Open source bullet feeder / collator - 223/556 (Dillion 650, Hornady L&L etc) by gzcwnk

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

*April 2019
As a moron went and killed 50 people NZ is about to lose all access to AR15s etc hence no more development on 223R for this. If I do continue it will be on 308W I suspect.
December 2018
Seems to work OK. If you have issues drop me a comment on the problem.
Source code files are provided allowing you to mod parts to suit your need. Hence I will not be re-designing for you. ie step / f3d code is here to download. If you want a new calibre please copy the "source code" step or f3d file to your PC and re-design your own need.
Designed to be printed on a 200x200mmx170mm high 3D printer (specifically a Wanhao D6). Material eSun PLA+ or PETG.
223 / 556 bullet collator assembly is for 55gr flat base FMJs or BT 62gr FMJs as tested below,
Current status
7-July 2018
Mounted on Dillon650, functional test ie feeding bullets down to the press is good.
28th-August 2018
30cal drop tube added but note, un-tested.
https://youtu.be/zY6zK0Xbe7I
Next need to write,
i) BoM (bill of materials)
ii) Build guide
Other parts
a) Steel drive flange, you will have to tap the 3mm holes M4 yourself. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4-Set-of-Rigid-Flange-Coupling-Motor-Guide-Shaft-Coupler-Motor-Connector-6mm-with-Wrench-and/32854922468.html
b) Suitable motor
i) (ZGB37RH 12VDC 37mm speed 15rpm (though 10rpm maybe the better choice) https://www.aliexpress.com/item/ZGB37RH-12VDC-37mm-10-15-20-30-45-50-80-100-120-200-300-800RPM-Large/32813387794.html
I have a 12volt 10rpm motor coming as this seems a better bet and cheaper, watch this space!
ii) You could try a 24volt motor of 5rpm or 10rpm and run it at 9volts or maybe less, cheaper and simpler but I have not tried it yet. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/24VDC-37mm-Large-torque-gear-motor-100RPM-ZGB37RH-Positive-inversion-ECCenter-shaft-with-ZYDT555-motor/32811176919.html
I have 24volt 5rpm motor coming as this seems a better bet and cheaper, watch this space!
c) Straight power supply or a Suitable motor controller,
i) The easiest way is find a 24volt motor instead of the 12v I have listed and a 3~12volt adjustable PSU and drop the voltage to get it to run as slow as possible, 1amp or better a 1.5amp unit.
ii) Alternatively a controller, https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Digital-display-PWM-speed-controller-DC-motor-0-100-adjustable-drive-module-Input-12V-24V-40A/32856323198.html
d) 3.3mm drills as a tap size for M4. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-Quality-2015-Highly-Commend10-pcs-3-3mm-HSS-Electrical-Drilling-Twist-Drill-Bit/32701217157.html
e) M3 stainless steel hex heads bolts.
i) 12mm x 6 for motor
ii) 8mm x 9 for wall
iii) 12mm x 2 for bullet damper
iv) 25mm x 2 for nose guide assembly
x) M3 SS nuts x 1
y) 3mm SS washers x ? 24?
f) brass thread inserts,
i) M3, x 11
ii) M4 x 4
y) 4mm SS washers x ? 8?
g) This design will use Mr BulletFeeder Pro 223 bullet seater to place bullet on case as its the cheapest I can find without designing my own one.
h) Bag each (50) of 3mm and 4mm washers
i) Metric HSS tap set (these are really good taps). https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Spiral-Pointed-Taps-Tapping-Thread-Forming-Tap-Titanium-Coated-Hss-5pc-Metric-Spiral-Fluted-Machine-Screw/32476583120.html
j) tap set T bar. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Adjustable-3-8mm-T-Handle-Ratchet-Tap-Wrench-with-5pcs-M3-M8-Machine-Screw-Thread-Metric/32741340742.html
k) M4 bolts
i) 22mm SS hex screws x 4 collator to drive flange.https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100pcs-Lot-Metric-Thread-M4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20-22-25-30/32608294243.html
ii) 10mm SS hex screws x 4 to mount base
iii) 10mm SS hex screw x 2 to mount scraper
l) This will need a mechanism to place the bullet on the case, Hornady and RCBS to name but 2 do these.
FAQ
1) The bullets do not drop into the fed tube/shoot from the collator. This is usually down to
a) burrs or some remaining brim on the bottom of the U of the collator plate, carefully clean these off with a sharp knife.
b) Angle of unit too steep. This causes the bullets to drop slower so slow the motor down or lessen the angle.
2) Collator cant hold many projectiles. This is an issue. For the mk2 I will mod the base plate to take 2 bearings (of some sort) to go under the collator plate to take the weight off the motor. This should allow a decent amount of projectiles. Until then throw <200 in at a time.
3) What angle is best to set the unit at? This is a very good question. It is about 47Deg or a little more, 51 Degree is too much.
4) I have bigger/different bullets. You will need to take the collator plate model provided in the step file and modify it to suit. Also the nose guide design and ramp may want changing.
5) Bigger (longer) than 62gr FMJs do not un-invert reliably. Probably the collator plate needs to be made thicker so there is more support for the projectile in the U slot.
6) I have round / soft nose bullets. The 55gr FMJ collator plate will probably work best as the too thick a plate of the 62gr FMJs might cause 2 bullets to stack, or bullets may not de-invert well. I suggest a nose flipper per caliber and type of bullet, they only take about 45mins to print anyway. So set them up on the set screw and leave as is.
Notes
Updates/progress (historic notes for me mostly)
22-May-2018
Uploaded 223 bullet collator plate modded to suit drive flange.
Uploaded bullet collator base plate modded to suit drive flange.
i) Collator plate (mk2d - 22/5/2018)
ii) Nose guide plate and distance plate (mk1b - 21/4/2018)
iii) nose flip ramp (Mk1 - 20-4-2018)
iv) collator base body (mk1d - 22/5/2018)
v) Tube converter to Mr Bullet Feeder 10mm (small) slinky tube (mk1b - 21/4/2018)
25-May
i) Updated collator base body (mk1f 25-5-2018), alterations to better suit motor flange, and "thinned" to speed up printing. Added more side holes to spread load on wall.
ii) Added a spring steady to try and stop the projectile bouncing around so much (this needs work still)
30-May
i) Updated collator base body (mk1j 25-5-2018) Added more side holes to spread load on wall.
ii) New base wall, twice as thick (mk1e 29-5-2018) Will probaby need ribs to strengthen further.
iii) 223 Collator, added a 3mm recess for the screws to suit 20mm M4 bolts as 22mm are hard to get.
iv) 2x Test legs 45Deg.
4-June
i) 223 Collator re-design work. Bullets can stick on the 45Deg ramp and not drop into the "U" slot. Also when the bullet is "nose" down it looks / is unstable. Made the collator 8mm thicker and changed the angle to 70Deg, seems to have improved this issue.
Bugger notes lost...thanks thingiverse.
5-June
i) new adjustable test feet giving 45Deg+ but 45Deg is not a bad angle.
ii) Totally new (mk2) flip ramp, 11mm taller to match taller collator plate, waiting in queue to print.
6-June
i) Collator plate seems Ok on 55gr flat base but for 62gr when inverted they are to unstable. So I have left the design as is for 55gr and am trying a new 5mm deeper collator plate for 62gr fmjs.
ii) Designed a new nose guide for inverted 62gr projectiles.
7-June
i) new deeper/thicker collator plate works really well with 62gr FMJs.
ii) mk2 "improved" nose guide spacer done but may not now be needed.
iii) Scraper for inside to "scrap" any more than 1 projectile out of a U slot.
10-June
Initial testing went fine, now doing a "proper" test print. The best angle is about 53Degress. the tool shown to check this is on aliexpress for about $18US.
11-June
Base printed starting to assemble beta unit.
13-June
Beta unit ready for testing.
22-June-2018 5rpm motors arrived. However I am not sure if slower is a huge improvement. Occasional jam as bullet is slow to drop into shoot as the "right" angle is hard to find 53Deg is too steep IMHO. Added a bigger chamfer to the shute to try and fix this so base will need re-printing :(
Needs a bullet steady / plate to hold the projectile into the U.
23-June Changed angle to 47Deg, almost faultless in 1000 rounds. So its not less than 46Deg and not more than 50Deg. Currently back on the old 15rpm motor as I found my issues with speed control was down to a bad PSU and the 15rpm motor is a better motor. Currently running at 3rpm and 47Deg.
I now find with a good PSU I can run at 15% on the speed controller which is about 2~3rpm.
24-June-2018
Uploaded a mk1 standalone stand that screws to the benchtop for the bullet feeder. This way anyone can use it on any press with no changes or unique bits. Needs a 20mm round dowel of length > 1m (to be determined)
300 round test, 62gr FMJs 3 to 15rpm at 47Deg incline.
https://youtu.be/15Gr9stidR8
30-June-2018
Mounted bullet feeder "on" press using the bench stand.
1-July-2018
Working on controller case, currently printing it.