I'm thinking of doing something kind of like the nitefinder, just a simple body with a barrel to put the dart in, a handle, a trigger, and a cocking mechanism. I'm wondering what parts of the body need to be airtight, and what parts of the gun will need to be the most sturdy, and I'm also interested if anyone has any design ideas.
If anyone posts a file (preferrably .stl or .skp format; the printer takes .stl and I'm hoping to use sketchup to design the thing) I'd be happy to print it, test it, and give you credit when I release the final design. The max object size I can print right now is roughly 100mm^3, but any design could probably be split into pieces and assembled with abs cement or screws. Additionally, any overhangs of more than 45 degrees may not print right, so keep all that in mind if you're desigining something.
I'll be updating this topic as the project moves forward. I'm not sure if anyone has ever printed a working nerf gun, but any advice, suggestions, or links to previous efforts would be much appreciated.
Update (10/8): I'm going away to a cabin with my family this weekend, and I have lots of midterms next week, so I might not be able to do much work on this for a little while, however, here's what I'm working on so far.
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This is just a prototype to see how everything fits together, its not meant in any way to be functional. For the final design I'm going to fill in the walls on both sides, and use PVC for the air chamber (not shown because it doesnt fit) and the barrel. I'm also going to completely redesign the trigger mechanism, because right now it doesn't make any sense as to how its going to work. I'm thinking of doing something along the lines of a clothespin trigger, but I'm not really sure how it'll work in the end.
Edited by tskaze, 08 October 2010 - 09:28 AM.