Hi guys, first post...
Like many of you who run HK45Cs, it has been a frustrating pursuit finding a duty-capable weaponlight that will fit the truncated rail of the 45C. I’ve waited pensively every SHOT show, year after year, hoping for “that light.” This year, the new Streamlight TLR-7 and -8 seemed to be the ones that would end that cycle of frustration but when the showfloor dust settled it turned out that they wouldn’t fit either.
Some folks found a way to turn one of the stock keys around backwards and do some filing to make the light fit the 45C but I designed a 3D-printed solution to allow use of the Streamlight TLR-7 and -8 on the HK45C natively.
This design shares the same basic geometry as the stock keyset but moves the recoil lug to the rear of cross-bolt to allow it to interface with the center slot of the pistol’s rail. In addition to the relocation of the lug, the key incorporates two other design features: a central, longitudinal rib to impart stiffness to the platform as well as tensioning tabs on the rear of the recoil lug which help to eliminate slop in the interface between the light and the pistol and keep the laser zeroed under recoil.
I outsourced the design to an industry-leading industrial printer to print on their new HP Multi Jet Fusion machine in PA11 nylon and was very pleased with the result.
Inserted into the key recess of the light with crossbolt and clamp in place.
You want a little room between the light and the trigger guard to account for frame flex during the kinetics of the shot.
*If anyone is interested in one, let me know. I can have more printed.