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SRU Bullpup SCAR


renegadecow

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I have some concerns with those kits.

When I first looked at the glock kits they were clearly 3d printed and polished with filament printers. I thought "ok, pre-production samples, nothing wrong with that".

 

But the closer we get to release date they keep publishing promotion pictures and they all look 3d printed, even the scar kit is 2 pieces of 3d printed material fused together near the magwell.

 

I tried asking if their production models will also be 3d printed and they just deleted my comment.
 

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What's wrong with 3D printing? As long as they're using a durable enough material and the print resolution is high enough (or they use those surface smoothing post-print coating) it should be good enough for most airsoft needs.

It's a slow process and if they intend selling any decent quantity they'd be better off having the injection moulds made for the body which would give a superior quality product at a lower unit cost.

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Fair enough. But they also just posted this:

12321540_428207953970521_843035594921072

I wouldn't even pretend to know what 3D-weaving is (haven't googled it yet) but it does imply that they are only implementing it to do rapid prototypes in their R&D division. So maybe the actual product will still be made in conventional injection molding.

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They'd have to be mad to 3D print production surely?  The time and costs would be ridiculous.

 

For a niche product? 3D actually sounds way cheaper when you are doing such a limited run.

 

Remember that Marui stopped making one of their P90 for almost a year because their mold broke. Variable costs of 3D printing are much higher tan that of molding, but the fixed cost (producing the mold) are astronomical.

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Well we need to determine the amount in the run they're making before writing off injection moulding.

 

Sure. But we can already make guesses:

 

- People who own a GBB SCAR L? Let's say 10.000.

 

- GBB SCAR L owners who want a bullpup? Let's say 10% (=1000).

 

- GBB SCAR L owners who like this particular bullpup design? Let's say 50%, as it is the only kit on the market. So 500 units.

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For a niche product? 3D actually sounds way cheaper when you are doing such a limited run.

 

Really? Taking your production figure of 500 units, and guesstimating the cost of such a complex mould at $50,000, that would by amortised at $100 per item. With maybe $1 in plastic comprising the materials cost, that would leave $19-28 for overheads and profit if they're aiming for $12x in pricing - not enough. My guess is that the pricing discrepancy is a combination of the mould being a lot cheaper to make in Taiwan and the expected production run being a more than 500 units.

 

I've little experience with additive manufacture, but a large part like that looks like a lot of print time. The plastic is more expensive for consumers, but not very expensive for commercial operators - but the cost is the print time. I can't see that thing coming off a printer in less than an hour, and that is an age when injection moulding would take a few minutes at most and likely a handful of seconds.

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Really? Taking your production figure of 500 units, and guesstimating the cost of such a complex mould at $50,000, that would by amortised at $100 per item. With maybe $1 in plastic comprising the materials cost, that would leave $19-28 for overheads and profit if they're aiming for $12x in pricing - not enough. My guess is that the pricing discrepancy is a combination of the mould being a lot cheaper to make in Taiwan and the expected production run being a more than 500 units.

 

I've little experience with additive manufacture, but a large part like that looks like a lot of print time. The plastic is more expensive for consumers, but not very expensive for commercial operators - but the cost is the print time. I can't see that thing coming off a printer in less than an hour, and that is an age when injection moulding would take a few minutes at most and likely a handful of seconds.

 

I have no clue what the cost of a mold is.

 

Anyway, another advantage I see to 3D printing is that you dont risk making a huge investment in something that doesn't sell that well.

 

Let's say the 3D design costs 10.000. That is going to be the same for 3D as well as for the mold. Now, if the mold does indeed cost 50.000 and you end up selling only 10 pieces, then the cost of the 3D run is 10.000/10 + material used, but the molded version has a cost of 60.000/10 + material. And that is without factoring in the cost of actually making the mold.

 

3D printing on the other hand would allow a company to make a small test run, see how it sells and make more as orders come in.

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