Soon you can "Print" up almost anything you want. 3D printers will make the impossible possible in terms of objects that are almost impossible otherwise to make like a one piece hollow sphere ect. Within the next ten years printing bullets will be like casting bullets. What kind of exotic bullets would you print? I have some ideas but I'd like to see what the peanut gallery comes up with first after your turkey and too much booze and relatives.

PS
Gobble Gobble

..and the printer cost is?

Keith

And materials. 3D Printing metal isn't going to be that cheap except in volume.

And time.

And if you can earn a heap of $$$, why not spend your time doing that and the rest using the bullets / hunting !!!

these have gone from $10,000,000 to $10,000 in less than 15 years ... in 10 more years, they will be the modern $300 printer...

want to be that EVERYTHING printed has to go through an agency or at least reported to?

Funny I just got done printing a few Christmas ornaments. I have thought about it a few times and must not be very creative. I have shot many plastic bullets in the back yard and shoot wax a lot but never pushed print on a bullet mostly because I don't want to waste the time. The biggest drawback now is it would take forever. 30 minute prints for a 900 grain .620 would be expected if it was 10% fill. A solid one I would guess an hour or more. I can turn solid plastic bullets in a couple minutes.

Matthew

Exactly.

To create the first bullet to test and copy it will be great but apart from that, cheaper and quicker ways to make them, metal or plastic.

How about printing out David Livingstone's Gun?

http://3d.si.edu/downloads/60

Here is one idea. Bullets that are made pre rifled to your barrel.

But what would be the point ?

quote:

Originally posted by 505G:
But what would be the point ?

Pre rifled bullets? Lower pressure or more velocity.
Another idea... Leave voids to make the center of gravity where you like. Weight forward for dart stability ect.
Another idea. Adding exotic means of redirecting air resistance and turbulence to create spin in smooth bores and shotguns.
Another... Modular bullet system tips.
Yet another... Hollow tip solids.

No out of the box ideas?
How about printing your own cases? Do you have a hard to get cartridge case?
Print up a whole collection of nostalgia and wildcat cases.

where does one acquire the specific materials to build with?

Just run down to Lowes...?

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
No out of the box ideas?
How about printing your own cases? Do you have a hard to get cartridge case?
Print up a whole collection of nostalgia and wildcat cases.

It WOULD be sweet to create cases at home...

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
where does one acquire the specific materials to build with?

Just run down to Lowes...?

Probably 20 years before you see 3D printers at your local Walmart ect but I can see an industry of print shops and people who sell the code to make a variety of objects. Want a replica race car? print it a piece at a time ect.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Here is one idea. Bullets that are made pre rifled to your barrel.

How would you get them to line up perfectly if it wasn't a muzzleloading rifle?

I can imagine a few ways including a special throat but I imagined this for single loading solid long high BC bullets sticking far out of the case as to self align. This design would lower pressure and no need for driving bands ect adding to higher BC. This design would almost eliminate barrel fouling and increased accuracy if done right IMHO. There would be very little resistance. The shape of the rifling could be something to play around with as well. What kind of rifling would be best and how many?

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:


Probably 20 years before you see 3D printers at your local Walmart ect but I can see an industry of print shops and people who sell the code to make a variety of objects. Want a replica race car? print it a piece at a time ect.

I would bet less than 5 years. There are some pretty cheap ($500) ones that work out there pretty well. The adoption issue will be getting the public to understand they print slowly. There is a lot of free code out there, check out www.thingiverse.com

I still don't see a bullet printing advantage. That is what the lathes at CEB are for

Matthew

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
I can imagine a few ways including a special throat but I imagined this for single loading solid long high BC bullets sticking far out of the case as to self align. This design would lower pressure and no need for driving bands ect adding to higher BC. This design would almost eliminate barrel fouling and increased accuracy if done right IMHO. There would be very little resistance. The shape of the rifling could be something to play around with as well. What kind of rifling would be best and how many?

boom stick:

Your pre-rifled projectile could much more easily, and much less expensivly, and much more reliably, and much more quickly be produced on a CNC machine center...right now. No need for a 3D printer at all. No need for new tech at all.

You could print whatever sized sabot you wanted to.

I had 3D printers available at work (Lockheed Martin F35 program) yes you can do amazing things but slow and costly. Yes they could work in some amazing material.
I am waiting for the technology of making programmable bullets. We have them in 25 mm now. They may get down to .500 some day.
Bill

Bill, are you are referring to the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement (CDTE) System? It is an offshoot of the abandoned OICW (Objective Individual Combat Weapon) program. The technology was used and proven in the OICW using a 20mm projectile and the increase from 20mm to 25mm was made to get more explosive in the round. The technology is already there to put the "smart" part of the system into a 50cal projectile, perhaps even smaller. As with the OICW, the greatest size limiting factor is the non-"smart" part of the round. For example, the .50 caliber Raufass round is barely big enough now to hold what it takes to get the job done.

Would be cool to test for accuracy, fouling, B.C., pressure ect with like bullet.
Full groove diameter solid bullets could be interesting. Fewer riflings needed.

quote:

Originally posted by ELR Researcher:

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
I can imagine a few ways including a special throat but I imagined this for single loading solid long high BC bullets sticking far out of the case as to self align. This design would lower pressure and no need for driving bands ect adding to higher BC. This design would almost eliminate barrel fouling and increased accuracy if done right IMHO. There would be very little resistance. The shape of the rifling could be something to play around with as well. What kind of rifling would be best and how many?

boom stick:

Your pre-rifled projectile could much more easily, and much less expensivly, and much more reliably, and much more quickly be produced on a CNC machine center...right now. No need for a 3D printer at all. No need for new tech at all.