3D printing rocks and not just for bowhunters

[Ron Kulas]

The brown truck dropped off a 3D printer for archery and bowhunting related prototyping. (and for generally playing around)



As well as a variety of ridged and flexible filament to proto design concepts.



First up is prototyping a broadhead for an upcoming bear hunt.





We are playing around with the 3D printer making prototypes of things we have been wanting to make or improve upon.

First up is a vision of an improved version of an existing product to replace fletching. FOB's are a good product that can be made better. Not necessarily for sale but for personal use, education and enjoyment. I made the ring a bit smaller but the fins a bit bigger.



It weighs slightly less than the FOB brand



clearance from a drop away will be a bit better with this version.



They have a 4 degree offset but I want 7 but may increase that further. FOB's fins are flat. I made this with a curve or radius like an airplane wing to see if that will improve flight. (Again, experimenting)


Time to make a few more and test shoot them.

After test firing them they still hit my face. We are getting closer but time to improve further.

1. Improved rest clearance.
2. Reduced face contact.
3. Reduced weight. (less than existing FOB and closer to 3 Blazers/glue)
4. Increased spin rate.
5. Increase total surface area of fins.
6. Airfoil fins rather than flat.

By making the annular ring smaller and pushing it forward 3/4", the facial contact issue improves as does rest clearance. I prototyped an early version yesterday but went back to the drawing board today.

[Ron Kulas]

Next up is a turkey call.

I printed the pot for the call. One in black and another in Black and red and designed in some text just for giggles.



Then made aluminum sound boards



Aluminum and cooper



and a sliding top for the striker to change the tone.





Just waiting for the epoxy to cure to test them for sound.

[Ron Kulas]

A 3D printed shelf with hooks we made for hub style blinds.



Adding some hooks and shrink tube.





To quiet the shelf an old mouse pad and double sided tape was used.





Perfect fit.



Plenty of room on the shelf and to hang things.

[Ron Kulas]

Back to the drawing board.

Existing FOB's weigh 24.5 grains. Our early prototype of a modified annular airfoil fletch was 23 grains but like everybody else we dislike weight on the rear end of the arrow so we took out weight in no-stress areas and got the weight down to a (calculated) 20 grains (the weight of 3 blazers with glue). We won't know for certain until we make a few and throw them on the scale. Here is what they will look like now.

[Ron Kulas]

I printed the latest version. I dont know that my scale is sensitive enough to capture the weight reduction. The calculated weight should have had this thing at 20 grains.







Before any more design changes are made test shooting needs to be completed.

But................... Not today.



Just press print.

[Ron Kulas]

Some long distance testing of the AAF

[Ron Kulas]

More AAF testing This time at 80 and 90 yards. 90 yards is really a poke for our ability as we don't practice or hunt at that distance and don't have a pin for 90.

[Ron Kulas]

Who doesn't love Altoids? Now there is even more to love about that Original Celebrated, Curiously Strong mint. Thanks to Altoids you can congregate every single local deer on your hunting land to one location. All you need to do is eat all the Altoids first to empty the tin (That's a treat right there)



Then 3D print up a way to congregate all those trail camera SD cards in one location.



I made the insert to hold the cards at an angle so the lid just makes contact with all 18 cards so they don't rattle.





I used to use two tins (1 for empty cards and the other for cards I just pulled) so I would not mix them up. Now I have a row for empty cards and a row for full cards.

If you are in bear country like me, make sure to do a good job of washing out the tin so your cards don't smell like the candy.

[Ron Kulas]

We have a family friend that has a degenerative disorder that has resulted in her having to spend the bulk of her time in a motorized wheel chair. She is able to get out of it only to use the restroom. She can use the chair to get upright and then use a walker to transfer herself to the toilet. Sadly she is unable to bend over to reach the foot pads to swing them up and out of the way. She asked if we could design her an aid to allow her to reach the foot pads to lift them out of the way. Right now she must have a family member at home with her to lift the foot pads for her.

The criteria were that the aid has to have a large handle so she could grip it, it has to reach 24” but be able to be compressed into a smaller footprint to allow it to be stored in a bag attached to the chair and it had to be light weight. We began the project Friday night and completed it on Sunday morning so we were able to turn it around in less than 48 hours.

We were happy to help and to find another use for the 3D printer and to allow her to regain more independence. The final product weighed only 13 Oz.