WaterWar.net

Hello,

I am part of a team of developers creating a marketplace to buy 3D printed water blaster parts. You can buy the part itself or the file to be able to print yourself. We also want to connect Water Warriors with 3D CAD designers to be able to design awesome custom parts.

Would you water warriors out there use this? Find it valuable?

Hope to start some conversation!

Justin

Anyone here ready to try a XP150 pull valve clone for stuff like the Gorgon? or a massive pump that works with newer models?

It defiantly has potential, however we don't have access to 3d printers and I doubt that will change anytime soon.

the oncoming storm wrote:Anyone here ready to try a XP150 pull valve clone for stuff like the Gorgon? or a massive pump that works with newer models?

It defiantly has potential, however we don't have access to 3d printers and I doubt that will change anytime soon.

What we're developing is an ecosystem to connect nerf enthusiasts, 3D designers, and those WITH 3D printers that want to rent out time on them. So, we'd actually like to give you access to 3D printers.

Anything on adding CNC's to the mix? 3D printed parts don't hold pressure too well.

Welcome to WWN, patternspace. I tried 3D printing back in 2009 or so for a Nerf project, and was not happy with it.

I'll second HBWW. 3D printing would be a poor choice for the strength. The surface finish is also pretty bad. This means two things. 1. Sealing things to 3D printed parts requires post-processing (sanding, or epoxying on a flat surface, for example). 2. Turbulence could be generated from the surface roughness.

The strength problem might be overcome from using thicker pieces. But CNC would be better. The same is true for the surface finish.

RyanMcNumbers at NerfHaven has made some nice handles and structural pieces with 3D printing, so if we ignore parts under pressure or that have flow through them, we definitely can make some progress. There's still a problem: Making large pieces like these would be fairly expensive. (They might be worth it, still.)

In my experience, most people have unrealistic expectations for what 3D printing can provide. While it might be becoming more popular, its quality leaves much to be desired and the price has yet to drop into a reasonable range. So I don't think this is so valuable at the moment.

There do not seem to be so many people who use 3D modeling software in the water war community, but in the NIC you should find plenty. And I think the parts needed would fit better with what 3D printing can provide.

^ Thrifted blasters and PVC ingenuity also provide viable sources for a lot of these types of parts. I think a good direction to experiment in now is with homemade pull valves and triggers sitting in stock shells for ergonomics, although there may be too much stress on the shell and I haven't gotten a chance to try this yet. Lots of challenges to solve or work around either way.

This would be awesome. As others have mentioned, the strength of 3d printed parts is questionable at the moment, but I'm sure that there are some parts we could print that wouldn't need to be insanely strong. Count me in as interested.

CAD is an excellent tool for designing parts. But I would look into milling a block of metal/plastic before I would consider 3D printing.

Would be useful to make triggers, handles, and maybe custom nozzles. It would take a lot of time and effort to make and assemble the firing chambers and valves...