Do you want to build yourself a Glock-ish pistol? One option would be to buy a P80 frame. But there's another option, 3D printing. For those of you who aren't familiar with consumer-level 3D printing, the gist is that a computer-controlled nozzle melts plastic filament and then deposits the melted plastic in a specific pattern, producing a plastic part. The initial outlay for 3D printing is a bit more than buying a P80 frame, since you'll need to buy the 3D printer. Popular models are available for ~$300. The printer can also be used for a lot more things than making firearm receivers. This is PF though, so let's keep it gun-related. Try the Gatalog or Ctrl Pew for firearms print files.
For this thread, I'll be printing an FDMA DD19.2 Glock 19-sized pistol frame.
The print takes awhile to finish. This is about a third of the way through.
Final print time. The print is done in many small layers .15mm at a time.
There's a lot of supports needed to hold the actual receiver while it's being printed. This frame is <$5 worth of filament, so if something goes wrong, no big loss.
The supports break off fairly easily in about 5 minutes or so, using your hands and some sort of thin metal tool. I used a letter opener.
The underside of the frame was a little rough, but some 400-grit sandpaper smoothed it out.
Same with the bottom of the magwell. Unlike a factory frame, there's no cavity behind the magwell, it's completely solid.
Other than that, the frame is mostly the same as a factory frame, except there's additional space for the metal frame rails.
Since it's not possible to print the frame around the rails, the design allows them to be inserted once the frame is finished printing. You may have noticed the extra hole shown in previous pictures, for the pin that holds the front rails. The rear rails are held in with the same factory pin that holds the trigger housing.
Several different companies make rails that fit the FMDA frames, for ~$30 a set. The pin holes are printed ever-so-slightly undersized, and part of the assembly is to drill out the holes so that they're the correct size. It doesn't require a jig like a P80 frame though. Assembly is slightly more complicated than detail stripping a factory frame, but not much. The ZIP file that contains the print files also includes a detailed PDF with photos on the steps required for assembly. Other than drilling out the pin holes, the only other fitting my print required was hitting the hole for the mag catch slightly with a rat-tail file, so that the mag catch didn't stick.
There's a small problem with the design, where factory G19 mags don't quite lock in the magwell. Apparently this is a known issue and will be fixed in a later revision of the design. I'll probably try dremeling a small notch in the magwell and see if that fixes it.
G17 mags lock in just fine though. Whenever a newer version is released, I can just print that out, move all the parts over to the new frame, then cut up and trash this frame. Anyways, I want to try printing a frame with a different glass-fiber reinforced filament that is claimed to be stronger than the regular PLA filament I used.
Gonna go to the range in the afternoon and try shooting it.
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Originally Posted by jh9
