3D printing and slug wads

[mag41uk]

I cast a few types of 12g slug. LEE and Lyman shuttlecock type.
I also have a Svarog mould that I have finally got to grips with today.
Its a fussy little mould:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bullet-Slug- ... SwxutZ5HVH
I got this mould as it uses a screwed on plastic wad which remains with the slug until impact.
I haven't tried it yet
As you may know, Bisley has now banned plas wads of the type you would use with the LEE and Lyman.
Svarog also make this mould:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bullet-Slug- ... SwpPNZ5HSH
I have the actual Gualandi slugs and they shoot very well.
The problem with this mould is finding the push on plastic wads - Gualandi - needless to say - don't sell the wads separately.
So, those 3D printers out there, how feasible is it to make the wads?
Presumably it would lack the flex of the original but fibre wads could be used to help.
The wad could be made with spin enhancing lands.
I have also thought about making a near to bore size wad that could be glued inside a Lyman slug.
You could then load it directly into the case, the wad stays with the slug, presumably it would fly better too?
There is an Australian company making slug cartridges and they use a 3d printed base wad so it is doable.
Tony

[andrew375]

It's doable . Best make them from abs as it is less brittle than pla . Be aware that 3d printing is not a fast or cheap process, reckon on at least 2 hours per wad. With your own machine just set as many as you can to be made at the same time and leave it going but if you use the services of one of the companies that offer to make your parts it can be expensive. Also, you have to produce your 3d cad file, in .sts format, before you can do anything.

[1066]

Yes, designing and printing something wouldn't be too much of a problem - Home 3d printing is usually made up of lots of .2mm layers so what ever you print has a weakness "along the grain", also the most common plastic to print with is PLA which tends to be quite tough but rather brittle, however it is quite environmentally friendly. PLA is made of vegetable material and will eventually bio-degrade.

So, yes, using a fibre wad as inertia cushioning and a plastic base attached to the slug with angled fins sounds perfectly feasible.

Something like this with a fibre wad?

[Triffid]

Tony,
Have you tried using fibre-wads with the Lee/Lyman slugs?
Triffid

[mag41uk]

Yes, designing and printing something wouldn't be too much of a problem - Home 3d printing is usually made up of lots of .2mm layers so what ever you print has a weakness "along the grain", also the most common plastic to print with is PLA which tends to be quite tough but rather brittle, however it is quite environmentally friendly. PLA is made of vegetable material and will eventually bio-degrade.

So, yes, using a fibre wad as inertia cushioning and a plastic base attached to the slug with angled fins sounds perfectly feasible.

Something like this with a fibre wad?

That's the sort of thing. Maybe longer?
Does your design ware estimate time to construct?
Is it easy to modify a design?
I know zip about 3d printing but I foresee one in my life!

[mag41uk]

Tony,
Have you tried using fibre-wads with the Lee/Lyman slugs?
Triffid

I have with no success!
The slugs just rattle down the bore.
Both these slugs are only moderately accurate in an ideal world anyway.
MP moulds sells a mould for a bore diameter copy of the Lyman mould.
He hasn't had any for quite some time.
If a dedicated wad could be made for the Lyman that is bore diameter I think that could work.

[1066]

Yes, designing and printing something wouldn't be too much of a problem - Home 3d printing is usually made up of lots of .2mm layers so what ever you print has a weakness "along the grain", also the most common plastic to print with is PLA which tends to be quite tough but rather brittle, however it is quite environmentally friendly. PLA is made of vegetable material and will eventually bio-degrade.

So, yes, using a fibre wad as inertia cushioning and a plastic base attached to the slug with angled fins sounds perfectly feasible.

Something like this with a fibre wad?

That's the sort of thing. Maybe longer?
Does your design ware estimate time to construct?
Is it easy to modify a design?
I know zip about 3d printing but I foresee one in my life!

Yes, when I send the design to another program called a slicer it will tell me about how long it will take to print. It says this will take 22 minutes 5 seconds to print. As Andrew says, it's slow and not a cheap option compared with say injection moulding - the up side is that you don't need to spend 5 grand for a mould. Making several at once, say ten at a time just takes ten times as long.

Yes, easy to modify - That design I just made from scratch in a few minutes - So longer,more fins, different angle, waisted, etc. what ever you can think of.

[TomH]

I have seen people using BP20 Gualandi wads on Castboolits, so they do do them:

http://www.gualandi.it/en/products_plas ... ttoni.html

[mag41uk]

I have seen people using BP20 Gualandi wads on Castboolits, so they do do them:

http://www.gualandi.it/en/products_plas ... ttoni.html

The wad I would be looking for are these:
http://www.gualandi.it/en/products_slug ... ttile.html
I could buy the mould I linked in post #1 and fit my own wads.
If I could either buy them or print them that is!

[1066]

If I could either buy them or print them that is!

Unfortunately that design wouldn't work as a home print, it would callapse under pressure - it could be printed comercially with SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) printing in nylon but would work out at several pounds each.