.30cal Silencer ("Moderator") — 3D-printed — 90FPE

[JungleShooter]

.30cal Silencer* — 3D-printed — for 90FPE? ​

What do you suggest?
What would you have to offer?


*Yeah, the S word... — because when I think of "moderators" I think of the guys on the forums that keep us in line....


So, I'd like to quiet down an RTI Prophet 2 Compact Performance — in .30cal — shooting 45 grainers with around 80-90FPE.


SOUND PARAMETER:
▪ I don't need it mouse-fart quiet.
▪ I don't need extreme silence for the nosey neighbors in the backyard.
➠ But I would like it significantly quieter and preferrably making a noise that is less sounding like a "gun shot."



ADDITIONAL PARAMETERS:
▪ Length: This is of high importance to me. So ideal would be 4", and at 5" I'd be still ok.

▪ Diameter: This is of low importance to me. So ideal would be 1.5" diameter, but if 2.0" gives a much better performance, I'll go with 2", no prob.

▪ Weight: This is of medium importance to me. Weight up front changes the balance of the gun, and I really do not want any POI changes on the Prophet. So ideal would be 5 to 7oz. [edit: add-on:] The Ronin is 10oz, so that would be the maximum acceptable.

▪ Outside looks: need to look "beautiful." I'll be glad to elaborate....

▪ Stability: It should be able to withstand 100FPE. Light knocks against car doors and trees that happen during transport or stalking should not change POI or worse, move the silencer out of its alignment with the barrel.

▪ Thread: 1/2" UNF

▪ Time Frame: Delivered by October 1 to Orlando, FL.

▪ Pay: PayPal F&F.



➠ Maybe a joint effort could be made — by a designer and a printer/tester?

Matthias

 

[subscriber]

Matthias,

I think that the Maxim mufflers as designed would already violate your weight requirement. I will need to configure something lighter.

Meanwhile I offer you the stiff for weight triangulated rib casing. It is stiffer in all directions than the square waffle pattern I used for that Maxim casing.

The casing has an OD of 50 mm, with a length of 130 mm.

What do you think of that proposal?

 

[Triglav]

I'd suggest a printed baffle system - 4 to 5 baffles in a row, printed with quality PLA+, and an aluminum shroud to keep them in place. The base can be 3D printed, but with a threaded steel 1/2" insert, that would be epoxied or glued to the base with a duo-component glue of some kind, or as I've already stated epoxy; To allow the mounting of suppressor. PLA+ is good enough for baffles containing the stated pressures (you don't need nylon), because I've seen them hold up very well on .22LR firearms.

Here's what I came up with for a friend, a couple of years ago... It was designed as a zero-backpressure blast can for a .22 PCP airgun, but without the steel insert for threading. The shroud or, well the body of the suppressor is also designed to be 3D printed on this one. The bad thing on this one is, that it does not have a unified or otherwise interlinked-chained baffle system.

This one however, is just a plain, simple version, that's been widened up and fattened to have more expansion space and better dampening capabilities. This unified baffle system should work well enough, but I'd still insist on getting an aluminum shroud/body, to provide additional protection against bumps and knocks.

If you're interested, I'll upload the .STL files.

 

[subscriber]

Triglav,

I also favor using an aluminum outer tube for strength and stability. Unless the outer tube is also covered by a printed patter sleeve, Matthias loses something he values: Visual appeal.

I also think that printing a larger diameter coarse thread to screw and glue a commercial 5/8-11 to 1/2-20 adaptor insert into, that the plastic thread may not last as well as one would like.

PLA is stiffer and stronger than PETG. But, PLA is not as shock resistant or dimensionally stable as PETG. PLA will start to droop, if you leave it in a car in direct sunlight with the windows closed for a few hours.

You are welcome to offer Matthias a complete design solution. I am disinclined to borrow aspects of other designs, until I have seen them perform better than the ones I am familiar with.

 

[JungleShooter]

You guys are amazing! Thanks. Let's keep tweaking my requirements so that this can work.


(1)
I added in my OP this about the
Weight: The Ronin is 10oz, so that would be the maximum acceptable weight.


(2)
I like your aluminum/metal outer case, it gives additional strength and "bump-resistance."

➠ But the attractive visual aspect is a must.

➠ So, can a thin outer decorative sleeve be printed (even somewhat elastic), that could be slid over the black aluminum?
And then glued on (just in case)?
A honeycomb pattern (maybe 4mm for each octagon)?
And a decorative tip, separately printed, glued on, and done?


Just ideas. I'm not an engineer like you guys. I'm only the guy with eyes and ears....!
With the ears to hear the sound muffling, and with eyes to see the attractiveness....

Matthias

 

[subscriber]

Matthias,

The more requirements you add, the less I can promise that some other person will print it for you in time.

I know a printer guy in Brazil. He prints my designs and sells them there. Does that make any differences, or is shipping between countries in South America difficult?.

Bumping a PETG part should not break it. You would need to swing at it deliberately. For me the metal tube would be for confidence in burst strength. Having said that, the 1.5 x 5" offset Huben pistol muffler I designed is working as hard at full power as what you are asking for. If those survive then you can have an all printed .30 muffler at 100 FPE in a larger OD.

I will ask about a rubber exterior print. I know it is possible, but what you need to realize is getting the fit right, so it can still slip on without too much friction, cannot always happen in one iteration. Some development time may be required. And there is two weeks to design, make and ship...

 

[OldSpook]

Carbon fiber tube.

 

[JungleShooter]

Carbon fiber tube.

I really hoped you would show up here, too!
Thank you.


Yes, carbon fiber tube would work as well as aluminum — with the decorative sleeve.
But if the silencer is tough enough by itself like subscriber says — then the surface can be printed "pretty" right off the bat — no need for additional reinforcing tubes and their decorative sleeves.

Matthias

 

[JungleShooter]

Thanks for all your input:

[1] Bumping a PETG part should not break it. [2] The metal tube would be for confidence in burst strength. [3] I will ask about a rubber exterior print.

Well, I guess several of the time consuming additional things you just flung out the window, subscriber. Well done:

If [1] is true, then I don't need [2], and therefore don't need [3] either.
Good.


➠ So, we're back to giving the outside of the 3D printed silencer an attractive pattern.
This one from subscriber is very nice:

The side walls are awesome. I assume the holes are about 0.08" (2mm) deep?
The face (front) with the star shaped holes (0.08"?) is equally great.

Question: Is the overall outside diameter of the silencer the same throughout?


Weight:
I had stated the max. would be 10oz. Is that doable?


Matthias

 

[subscriber]

According to this table, my offset 1.5 x 5" muffler for the Huben pistol weighs 79 grams:

https://www.airgunnation.com/attachments/stats-table-from-website-09-15-2023-jpg.389164/

If I make the OD 2" instead of 1.5 at the same length the weight at similar density is predicted to go up to 177 grams. will compare the volume of plastic between the two in Solidworks to see if it as bad as that.

I could easily take the 1.5 x 5" offset and make a concentric version of that. But, I do not expect it to work much better than the offset.

Anyway, I started with a 2 x 5" muffler in .30 and would like to see how many CC of solid volume that would have. You don't want the first and only design that made for you to blow up (nor do I). So, I have no choice but the be conservative. If we made a few variants with different wall and cone thicknesses, down to where it ruptures in testing, we would have data to indicate where the edge is.

 

[subscriber]

Yes, the OD is the same over the ribs. The OD at the bottom of the pockets tapers; so there is more strength at the rear of the muffler.

 

[OldSpook]

I do not believe you can 3D print that on an FDM printer without sleeving it, even using PETG.

I do believe you can get 10 or 12 dBs of reduction in a package of the size you specified. It will weigh around 210 grams. If you resin print it with thin walls and then sleeve that with CF. You might be able to make it a little lighter perhaps as much as 20%.

@AirGunShooter that smaller 30 that I sent last, the one that is holding together, how is it shooting, what are the dimensions on that one again?

 

[subscriber]

Matthias,

Since you seem to prefer that square waffle pattern, that is what I used for the outside of a newly designed .30 cal 2 x 5" muffler.

I still need to add the thread, but that is very little extra material. With the material selected as ABS (my SW version does not list PETG) the weight is 143 grams. See image with red arrow.

The wall thickness tapers on the OD, at the bottom of the blunt little pyramids - not the tops. It also tapers on the inside, with a large step down from the primary blast chamber. If you wanted me to remove mass, I could shave the OD down, so that the ribs are not as tall.

 

[subscriber]

I believe 10 ounces = 281 grams.

SW calculated that volume of plastic weighs 143 grams. About half of your max value.

I would prefer not to shave the outer ribs, as they contribute to the radial and longitudinal strength of the above design.

I am going to add threads compatible with a metal insert, for maximum thread life (unless you just want a conventional printed 1/2-20 thread?) Of course, that would be moot, if the muffler blew within the first few shots...

 

[JungleShooter]

OK.
Wow. You are awesome.
I look at the image with the waffle pattern and I am so excited! ➠ With that — in my mind — you guys who I call affectionately the homeoffice engineers and backyard printers — you have become a fully viable alternative over the established AG silencer factories/brands.
Because you can not just make effective silencers — you can make them look bad ass (far nicer than a bare aluminum pipe or a CF tube).

➠ I guess there is only one main question: Where do I send my money, and how much?

Matthias

 

[JungleShooter]

Just a couple of details that subscriber mentioned:

▪ The weight is good.

▪ The taper is good.

▪ Keep the ribs as you have them, no need to shave them down.

▪ Yes, a metal thread would be greatly appreciated, this silencer will see many attaching/removing cycles.

▪ And yes, I understand that if the silencer breaks, I have no legal recourse to blame anybody for it. I can live with that risk. Because what you guys are doing is both super nice to me, and super good in quality. Without testing there can be no guarantees. Just fine.
Should it ever break, I will likely let you know under what circumstances, and order and pay for Gen. 2.

Matthias

 

[Long_Shot]

Has a threaded end cap at muzzle end. All Anodized aluminum. Black with electric blue ends.

 

[mercado]

Well suppressing the noise at 90fpe in a almost non shrouded gun ,to back yard friendly with a 5" ldc it's simply not going to happen..depending on the neighbors..the impulse line will atleast take out much of the shot soud and is light..the new donny ldc could be a good option to ,but I have not been able to use those yet.. not even when my uragan. 30 has a very effective shroud + 6" ldc I could not called back yard friendly. Not even using a shogun ldc.

 

[subscriber]

Matthias,

I am glad you find the design acceptable. I did that design from scratch in about 6 hours.

I do not charge for my work, but the printer guy I recommend, will. Of course, you will be free to have the muffler printed by anyone you like, in the US or out.

When I am done with the thread insert design, I will publish the STL, so anyone can print it. I will also pass it on the my printer guy, and ask him to quote on it directly to you. That ordering process is best done via email. I have your email address as [email protected]. Is that the best email address to use, without the xxx? If not, PM or email me.

The best result would be with the thread insert installed, else we will drop-ship the insert to your FL address.

 

[JungleShooter]

Matthias,

I am glad you find the design acceptable. I did that design from scratch in about 6 hours.

I do not charge for my work, but the printer guy I recommend, will. Of course, you will be free to have the muffler printed by anyone you like, in the US or out.

When I am done with the thread insert design, I will publish the STL, so anyone can print it. I will also pass it on the my printer guy, and ask him to quote on it directly to you. That ordering process is best done via email. I have your email address as [email protected]. Is that the best email address to use, without the xxx? If not, PM or email me.

The best result would be with the thread insert installed, else we will drop-ship the insert to your FL address.

● Great. Done deal.

● subscriber, please PM me your PP so I can send you my THANK YOU!

● Nope, my email address is totally different. I'll PM you.

Matthias