Welcome to the Official Print2A FossCAD Wiki
We're still working on it...
This wiki is dedicated to the home construction of firearms, focusing largely on additive manufacturing. We seek to educate; just as technology like 3d printing has brought construction to the masses so too do we seek to expose the knowledge once hidden behind the doors of specialism. What works. What doesn't. If you are a novice then we hope to guide you down the path to mastery.
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All registered users have edit privileges. If you are having trouble creating or verifying your account try contacting Tut in the FossCAD community (#fosscad channel on oftc) or HostsServer if Tut can't be reached. You can also reach HostsServer on the Print2a Twitter
If you are looking for a starting point check the projects page and see if there is a project you have built that doesn't have a page yet. Even a stub as a starting point helps. Same for creators and groups.
Templates can be found in Templates section. Please use them or a related page to keep our layouts consistent.
You start by getting a 3d printer. That's a huge topic all by itself. Go read up on 3d printing. We'll wait...
All done? Good. You're probably wondering what printer is right for you. And there's a pretty simple answer: if you just want to make some basic frames and don't think 3d printing is going to be a long term hobby, get an Ender 3 or one of its upgraded variants. It is by far the best low end printer (but to be clear, it IS a low end printer) and a lot of projects were designed assuming that is what you are using. You'll need to tweak it a bit so follow Ctrl+Pew's Getting Started guide and then you'll be good to go.
If you do think this is going to become a long term hobby, skip the low end stage and go for the mid-range Prusa. It's more work but you'll learn a lot building it and you'll have more options down the road.
Now you need to get good. Making functional parts is a little different than figurines. Calibrating your printer is important and you'll want to be familiar with your printer's quirks and failure modes before you set out to build something that could blow up in your hand.
Go to some place like Thingiverse and print a few things that look interesting. You need to learn about slicers, how the options affect your print, all that good stuff. You shouldn't mess with frames until you feel confident you have regular items under your belt.
That's what this wiki is for. Go to the Projects page and pick something that looks nice and ideally fits within your budget.
Fair point. The first project you should attempt ought to be something simple, easy to build, with ample parts and ample documentation. Ideally it'll be something you already own and are familiar with.
Your printer needs printer food before it can turn your model files into fire breathing extensions of your will. And to be an expert printer you'll need to become familiar with the various material types available. There are a lot of guides out there, so let's add one more: Filament Types.
There are some tricks and tips you ought to know about: