How To: 3D Print Customized Wall Mounts

Across the workplace, Nerf blasters are cherished and intently guarded. Impromptu skirmishes are a daily incidence and arms races are alive and effectively. You’ll have the very best blaster that Nerf has, however give it a pair months and Nerf has one thing even greater and badder than earlier than. On this battlefield, I should be on the able to strike again or strike first. With the assistance of some 3D modeling and 3D printing, I’ve mounted my blasters each above and hidden below my desk – it was very easy to design and assemble these mounts. Let’s put together for struggle and develop some mounts in your arsenal. This course of will work with any merchandise that you simply’d wish to see displayed in your wall, or, you recognize, hidden discreetly below your desk. 

Step 1: Establish the Goal – What Do You Need To Mount

Basically, any “gun rack” or mount goes to be a primary hook large enough to suit any blaster, which works, however it’s boring. To take advantage of safe match mount, particularly if you happen to’re mounting a blaster with 4 D batteries in it above your PC like I did, you’ll want to make a customized becoming to intently maintain the contours of the blaster. One in all our Product Affiliate’s, Matt, has a Sledgefire Nerf that didn’t have a mount, so I’m going to design one for his blaster.

Step 2: Reconnaissance – Establish the Finest Place for Your Mounts to Grip

It’s essential to work out the place could be the very best place for the mounts to grip. Within the case of the Sledgefire, I do know that some folks like to go away the inventory unattached (Matt), whereas others maintain it normal with the inventory put in (different Matt). Figuring out that, I would like the mounts to grip in the identical place on each so it’s a normal mount. For earlier mounts I’ve used a set of calipers to measure and intently estimate how vast and the way lengthy the options of the blaster is. This works pretty effectively, however I’ll admit there are most likely higher methods to do it. You might most likely use a contour gauge, however I understand how to make use of my useful calipers, in order that’s what I’m going to point out you.

Step 3: Develop a Plan – Measure and Sketch Your Object

I figured the very best place to hint for the mount is below the barrel and beneath the set off guard, so I took the mandatory measurements and transferred them onto some notepads round a really exaggerated sketch so I had an concept of what the ultimate form ought to type of seem like.

Step 4: Start Modelling – Match the Mount to Your Object

Underneath the barrel, it has a posh cross-section, so I’ll mannequin the holder into that form, however the grip of the blaster has a easy cross-section. I might make it a holder that’s completely sq., however the place’s the enjoyable in that? I took some extra measurements throughout the assorted edges of the blaster to get sufficient reference factors to form it in Solidworks.

Step 5: Take a look at Match and Iterate Your Design

For the primary iteration, I made it with none clearance so it matches the blaster as intently as it could. As a substitute of printing the complete holder and discovering out it doesn’t match, I solely printed sufficient to see the place I must trim or develop contours. Every of those was sufficient to see that I might lengthen the grip only a tiny bit to extra securely lock into it, and the entrance wanted to be a bit wider to suit across the barrel and a bit shorter so it could slide straight again and miss the fake bolts.

Step 6: Design for Ease of Meeting

After a pair extra iterations, taking materials away in some spots and including materials in others, I had a form that match fairly effectively to each elements of the blaster. For the “arm” that extends out of the wall, I’ve a standardized form that so far has match even the widest of blasters. To make it simpler to put in on the wall and never need to drill across the arm, the thickness of this complete half is particularly designed so the pegs have simply the correct amount of clearance the place they may match tightly into the wall half and never want any glue to maintain it in place. Our PRO Collection Gentle Blue PLA is remarkably near the identical blue that Nerf used for the Sledgefire, and the Ultimaker Orange PLA is the brightest orange that matches fairly intently to the Nerf security orange coloration. The opposite set was requested in PRO Collection Pearlescent PLA and PRO Collection Black PLA.

That’s all there may be to it! One in all these was mounted immediately into the aspect of the desk for fast draw, and the opposite was mounted above the desk. You’ll be able to adapt this to make customized pegboard holders, TV stands, whiteboard marker holders, or the rest that should repair in opposition to the contours of an object.

I hope that this text was informative and has impressed you to create your individual Nerf wall mounts with the assistance of 3D printing. The varied mounts that I’ve designed at the moment are within the MatterHackers’ Design Retailer, and I will likely be updating if I create extra fashions for the remainder of the workplace.

Is there one thing you’d wish to see Alec create utilizing 3D printing? Tell us within the feedback beneath, or ship an e-mail to assist@matterhackers.com.