Made a video of a 3D printed suppressor.

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Suputin221
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 349
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:03 pm

Re: Made a video of a 3D printed suppressor.

Post by Suputin221 »

300Blk wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2019 6:43 pm Lots of working even making a simple video, but figured out what resin is strongest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekDs60QxmNE
I don't have any experience with resin printers but I can tell you that FDM printed PLA is fairly strong. Certainly strong enough to work on a 9mm pistol. The biggest issue with PLA is heat resistance. That stuff gets soft above 60c.

I have printed workable PLA silencers in 9mm and for 300BLK subsonic. While I have printed fully plastic silencers for both, I found that an aluminum "heat sink" really helps, especially if it also acts as a blast baffle. We put two 10 rd mags through the 9mm pistol can and it was fine. Not sure exactly how long it would last but rate of fire would likely be the biggest issue.

Beyond the heat issues, internal design helps to reduce erosion and collapse of the baffles.
Suputin221
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 349
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:03 pm

Re: Made a video of a 3D printed suppressor.

Post by Suputin221 »

dellet wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:07 pm Very interesting.

Any idea how the tight inside tolerances hold, wondering about airflow, turbulence and accuracy?
I can't comment on resin type printers but the FDM type are not wildly accurate because they are, after all, just melting plastic. Stuff like threads need to be printed with some extra tolerance to fit properly. I actually ended up using toothpaste as a lapping compound on threads that were a bit tight. :lol:
Suputin221
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 349
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:03 pm

Re: Made a video of a 3D printed suppressor.

Post by Suputin221 »

GunFunZS wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2019 6:29 pm Neat. I bet you could save a lot of weight by press fitting a thin aluminum tube as a sleeve around the first chamber and threaded area for tension strenght. Perhaps heat it up and let it cool on.

I understand that wasn't the purpose of your project, but thinking about how to mature the technology into something overall better, combined manufacturing methods putting the best materials in the best places...
The primary problem with plastic parts is not their strength, it is their resistance to heat. A common 3D printing plastic like PLA starts to get soft around 60-70c. Soft plastic plus pressure = by by suppressor.

Aluminum would work as a heat sink but it has to be exposed to the blast chamber as well as the exterior air in order to protect the plastic parts. Any temperature at which aluminum would increase in size would turn the plastic parts into goo.

Just for shits & giggles, I experimented with destroying a PLA silencer by putting it in the oven. Less than 10 minutes on broil and the silencer had turned into an unidentifiable puddle of plastic.
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