FANG 2: Prototype 1 fabrication part 1

Posted on 2009-03-15 10:20:33

Filed under fang2

The image above shows the lines in one piece made with the FDM process. The piece shown (the back end of the turret) actually might need to be remade with FDM due to some warping in the original piece. One corner was warped so that it was not perfectly flat and thus would not seal. Sanding everything flat just made the problem worse (go figure). I epoxied a circular piece of polycarbonate to the back end--this should remain flat. It won't be as pretty as the original plan but it should work.

If it doesn't work, I'll remake the piece with FDM, which I'm not exactly looking forward to due to the costs, but I'll do it if it's all that's necessary.

The above image shows the blaster immediately after I added temporary polycarbonate frame to figure out the dimensions of the final polycarbonate frame pieces. Note that the vent holes of the valve are covered with plastic. Later when I was wondering why the blaster wasn't working as it should, I realized how silly I was to neglect that and drilled holes.

Above's a slightly blurry photo of prototype 1 as it was during testing. I wanted to make sure everything worked so I connected essential components together and put a temporary barrel on. It looks fairly nice, but my mother was scared (I'm at my parents house for spring break at the moment). I don't know why--it certainly won't explode because every part under pressure is metal with a hefty safety factor. And it can't hurt anyone--the pressure chamber is too small and the operating pressure isn't high enough, but I suppose with a good shot on the right spot the blaster could be lethal, but anything's lethal at that point.

This photo shows the blaster close up.

This is the other side of the blaster. Note the funny positioning of the hose leading from the regulator (the thing with the knob) and the trigger area. This was the result of using parts I already owned to save money, which probably cost me more money.