what I'm hoping is the last component needed to finally be ready to print again. I'm now waiting for a factory configured little metal frame. It's the frame that secures the clear-sheet of FEP to the underside of the resin vat.

    While I've been waiting, I've used the time to fabricate the modified components that are needed to get my Build-Plate to stop at the correct Home-Level even with the slightly taller 3D printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vats in place.

    I mentioned in my last post that I'd be printing one last resin vat after needlessly butchering the rear-most vat-wall on my previously 3D filament printed resin vat. That last vat I 3D filament printed came out even better than the previous ones I printed so, as far as having some good usable resin vats to work with, I'm good to go.

    Below are a couple more photos of the modified components I had to fabricate in order to get the little-flat-metal-switch of the Optical-Sensor's timing just right; and also, to get my Build-Plate to reach down into the taller Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat to the correct Home-Position.

    It wasn't as easy as I initially though it would be. It took me a couple of tries to get the timing just right. This was due to the way the optical switch seems to function.

    As a quick analogy: if you've ever ridden in an elevator, you sense the elevator slow as you reach the floor you're going to. The elevator seems to then go just a tiny bit past the level of the floor you pushed the button for it to stop at. It will then slowly move upward just slightly above the floor level and from there it will slowly come down to match the exact height of the intended floor.

    The Optical-Sensor and the little Metal-Trigger-Switch seem to work in a similar fashion. I had to get the length of the small flat Metal-Trigger-Switch just the right length in order to get my Build-Plate to come to the exact Home-Position.

    And so now I wait; again.

    I'll be back as I get farther along.

    HollowPoint
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails ExtensionPlates.jpg   OpticalSensor.jpg  
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 01-12-2022 at 11:15 AM.

  13. #93
    Boolit Master
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    Today's The Day

    I spent the better part of this morning testing my pump setup with both the new Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat and the Inline-Reservoir filled with the premixed resin I'd prepared.

    Although the pump worked as designed, I found that it tended to suck all of the resin out of the reservoir and just transfer that volume of resin up into the vat.

    It would then proceed to suck air out of the reservoir and blow bubbles into the resin already in my Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat. That seemed strange to me because I had envisioned an equal amount of resin being both sucked out of the vat as was cycled through the reservoir.

    I fiddled around with hose lengths and resin levels in the vat and the reservoir and in the end, I decided to just run my inflow and outflow hoses directly into the vat and forgo the use of the reservoir. That seemed to do the trick.

    I started getting a good even flow of resin coming into and going out of my new 3D printed Automatic-Resin-Mixing vat.

    This also brought to light another problem I thought I had already taken care of; that was, thoroughly cleaning any residual specks of 3D print filament-dust or strands from the newly printed vat.

    It took me about a half hour of manually sifting the resin in the vat with one of my resin strainers till I finally felt comfortable enough to consider my Altered-Formulation-Resin clean enough for use in printing.

    Having done this pump testing, I see now that there is a couple more precautions I can take to increase the likelihood of getting good prints using this method in the future but for now, I've run out of patience so, I went ahead and started another print.

    Since I went through the process of pre-mixing the resin I planned to use, and it was already in the vat with the pump running I decided to pull the trigger.

    As I write this update this latest print has been running for about an hour. Honestly, I'm afraid to pause it to take a look to see if anything good is happening under my build plate. I'll probably let it run a bit longer before I check. I can't let it run too long because if something has gone south on me it could mean me risking some cured resin getting trapped and crushed between the build plate and the UV lamp.

    I'll be back to let you know how it went. Assuming that all goes well, it's a five-hour-plus print.

    Oh yea, I forgot to mention: my inline reservoir also had as a part of its makeup, the integral heating element. When I decided not to use the reservoir this meant that the resin would no longer be heated as it circulated.

    I manually heated the resin with my hot-air gun. I then wove the heating element around the inside wall of the printer-cabinet to hopefully keep the temperature inside the 3D printer at a temperature more conducive to keeping it at least close to the optimum temperature for this particular resin.

    Pray for me brethren and sistren. I have big plans for a certain cast lead bullet design once I get this project and all of its components dialed in and working reliably.

    HollowPoint
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 01-18-2022 at 05:46 PM.

  14. #94
    Boolit Master
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    That's What I Get For Being Impatient

    My Automatic-Resin-Mixing Vat worked great. It showed absolutely no negative effects by being subjected to either the resin or the pump flow.

    Weaving the pump-hoses the way I did left me with plenty of clearance for my Build-Plate to freely move up and down.

    The Build-Plate and Limit-Switch mods all worked reliably as intended and yet, the attempted print was a dismal failure.

    I did get a partial print out of it but that partial print showed distinct layer lines that were not there when I printed those previous batches of bullet molds.

    Some of you may remember me mentioning a mathematical formula for orienting my models on my Build-Plate so as to give the smoothest Flat-Surface-Finish possible for a given 3D resin printer. Well, in my case this just didn't prove to work at all. I'll be reverting back to simply orienting my models flat, directly onto the Build-Plate from here on out.

    Using this mathematical formula to calculate the optimum orientation angle meant that I had to use supports in order to hold my models at this specific "Optimum-Angle." I believe it was the combination of this, "Optimum-Angle" using the model-supports, and the fact that I was not able to keep my resin heated to the "Optimum-Heat-Level" that did me in.

    Also, I had mentioned in my previous update that I was getting air bubbles because my pump was sucking all the resin out of my inline reservoir and just dumping it into my resin-vat.

    During my cleanup of this print debacle, I found out what had really been causing all of those air bubbles. It turns out that one of the 3D filament-printed ports running into my reservoir had cracked at its base underneath the lid of the reservoir and I didn't know about it until I went to clean out the little 4oz reservoir. When I went to unscrew the lid on that reservoir the tip or nipple of one of those ports just broke the rest of the way off.

    SO; what this means is that I'll be replacing those particular components with components I'll be fabricating on my metal lathe. It shouldn't take to long but the fact that I'm having to take the long way around is a bit disconcerting.

    If I hadn't been so impatient, if I had just taken the time to do a bit more testing; this is one of those, "Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda" moments.

    In my own defense, I'd like to repeat that I am not an engineer. I'm not even a machinist. I'm just a chronic Do-It-Yourselfer who tends to learn by trial and error. (mostly error)

    At this point I have no doubt it's all going to work once I get it all dialed in. It's the time that it's taking for me to get it dialed in that's driving me nuts.

    I'll be taking some time off to get some much-needed home repair stuff out of the way. Recent rains in our area has shown me that my house needs to be re-roofed. I can probably have those new aluminum components made up within a couple of days but even then, it will be a week or so before I can get back on this project to bring it to its' completion.

    Here's a photo of the partial print I got this time around. I hope it's not too washed out to show the layer lines I was talking about. I'm also including a closeup of the broken port that broke on my inline resin reservoir and another CAD rendering of the way I had oriented my models on my build-plate in order to give me that, "Optimum-Angle" that didn't work worth a darn.

    I shall return.

    HollowPoint.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails optimumangle.jpg   crapmold.jpg   brokenports.jpg  

  15. #95
    Boolit Master
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    I'm still here.

    Finally got over the flu, now it's on to the home repairs I had planned before the flu bug stung me.

    I'll be back on this project as soon as I can.

    HollowPoint

  16. #96
    Boolit Master
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    Some of you may have wondered whatever happened to this project.

    Well, I'm still here and I still plan on completing this project but, I went from having to re-roof my house to catching the flu bug, to being hit by a Sinus-Infection-From-Hell. It's kept me down for the past -going on- three months now.

    I thought I'd gotten these sinus problems taken care of last year but, it has re-occurred, and it appears that it will take some sinus-surgery to give me my life back.

    It's been so bad that I haven't been able to go fishing or shooting. The smell of just about anything chemical or synthetic just seems to exacerbate the intensity of this sinus infection.

    I've known for quite a while that I have a deviated septum. My Ear, Nose and Throat specialist has indicated that this may in large part have something to do with this lingering sinus problem. Just about the time it starts to feel like it's clearing up, it comes on again like gangbusters.

    I hope to get back on this project to bring it to its' successful conclusion in a few weeks. Right now, I'm just waiting to hear from my insurance people to see exactly how much of this surgery they will cover.

    I know this isn't the place on this forum for this kind of stuff but if any of you are of the praying type, I'd appreciate you putting in a word with the good Lord for my speedy recovery.

    I'd like to get my life back as soon as possible. I'd like to be able to go fishing and shooting again and I'd like to be able to do so using my home-made fishing baits and reloaded cast bullets.

    I just wanted to let you all know that this project is still live. I've just had to put it on the backburner until I can get these medical issues cleared up.

    Over N Out for now. I be back.

    HollowPoint

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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