[phyrrus9]

So the other day somebody asked me how well I thought some cheap PETG would hold up in a handgun. I had no idea, but what better way to answer than to just do it.

I went about developing a profile that could utilize the inherent adhesion and flexibility of PETG, and at first it looked bad.
Right off the bat, I had 7 failed prints. After tweaking a bunch of things, I got to this point.

Spoiler:

That looks terrible (and it only got worse)

Spoiler:

but eventually, after some patience and temperature control it started looking better.

Spoiler:

Here's the rest of the in-print images in case you were curious.

Spoiler:

30 hours later, and with some negotiating with a hammer, I had a completed gun.



So, how did it work in testing. Well, better than I expected.
Not only did the gun not explode, but it handled a full box of +P ammo just fine. The rails though were about 10 degrees out of spec, so it liked to jam up. I did record some video but gave up due to these issues.

I did, however, get a failure.


This isn't that terrible, the gun is still shootable, and I can repair that crack, but I chose to just write "NFG" on it, take my $1.87 loss, fix the issues and print another one. It should be done sometime Friday morning.


Conclusions:
Is PETG viable? Absolutely
Is it easy? Fuck no, listen to the instructions and avoid it

[Oni]

Crack is a no-go, but for short-term use that kind of failure might be reasonable. How much did the printer setup cost?

[phyrrus9]

Crack is a no-go, but for short-term use that kind of failure might be reasonable. How much did the printer setup cost?

The crack was expected. I took advantage of the lack of cost and may have been a little too generous with the hammer. A crack already existed in one location before assembly was complete simply because I drilled the hole in the wrong spot and used a large hammer to force the pin in. I will make another thread with my v2 experimentation.

The printer itself was dirt cheap, printer + all of the upgrades done to it was about $300

[Oni]

The printer itself was dirt cheap, printer + all of the upgrades done to it was about $300

Things have come a long way since the Liberator.

[phyrrus9]

The printer itself was dirt cheap, printer + all of the upgrades done to it was about $300

Things have come a long way since the Liberator.

The liberator had a specific purpose: no metal parts. It was never designed to last, it was designed to scare the people pushing gun control.

Printed guns today still have metal where metal needs to be.

[Oni]

The printer itself was dirt cheap, printer + all of the upgrades done to it was about $300

Things have come a long way since the Liberator.

It was never designed to last

I meant more so in terms of printer cost and availability of resources, things have improved. A gun that cracks is only a bit more viable than a Liberator, depending on circumstance.

[phyrrus9]

Things have come a long way since the Liberator.

It was never designed to last

I meant more so in terms of printer cost and availability of resources, things have improved. A gun that cracks is only a bit more viable than a Liberator, depending on circumstance.

Yeah printer cost has come down a lot, but the reality is you don't need anything special to make a functioning gun. An off the shelf $150 ender 3 will do it, just won't be the best prints.

[Brendaddy]

I am planning on doing this before it becomes illegal from biden but with a polymer 80 instead

[phyrrus9]

I am planning on doing this before it becomes illegal from biden but with a polymer 80 instead

That particular lower is a polymer80-spec lower. Just happened to be the parts kit I had on hand, so I went with that.

[lukebuck]

I think that buying cheap PTEG is not the best choice for a handgun. I've always believed that quality is much better than quantity, so you shouldn't be looking at the price. It was evident that it wouldn't work. I also have a 3D printer, and I advise getting a more expensive polymer for such an intricate project. The cheap one only works for small things that don't require much time and thought to be created. The PTEG I mainly use for projects like these is actually similar to the one they use to make real guns in factories. .