3d printed case feeder

I got a Hornady LNL AP last month and decided to make a case feeder for it. There was a design on thingiverse to 3d print one so I used that as a starting point and modified it. I made the brackets differently, changed the design of the dovetails, added a router ball bearing to the cam slider, made the case pusher spring loaded, and various other things. I'm pretty happy with the end results. It no longer requires any adjustments to change between cartridges and because its spring loaded it won't jam or break if a case doesn't enter the shell plate or goes in upside down. I also designed it with all self supporting angles so you can build it with no support structures.

I've tested it with 9mm, 38, 357 mag, 223, 308, and 30-06

Appologize for my mouth breathing on camera lol, I had a bad cold.

dave333 said:

Very nice. Ive seen many of those printed case feeders before but that one seems very well put together. Couldn't quite tell from the video, does the arm that pushes the cases into the shell plate extend on the bottom some to help with case tipping? Bet a guy handy with a 3d printer could sell quite a few pushers that fully supported the cases and eliminated the case tipping.

Does it attach to the back of the press where the Hornady case feeder bolts on? Be kind of cool to rig up an electric feeder to that bottom pusher part. Im new to the LNL system but came from Lee so Im very familiar with their case feeders, I was happy to get an electric one.

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The pusher extends all the way to the base and is just profiled to fit inside the shell holder. I haven't had a case tip yet after running a thousand rounds of 9mm through it. It bolts to the back of the press. You could certainly replace the Lee collator with an electric collator, that would be quite easy to do.

Rule3 said:

Awesome!

But gotta ask, You have a 3D Printer?? Those amaze me, Like a Star Trek Replicator or something!

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I am an engineer for a 3d printing company. I normally work with printers that cost $100K-$500K but someone I work with borrowed me an old Makerbot Replicator 2 which like a $2K desktop printer which is what I printed these on at home.

Rule3 said:

I was guessing you had access to one, and have "skills"
Now you can make them for everyone!

Does anyone make/sell the tube style feeders for the LnL (that work) I would like one of those as I do not want the electric version.??

Thanks

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That is the Lee universal case feeder. Its like a $25 kit.

dave333 said:

Sweet. If you ever look into making some fully supported pushers let me know, Im in for a set.

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If someone wants to send me the hornady pusher so I can reverse engineer it, I can make something

This is what the nose on the case pusher looks like. I'm sure I could make something similar to work with the standard hornady feeder to stop the case tipping problem that people always talk about.



This is mine running 9mm. It does not tip cases.

Tilos said:

I like what you're doing here and commend you for it.
Did you do the design work with some expensive software or something available on line at a minimum cost?
Same question for the printer program software, had some experience AutoCAD and Ideas but do not have either available to me now.
Thanks again for the vid and would like to see more.

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The parts that I made from scratch were done in Solidworks, and the parts that I modified from the original design I did in a software called Materialise Magics. There is no reason you couldn't do the same with a cheap or free cad software. The software to run the printer is free to download from makerbot.

dave333 said:

The problem with the Hornady pusher is, there are 6 of them, all slightly different in height, width, and length. They are slightly angled backward so the actual surface area that pushes on the case is pretty small. Probably not a good model to use. It needs a more vertical face to push from a larger surface area and a cutout for shell plate clearance.

Just to be clear, Im not talking about the entire shuttle that rides back and forth picking up cases, just the pusher tip that contacts the cases as they are inserted into the shell plate.

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I've looked online for pictures of the hornady system and you could either make just a new nose for it, or just throw the whole thing out and adapt the spring loaded design I made.

bbqreloader said:

NOW THATS WHAT I"M TALKING ABOUT!!! You selling??
I want one of those!!!! (ok 2- 9mm and 40) Awesome job Someguy!!
You have managed to do something that (IMO) that Hornady refuses or cannot, provide a simple solution for small batch loading instead of that huge honkin noisey thing they sell.
I just received an email from MicroCenter advertising a 3D printer for $149.00, although not running out to get one any time soon, the prices are dropping fast as 3D picks up pace...everyones doing it..

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I don't want to get in the buissiness of making this stuff because I can't promise I can service it in the future, but I can make you one if you want to cover my cost and time to print it. Send me a PM if your interested

AR-Bossman said:

I'm just getting into the 3d printing stuff right now. First I've heard of Materialize. Modifying STL files has been a hit or miss for a lot of programs. Are you gonna put up an STL on thingiverse? I'd love to see up close what you changed. You're changes are a welcome addition to the home 3d print scene. A person can save themselves a bunch of cash and have a setup better than the Ammo Plant from Hornady for half the price as well.

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I might put it on grabcad or thingiverse. If you PM me your email address I can send you the STL files. It is very much based on the one on thingiverve, but every single dimension is changed. Materializes software is absolutely awesome if you work with STL's every day like I do, but its like $30,000 a year. My job gives me a licence to Solidworks, Magics, Catia, ProE, and a few others.