# 3d printing



## OhioUAHunter (Apr 1, 2014)

Hey all, 
My brother in law just got a 3d printer and we are on the hunt for archery related printing ideas. What have some of you seen/made with a 3d printer? So far were going for a simple kickstand, and a fletching jig/tower. 
Any other ideas? I'll be adding pics as the products come out but first we have to wait for the thread to be ordered again.


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## tim.fleming (Apr 7, 2013)

stabilizer,sight housing, arrow rest launcher, bow quiver, target pins,broadhead box....ummmm thats all i can think of.


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## ThomVis (Feb 21, 2012)

Grips


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## Longspring (Mar 25, 2015)

you could make a bow vice. make all the pieces and then assemble.


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## Longspring (Mar 25, 2015)

another thing, depending on strength you may be able to make nocks?


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## Longspring (Mar 25, 2015)

another thing, depending on strength you may be able to make nocks? How about you make me a 3d printer and ship it to me?  One that really works!


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

How strong are the parts made by a 3D printer?

For example, would 3D printed cams or risers be strong enough?


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## cshs (Apr 25, 2011)

Longspring said:


> another thing, depending on strength you may be able to make nocks? How about you make me a 3d printer and ship it to me?  One that really works!


don't make nocks....abs plastic is good but not great.


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## b0w_bender (Apr 30, 2006)

aread said:


> How strong are the parts made by a 3D printer?
> 
> For example, would 3D printed cams or risers be strong enough?


Oooooh cams for youth bows now that would be useful!


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## OhioUAHunter (Apr 1, 2014)

Good ideas here,


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## OhioUAHunter (Apr 1, 2014)

I'll keep you updated on where were at with the jig and kickstand.


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## Montalaar (Jan 26, 2008)

I printed cams for a 15 lbs bow, worked well, but was scared a bit and replaced them again. Printing nocks is actually possible, but it is safer to buy molded ones. Just because the quality control in the molded ones is easier/better.

Until now i printed a grip, some arrow holders to clip arrows in and multiple moulds for string silencer (tried out some designs to get a nice one. With the use of some Sugru i can get my custom string silencers/leeches for ~1 USD now.) All kinds of spacers work really nice..


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## hoytprotec (Jun 27, 2006)

We have a 3d printer at work. I've probably designed and printed dozens of parts and fixtures over the past year and a half. The printer we have originally cost about $2000. Usually we use it when ordering a machined rapid prototype will take too long or we want to check basic feasibility before spending a few hundred or thousand dollars on a better prototype. Our (relatively) cheap printer doesn't have great tolerances. The printer head moves in a combination of the X and Y directions, prints a layer, then the platform lowers a little bit and it prints the next layer. As a result, anything circular doesn't come out great. For example, if we want to print anything with a threaded hole, we'll usually print it with just a round through hole, then ream it out in the drill press to get a more rounded hole, then manually thread it with a tap. 

I've experimented with some archery things. The one which worked the best was a bowholder for the tree. I basically printed an accessory hook with a Nite-Ize Figure 9 feature that allowed me to attach it to the tree with paracord. No screw-in, no plastic clip. I did however reinforce the hook with a #10 bolt so it could hold the weight of the bow comfortably. If you do any camera or GPS work, I've 3d printed the little RAM mount components pretty successfully. Once again I reinforced with a 1/4-20" bolt. I also printed a shock mount for my shotgun microphone. For things with loose tolerance requirements, they work fine. 

I personally would not attempt to print bow limbs (they likely are too large to fit on the platform anyways), and seriously doubt the strength of printed cams, especially for a bow with typical poundage. You could experiment with nocks. I think if your machine is more recreational (in the couple hundred to couple thousand dollar range), you probably won't be very satisfied. The industrial 3d printers (ones costing $20k+) would probably print decent nocks. You might have to sand or polish them a bit to get a good fit in every arrow. Play around with it. 3d printers are fun. You could probably print a little fixture to glue onto a stake to hold your arrows and a beverage for shooting outside. :darkbeer: Montalaar's string silencer molds sound like a pretty good idea too!


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## jmprg (Apr 2, 2015)

Hi, new to AT.. I'm planning to convert my bow to shoot through cable.. rather than use nocks for spreader, I played with g**gle sketch-up and came up with some design..
here it is fresh from friend's printer so it looks quite rough, hope it'll work ok..


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## Montalaar (Jan 26, 2008)

Just as a comment..:
I like your idea. You could, however, round the corners off a bit, especially at the positions where the cables will leave your spreader. 
Did you print them in ABS or PLA? If PLA: Keep in mind that PLA is based on corn starch and will slowly degrade over time.

I would like to see some pictures of the spreaders in action!


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## jmprg (Apr 2, 2015)

hi, appreciate your advice.. the cable rail end is actually rounded but not the enclosure, like on bomar's slide.. I print on ABS as that was the only material we own.. 

Another thought is to emplyoy some kind of rubber material for some damper or else.. I've seen some commercial printer offer them..


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## Montalaar (Jan 26, 2008)

I did already print with soft PLA, which has a rubber-like structure if printed in thin layers. Unfortunately it is a pain in the ass to use and really annoying. Plus it smells like the most cancerous stuff in the universe when heated. For my string leech is use(d) Sugru, which is a selfsetting rubber. I also used it to seal some thread insert/adapter is printed for my Axcel-sight. For everything that does not dry directly on the string i use Oogoo, which is easy to make and has really nice properties. All colors possible!


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## OhioUAHunter (Apr 1, 2014)

Here's a few images of the fletching tower jig. It worked fairly well for a first try at it. We need to open the arms up a little bit to allow for a little more room for the blazers to fit in, they were a tight squeeze. Overall the press applied equal pressure over the blazers. It puts a right helical on the blazers, but all that needs done for straight is new arms printed.


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## Outsider (Aug 16, 2011)

arrow spinner,arrow spine checker


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## onyx48166 (Feb 9, 2011)

3d printed arrow square


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## PaulME (Jun 11, 2014)

With home quality printers cams are not a good idea, you don't have the strength, in fact the commercial printers would also not necessarily be a good application as well. 
You shoul decide what is an actual good application vs I have this great new toy I have to make stuff. For example nocks are just a bad idea given the price of high quality ones - tolerances on Easton Beiter should be on the order of .0005 or better, you can't match that with a printer, and the material properties will generally be far inferior.

Paul


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## stillern (Feb 1, 2005)

Longspring said:


> you could make a bow vice. make all the pieces and then assemble.


This^^^


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## BaconPower (Jun 9, 2015)

Montalaar said:


> I printed cams for a 15 lbs bow, worked well, but was scared a bit and replaced them again. Printing nocks is actually possible, but it is safer to buy molded ones. Just because the quality control in the molded ones is easier/better.
> 
> Until now i printed a grip, some arrow holders to clip arrows in and multiple moulds for string silencer (tried out some designs to get a nice one. With the use of some Sugru i can get my custom string silencers/leeches for ~1 USD now.) All kinds of spacers work really nice..


Did you try silicon caulk instead of sugru?


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## Mig (Nov 26, 2008)

you can also design parts that have threaded steel bushings. Just design a pocket in the 3d model and have the printing pause after it's made the entire pocket for the threaded bushing. press the threaded bushing in and continue the print. it should enclose the bushing in the printed model. I don't know if that makes sense or not. otherwise i would make what others have said: fletching jigs, arrow spinner, bow stands. pretty much anything that won't have a lot of stress on it(just to keep it safe). Make a sight light with custom housing for batteries and switches. I was going to make my own release handles that would fit my hand. Just print the handle until it fits my hand and fingers and then get in CNC'd. 

I was also thinking if I wanted it out of a metal, I could have it 3d printed in the material I wanted. Shapeways.com and I.materialise.com you can upload 3d programs and get an instant quote based off of the material you choose and the area/size of the part. but that option would only be if it was cheaper than a quote from a machine shop to get it CNC'd


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## Montalaar (Jan 26, 2008)

BaconPower said:


> Did you try silicon caulk instead of sugru?


Not on the string itself, but i started testing it last weekend on some paracord leftovers and some strings i had around. Did not want to try it on the actual bowstring first, as silicon caulk is a bit acidly. If the silicon caulk works well - without damaging the serving - i will experiment with it further. Would also allow to make clear rubber parts on the string, which is especially nice as i have some glow-in-the-dark powder left to use in it..

Will keep you updated.

OhioUAHunter, isn't that the fetching jig found on thingiverse? Looks nice in real.


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## Montalaar (Jan 26, 2008)

Turns out that silicon caulk works very well. Oogoo, which is a 2:1 mix of silicon caulk to corn starch should work as well, plus it can be colored with just a few grains of pigment. This makes is incredibly inexpensive to build string silencers, custom silencers for all cutouts in the bow and so on. Next thing i will do is to design a mold for the Hoyt AIrshox dampener. It really bugs me that there the dampener are smaller than the limbs on my PCEXL, so now i can change that...


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## BaconPower (Jun 9, 2015)

Montalaar said:


> Turns out that silicon caulk works very well. Oogoo, which is a 2:1 mix of silicon caulk to corn starch should work as well, plus it can be colored with just a few grains of pigment. This makes is incredibly inexpensive to build string silencers, custom silencers for all cutouts in the bow and so on. Next thing i will do is to design a mold for the Hoyt AIrshox dampener. It really bugs me that there the dampener are smaller than the limbs on my PCEXL, so now i can change that...


Cool!
Which dye are you using for silicon? Have you tried Rit dye? If you're worries about acidy of silicon you can mix in a bit of baking soda. Make sure you post a pic of your mold and results, I'm curious!


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## Montalaar (Jan 26, 2008)

Bringing the topic up because i finally got some experience with the mold and the Airshox-replacement. I am still not completely satisfied, but at least it works. If someone is interested i can take some pictures, although i am going to produce airshox-mold v5 at some point next week, incorporating all the stuff i learnt about air bubbles and ways to get the silicone in the mold.

In the end i decided to buy some 2 component silicone, which has a better viscosity than the normal silicone caulk. It has 20 minutes to get into the mold and hardens within 2 hours. For now that is quite nice, it is just too soft and i need to order the next stiffer.


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## Longlost (Jan 26, 2015)

You could print objects in wax. There are many small foundries who can then cast a copy in metal using the lost wax process.


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## BluMeanie (May 5, 2014)

Longlost said:


> You could print objects in wax. There are many small foundries who can then cast a copy in metal using the lost wax process.


Or a variation of that - using a styrene "wire" as the media (if that is possible), a similar process is "Lost Foam". GM has made literally Millions of engines and other large aluminium parts using this process.


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## Spikealot (May 27, 2009)

Montalaar said:


> Bringing the topic up because i finally got some experience with the mold and the Airshox-replacement. I am still not completely satisfied, but at least it works. If someone is interested i can take some pictures, although i am going to produce airshox-mold v5 at some point next week, incorporating all the stuff i learnt about air bubbles and ways to get the silicone in the mold.
> 
> In the end i decided to buy some 2 component silicone, which has a better viscosity than the normal silicone caulk. It has 20 minutes to get into the mold and hardens within 2 hours. For now that is quite nice, it is just too soft and i need to order the next stiffer.


Way too soft for a custom quiver arrow holder.?


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## Montalaar (Jan 26, 2008)

Depends on how you put use to it. You will certainly need a stiff base component to build on or else it will get quite wobbly. Once you have the base shape you want to use later on, it would be easy to add a few layers of silicone/rubber to prevent friction/slipping out.

Actually, thinking about it... I made a piece of plastic in which you can clip your arrows to store them away. Always 6 arrows per piece, but it is possible to put an unlimited amount of 'holders' in a row. The problem has always been that the 'holder' only fits to one size of arrows, anything larger wont fit at all and anything smaller will likely slip out... But if i would coat everything in a thin layer of silicone/rubber.....


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## Sprint67s (Apr 28, 2014)

I have made several different versions of pins for my scope housing, I made different angle brackets for my stabilizer rather than buying angles brackets for quick disconnect... Arrow separators for my arrow case!! just grips..... It allows you to play around quite a bit!!


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## calinb (Nov 25, 2015)

*3D printed fletching jig mods and upgrades*


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OhioUAHunter said:


> Here's a few images of the fletching tower jig. It worked fairly well for a first try at it. We need to open the arms up a little bit to allow for a little more room for the blazers to fit in, they were a tight squeeze. <snip>


I downloaded the Ver. 2 files for the same jig and scaled the arms and jig to support straight 5" feathers and 11/32 shafts. I also designed a few simple improvements to the jig, including a printed long removable wedge to aid in the insertion of the fletching into the tight slots. (A tight fit is actually desirable otherwise.) The wedge is inserted from the backside of the arm, spreading the slot open. After the vane or feather is inserted, the wedge is removed and inserted into the next arm to load the next feather or vane.

I used Taulman 618 nylon for the jig, which is not only solvent and adhesive resistant but also somewhat flexible so it works well with the wedge slot spreader. Be advised that nylon is not an easy material to print well, however, and I recommend it for advanced users. I can advise in the use of Garolite and Gorilla Glue on heated glass (must be 1/4" thick) as a nylon printing bed surface. Oregon brand green trimmer line works just as well as 618, but don't risk breathing any potential fumes. I believe that the potential of a heath risk is unproven with this trimmer line, but why risk it? If you don't have a safe place to print it (the garage or under a fume hood), then I recommend using a known 3D printing media, like Taulman. The results with trimmer line are very nice, however, and I simply set my slicer for 2.67 mm when using trimmer line instead of 2.98 mm for Taulman 618 (the old 618 before it was reduced slightly in diameter) on my Ultimaker printer.

I also made these improvements to the jig:

1. Strengthened the base hinge arms.

2. Modified the base design and made a removable and adjustable (indexible) tapered removable nock index for it. It enables the fletching to be oriented at any desired angle to the nock slot using the same jig. With feathers in some "slingbows" (slingshot arrow shooters) I have found it to be useful to be able to set the fletching a couple of degrees off from square with the nock. Of course this feature also enables installing nocks at either 0 or 90 degrees.

I will post my files as a "remix" on thingiverse when I am satisfied with my design changes and also post a notification here when they are ready for download. Sadly, the original thingiverse contributor did not include solid model files so I must hack the mesh files that were provided to make changes, which is much more difficult than editing solid model files.


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## ex-wolverine (Dec 31, 2004)

Grips and side plates??


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## dirtysouth_24.7 (Oct 5, 2015)

Outsider said:


> arrow spinner,arrow spine checker



Arrow spinner for sure


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## tjd60449 (Jun 30, 2012)

Side plates, draw stops, quick disconnects, side or back bar mount, stabilizers, sights, rest, pretty much anything. You may need at trip to the hardware store and some ingenuity, but the list goes on. 

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk


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## MichBowhunter12 (Jan 23, 2012)

What about strap on steps for human hunt out of a tree saddle?


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## YZF-88 (Dec 2, 2011)

How about a bow riser? Just kidding of course. As an experiment and to tune my printer, I downloaded this and printed it 1/3 scale though.


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## calinb (Nov 25, 2015)

Yeah--I'm thinking that a stabilizer coupling printed with flexible PLA might work well for a simple but tuneable stabilizer. My idea is just a cylindrical tube that's female threaded 5/16-24 in one end for a threaded metal rod. (A threaded metal rod is more robust than printing a threaded bow-end connection). The target end of the stabilizer would be threaded for an adjustable weight. By screwing the weight in and out to adjust the total stabilizer length, its resonant nodes could be tuned.

The weight end could be printed too. Different amounts of shot could be loaded into a compartment in the weight end as another means to tune the stabilizer.



tjd60449 said:


> Side plates, draw stops, quick disconnects, side or back bar mount, stabilizers, sights, rest, pretty much anything. You may need at trip to the hardware store and some ingenuity, but the list goes on.
> 
> Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk


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## bmeehan1919 (Dec 31, 2014)

I found a sight that has files for all of these. 
http://m.yeggi.com/q/archery/11/
FOBs, practice broadheads, target push pins, broadhead wrench, bow stand (here is a link to the files to print one)
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:98791/#files


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TylerB (Dec 1, 2015)

My civics and my horticulture teachers printed an bow stand (the type you put on the limbs) they said it didn't work very well and warped maybe beef of the design somehow and it would work.


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## cooperjd (Aug 18, 2009)

YZF-88 said:


> How about a bow riser? Just kidding of course. As an experiment and to tune my printer, I downloaded this and printed it 1/3 scale though.
> View attachment 3346738


that's awesome. could you fashion a kids bow out of that?


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## markovian (Oct 7, 2014)

3d printed bow lol it looks more like a toy but it dose work 

http://3dprint.com/25555/3d-printed-compound-bow-mk3/


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## maskins (Jan 28, 2014)

I work for a company that makes filament for 3d printers. I got them to print me an arrow spinner when they are doing testing.


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## calinb (Nov 25, 2015)

Here are some of my archery related posts. I prefer GrabCAD to Thingiverse, because Thingiverse/Makerbot is anti-gun, but I made an exception and posted a re-spin of an existing Thingiverse submission with this fletching jig:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1193570

A recurve bow stringer:
https://grabcad.com/library/recurve-bow-string-template-1

And my "Print One For A Kid" slingshot submission:
https://grabcad.com/library/boy-scout-slingshot-print-one-for-a-kid-1

My Rambone slingshot "slingbow" adapter:
https://grabcad.com/library/rambone-slingshot-boneplate-arrow-adapter-1


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## RCR_III (Mar 19, 2011)

Montalaar said:


> Bringing the topic up because i finally got some experience with the mold and the Airshox-replacement. I am still not completely satisfied, but at least it works. If someone is interested i can take some pictures, although i am going to produce airshox-mold v5 at some point next week, incorporating all the stuff i learnt about air bubbles and ways to get the silicone in the mold.
> 
> In the end i decided to buy some 2 component silicone, which has a better viscosity than the normal silicone caulk. It has 20 minutes to get into the mold and hardens within 2 hours. For now that is quite nice, it is just too soft and i need to order the next stiffer.


I'd like to see this. I'd be interested in it.


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## BowhunterJT (Jun 4, 2009)

If you want to make some real money or just be helpful, make some Linear Bow Press Fingers for everyone.....

...wait did I just say that out loud? :zip:


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## RCR_III (Mar 19, 2011)

BowhunterJT said:


> If you want to make some real money or just be helpful, make some Linear Bow Press Fingers for everyone.....
> 
> ...wait did I just say that out loud? :zip:


Hangers. He has to make hangers. You know, for us to hang the bows on ;-)


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## BowhunterJT (Jun 4, 2009)

My bad.... Hangers! Guys the key word is hangers! .... Oh crud now they know our secrete word!


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## Ccox1101 (Aug 24, 2014)

Awesome!


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