3D Printed Replacement Internal Parts

[phreaktor]

Hi guys, this is my first post here. I've recently become interested in the best water guns ever made from my youth in the 90s (38 years old now) and I am also a self employed engineer. I recently picked up a XXP 175 in very nice condition and started doing some research on mods and repairs.

Looking at a couple of the photos I have came across on the web of the internals of various models, I think a lot of the parts can be 3D printed in ABS plastic and even reinforced for durability. WHat are some of the common internal parts outside of O-rings that tend to have issues? If you can post any photos of the guts of any guns you have, that would be awesome.

I have a 3D printer in my home shop and I would need to start acquiring models of parts to reverse engineer in a design software, so anything you have laying around, I would be interested to see it. I have attached a couple photos for reference.

[marauder]

I would be very excited if you were to do this and I'd definitely purchase some parts.

I think the worst offenders are firing valves, which would actually be multiple parts to 3D print. Triggers are also an issue in the past, and those would be much easier to print.

[HBWW]

Are you using a typical home 3D printer with PLA filament? What processes are you using to reinforce?

3D printing is pretty big in the nerf community, and any part that has to bear motion or stress has serious issues with durability. I can't imagine 3D printing alone ever working for water blaster parts without additional expensive processes that follow.

Pull valves are by far the worst component, since their seals fail first but they cannot be serviced normally. Ball valves tend to have this problem as well. Any given plastic component can fail, but most of the time the solution involves smothering epoxy over the affected area. Sometimes, check valves fail and repairing those is always dirty business that typically involves entirely new parts.

Overall, our tech is pretty far behind, and a lot of components need to be re-designed (not merely just reverse engineered) in order to work. For example, most CPS pull valves are not serviceable; a good redesign would allow them to disassemble in order to replace the seals inside or to apply grease, etc.

How do you plan on getting the models? Are you going to measure out and model them, or do you have access to a laser scanner or something?

[SEAL]

I actually have access to 3D printers at school. The other day I went to the lab with my buddy and he printed out a heart box for his GF. You need to be certified to use them, but it's easy to do. They have a Maker Bot and a few others that aren't quite as good. They also have an $800,000 metal 3D printer, but I don't think just anybody can use that one.

So I can try whipping up some parts too. I'll just need actual physical copies of them in order to get the measurements and model them in Creo. I'd probably start with triggers. My 2700 needs a new one, and 2000/2500 triggers fail often as well. Anybody have any spares laying around? Pull valves will be trickier, since the only plastic parts in them are the two halves and the plunger. None of that stuff typically fails anyway. It's usually the spring or the rubber seal.

[SSCBen]

Welcome to the board, phreaktor.

I don't think anyone has any models made of parts, unfortunately. It might be worth asking BBT if they still have any engineering drawings or whatnot from the Larami days (many of their employees were back at Larami). Some sort of 3D scanning software might be useful too, but I don't know how accurate they are.

But I'll mirror what HBWW says: I don't think the 3D printing is going to be of much help. For some parts, maybe, but durability will be an issue. And when I 3D printed some parts for a Nerf project back in 2009 or so, I found the tolerances left much to be desired (to the point where I had to sand a part flat because it came out warped), as did the surface finish.

SEAL, the metal "3D printer" probably uses selective laser sintering (SLS). Might be a more viable option, though I think it's pretty expensive. My university has a bunch of 3D printers in their MakerSpace. There also are some SLS machines in the machine shop, too, but I think those can not be used for personal projects.

[Recoy]

I had the same idea, I am missing a trigger for a CPS 2000 MK2 and got damage on the Quick Fill connection (internaly) on a Monster X.

I had the idea to 3d Scan a trigger in a Fablab/ design school or let someone make a 3D drawing (I know a Design student) for it. That got me thinking that it would be nice to make 3D drawings for more parts (especially for the CPS 2000) to ensure the existance of the gun.

One step further would be to make a negative moldings, but maybe I am getting ahead of myself. Does anyone know if there are there any CPS 2000 (MK2) owners from The Netherlands on this forum?

[scottthewaterwarrior]

Most of the parts I need are valves, and I doubt we will be getting those 3D printed anytime soon. As far as triggers and other broken parts go, I have had a lot of success reinforcing them, so unless they are missing completely, I can usually make due with what I as already there. Of course this assumes I can get the gun open, which is still my biggest problem when fixing guns.

[marauder]

: Of course this assumes I can get the gun open, which is still my biggest problem when fixing guns.

^Rob and I just decided that it's a good idea to replace all the stock screws with replacements. We did a little study on that this weekend and it's clear that stock screws are soft, whether old or NIB. Stock screws were only meant to be used once and are a way of saving $ for the manufacturer.

[Ray15196]

Hey Guys,

Sorry to jack this thread. There's a company called emachineshop.com that makes 3D parts using CAD Software. Unfortunately, I do not know how to use CAD Software. If someone could create a template of all the supersoaker parts, and stored them in a database that would be awesome!

[TomAgnew]

Hi Guys, did this ever happen as I would like to buy as many 3D parts as are available for me super soaker 2500 vps? Currently I have a broken trigger.

Look forward to your reply Tom

[SSCBen]

I don't think anyone has followed through on this, but depending on how your CPS 2500 trigger is broken you may be able to repair it without replacement. Post a picture and some details and we'll try to help.