I shared this on another website, but I thought I might share it here as well.

I needed an extra X-grip adapter for my M&P compact, and remembered I have a caliper, CAD software, and access to a 3D printer! So, I thought it would be good practice to make my own.

Here's what the CAD files look like. It's not a 1:1 copy. The actual X-grip uses a lot of surfaces and I don't have experience working with surfaces in Solidworks. So, I recreated it using what techniques I did know using measurements from the X-grip and the magazine itself.

MnPX-grip-v2-iso.jpg MnPX-grip-v2-iso-under.jpg

Here are the printed results. The yellow is my first attempt, Khaki/Tan my second and the black one is the original X-grip. You may notice that I removed the tail on the bottom of the 3D-printed grip adapters. I did this to make it easier to print, the CAD files still have the tail should I desire to print a complete version, but I don't think I will. The Yellow one was my first attempt to print it, and it was VERY close, but the angle was just a little off, so I went back and redesigned the CAD model and printed it again (the tan version).
IMG_20150827_2124145_rewind.jpg

Here it is on the mag. It sits nice and snug on the magazine and doesn't slide or have any wobble.
IMG_20150827_211255.jpg

Here it is in my gun. It fits perfectly! There is a gap between the top of the grip and the bottom of the magwell on the frame, but that's present on the x-grip adapter as well. I think it allows for a degree of tolerance between different magazines and frames. You can't even feel the gap when you're holding it. All in all, I think it works and feels great. Better than the original X-grip if you ask me, but I may be a bit biased.
3D printed X-grip adapter.jpg

So, what's next? I may change a few minor details, add some texture, and print it in black. I might also host the .STL file on grabCAD.com or Thingiverse.com in case anyone is interested, I haven't decided. In addition, also have plans to make a custom rear sight for my SD40VE made out of metal (CNC'd, not 3D printed), though I don't know when I'll get around to it.

Anyway, let me know what you think. This is the first time I've ever doing anything like this. I'm still new to CAD design and reproducing existing parts.

Pretty cool. I bet you could print out a niffty holster also.

Looks good. I just decided to start learning to use CAD myself a couple days ago but don't have space for it on my computer because of how I partitioned my hard drive.
Know of any good free online tutorials or are youtube vids good enough?
I have a very simple thing I want drawn up, a flat piece of plastic with 6 sides, I have hand drawings of all the measurements and angles, can make it up in photoshop but CAD should be more rigorous and the files should be ready to feed into a printer or other machine.

@texmex Yes, I could. There's very little that you can't print out. But it would be made from plastic entirely, and I don't think it'd be very comfortable unless I designed it just to hang from my belt loop. There is an additional problem. There are two main 3D printing materials, there are a lot more but most printers use these two: ABS and PLA.

PLA is what I use. It's 100% biodegradable, non-toxic plastic, and it doesn't release any fumes when printing, only a sugary-waffle smell. It's made from corn and other plant starches (sugar). It's a great material, but it had low impact absorption an a relatively low melting point. For most things it's ok, but it shouldn't be left out in the sun or hot car for any length of time. Being pressed up against a hot body in the hot Texas sun would likely be disastrous, though some northern climates could probably get away with it.

ABS on the other hand is a very commonly used plastic. It's a lot stronger and has great shock absorption. They make most everything out of ABS. Look at your desktop or laptop. Odds are that the plastic parts are made from ABS. The bad: it releases toxic fumes when you print it and smells like burning plastic. The fumes aren't likely to kill you, but they'll make you sick if you expose yourself to them for any length of time. You have to be in a well ventilated area and have a heated build plate on your printer to use it (otherwise it won't stick to the build platform). I don't use ABS for those reasons. Both materials have very dedicated followings (like Glock and S&W but without the rivalry).

However, one can use 3D printing as a means to an end. FDM printed parts are EXCELLENT for vacuum forming since the air pockets in the parts allow air to leave the system quickly. You can vacuum form up to 0.25" sheets of kydex with FDM. So, print the shape you want, and the use a vacuum form to get the holster.

Alternatively, I could print it out the holster shape and send it off to have someone coat it in a composite material like fiberglass or carbon fiber, and the printed part would give it shape and act like an internal stiffener. Or, I could print out the hollow regions of the holster with a water soluble material, send it off to be coated with a composite, and then dissolve out the 3D printed area to have a custom fitted holster.

^I might do that at some point, but I don't have any plans to at the moment.
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@McE Depends on the CAD program that you intend to use. They are all a little bit different. I'm using SolidWorks, and it's what most of the engineering community uses. But most parametric CAD programs work like this:

Plan your design. Break it down into individual features (Extrusions, Extrude cuts, holes, edge fillet/chamfers, revolve, etc.), and figure out the order that they should go in. Don't get too hung up if you don't know exactly what you should do. Sometimes it requires playing around with it to figure out what you should do.

Determine which plane each feature should go in: Top (Horizontal) , Left (left facing vertical plane), Right (right facing vertical plane).

Pick which feature you'll model first (usually it's the base shape of the object), and select the plain you want it to be in.

Hit "Sketch" and make a 2D drawing of that feature, and use dimensions to define it's shape. You'll know when it's fully defined when all the blue lines turn black. It's not absolutely necessary in SolidWorks to define everything if you think it's the correct shape you want. Then hit "exit sketch" and chose which feature you want to use with the sketch.

Then rinse and repeat. Except now instead of using the 3 original planes, you can also choose to make sketches on each face of the feature you just created. There's a little more to it than that, but that's the gist of it.

Here is a tutorial that you can do, and that I'm currently doing. It's not necessary to know anything before hand, just watch what he clicks on and the numbers that he enters. Also, he goes a little fast, so you should slow him down to 0.25x in the speed options in the youtube settings. There's a lot to do, and it will give you a good idea of how the most commonly used features work.
For more general tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtw...BysZLh1rrPzwFw

Of course it will all depend on the CAD program you have access to. But once you finish designing it, you have to export the file to a .STL format before ANY 3D printer can print it.

I think I can get AutoCad for free since I'm an educator, but I have to figure out some workaround to make it install on my computer. It won't let me install on a secondary partition since it needs space on C for temp files, there should be a workaround somewhere.

The thing I want to make now is a very simple design that won't need to be 3D printed, a simple die-cutting outfit would be plenty sufficient.

As for making stuff like the X-grip, I'm wondering how design patents come into play. Are you not reverse engineering if you take a product, measure its dimensions, and recreate a similar thing? Does X-grip the company obtain any licensing agreements with gun manufacturers? Just curious because I know I'd be making a lot of stuff if I had access to a printer.

@ McE Good question. If I was trying to turn around and sell this I might have some legal problems. However, if I took all my measurements from the pistol and didn't use the X-grip at all there's nothing that they could say (I think). What it basically boils down to: As long as I'm not doing anything for financial gain, I shouldn't have any problems.

Edit: You can also create sketches in AutoCAD and export them to a 3D CAD program if you are more comfortable doing your sketches in AutoCAD. Also, you should check out Draftsight. It's a free version of AutoCAD put out by the same people that make Solidworks. They are identical in almost every way, including the commands. Most anything you can do in AutoCAD you can do in Draftsight. The interface just doesn't look as flashy. But if you have a .edu email address most all of the 3D CAD companies should give access to their programs for free (except SolidWorks, they charge $80 for a year). I have them all on my desktop as a University student. I don't know if it's different for educators.

You don't need a crystal ball to see where 3D printing is headed.
It is still in it's infancy, give it another 10 years.
It will be like seeing the difference between a dot matrix printer and a color laser.
I hope I live long enough to see China get knocked on it's butt and loose all it's cheap manufacturing jobs to 3D printing.

@Varmit243

Reports are that the Chinese government is investing heavily in 3D printers. They claim several components of their newest fighter rely on 3D printed parts.

And you have no idea. I honestly think in a decade or two, when 3D printer technology is a little cheaper, the techniques are better and so on, it will be like a car, everyone will have one in their garage. Instead of going to the store to buy clothes or parts for something, we'll just go online and pay for the .STL file and print it ourselves. For the most part, the technology to do so exists today, it's just waiting for the rest of world to catch up to it.

Speaking of, I was looking at job openings at Smith and Wesson a little while ago, and they were looking for a senior project engineer that has experience with SLS (metal) 3D printers. Those machines cost like $50,000+ each (on the low end). If they were just playing with the technology it'd be much cheaper to pay one of the many rapid prototyping companies to print something for them. I think they have future plans for the technology, though I doubt we'll see anything for a long time.

Watch these two videos, they'll be a little dry near the beginning, but about 3/4 of the way through it will blow your mind what new doors 3D printing can do with the technology.

Design for 3D printing.

Manufacturing Toolbox: 3D printing.

The Chinese government can invest in 3D printers and that changes nothing.
They will still loose their advantage of massive amounts of cheap labor.
Every country, small business, cottage shop, and home will have access to similar technology at the same cost.
The Chinese will no longer have any advantage over the US or Europe when it come to manufacturing.
As you point out, once the technology reaches a certain point I will no longer have to buy a part for anything.
As is typical with technology laws will lag behind and that is important to keep big industry from trying to stop the progress with legislation.
In the future if a part on my old gun breaks, I just 3D scan the old part and print myself a new one.

I would be interested in that CAD file if you are still offering it up!

It's look great!
I would like to print it for my M&P 9C,
If you could please send me the file, I'll really appreciate it!
[email protected]

Watched the videos, very, very cool. I am more into MRI than CAD but appreciate the principles. Using the bio-degradable you can eat your mistakes. I have no idea if ABS is "virgin" ABS or if it could be reclaimed at a reasonable cost from various grades of "plastic", "polymer" we discard, thus reducing landfills, oil consumption ( in theory ). Truly enjoyed the info, and it opens many new avenues. As stated before we are in the infancy of 3D printing, combined with CAD, many items such as SPAS-12 stock could be made at home. Thank You for sharing. Be Safe,

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