1911 Pistol Magazine Base Pad

prusaprinters

<p>In timed pistol competitions such as IPSC or IDPA, people often install a magazine well to facilitate speedy reloads. &nbsp;But standard “flush-fit” 1911 magazines don't work well with a mag well. &nbsp;Adding a pad to the bottom solves that.</p><p>Print the pad in a flexible material such as TPU, so it will cushion impact when dropping empty mags to the floor.</p><p>I've designed this to match the standard screw hole spacing (0.531" on center) and thread (4-40) used by most magazine manufacturers. &nbsp;Mount the pad using a pair of 4-40 3/8" long cap screws.</p><p>Some magazines don't come from the factory with pre-drilled floor plates. &nbsp;I have also designed a <a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/128338-1911-pistol-magazine-drilling-jig">1911 Pistol Magazine Drilling Jig</a> to help with drilling the required holes.</p><h3>Print Details</h3><p>I printed mine in TPU, using a 15% concentric infill, and only three top and bottom layers. &nbsp;This helps maintain the “squishiness” of the print.</p><p>Print it upside-down, with the counterbored screw holes on top, to avoid the need for supports. The overhang slope is easily achievable, even with TPU.</p><p>If you're going to print TPU on the smooth PEI sheet, put down a layer of masking tape first. Otherwise the print will be very difficult to remove, and may damage the sheet. The textured sheet seems good.</p><p>If you want to print multiple instances at once, it's worth using the “Complete individual objects” output option in PrusaSlicer, to minimize stringing between instances.</p>