Printing Instructions:
Before you start printing, make sure the base mount is positioned with the back facing down. If you're unsure which side is the back, refer to the pictures provided. Otherwise, ensure that the widest part of the object is on the ground and the smallest side is on top.
Support:
Yes, use linear supports (not tree) everywhere. However, make sure to leave a sufficient Z-gap to remove the supports from the slit. Supports are necessary to span the slit.
Infill settings for airsoft gear
What infill settings you would need to use depends on a multitude of things such as material type and what type of force you are expecting will occur at which angles.
** Damage assesment **
For instance, with the red dot protector model on this page, we may expect the most common damage to occur from direct impact of BB's. This is a sudden, high velocity impact on a very concentrated area. The impact can be direct (pressing into the layer lines) or sideways (between the layer lines).
** Infill types and materials **
The choice of material also influences the type of infill settings you ought to use. The more a material is impact resistant (like ABS, TPU, PETG) the lesser infill you can get away with.
** Best infill patern for airsoft impacts **
As for the infill pattern, at 100%: use 'concentric', but anything below that you will need to start considering the angle of impact and the layer line direction. For this red dot protector, if you print it on its back, any impact from the front will land on the strongest axis (bi-direction) and thus the choice of infill pattern will not make much of a difference.
However, during sideways impacts, we want to protect the
interlayer integrity by as much adhesion between layers of infill.
"Lines" pattern, for instance, will not have many interlayer adhesion. Each layer only touches the other layer on small dots - because the direction of lines on each layer alternates.
Your best bet with this model is Quarter Cubic or Octet (or equivalent) since these infill patterns are good at dissipating force inward, especially on softer materials.
But most important: safely test your equipment before depending on it, there's no shame in testing your equipment in a controlled environment. Also, this scope protector has such a low profile that it takes mere minutes to print.
Layer Height:
Choose a layer height anywhere between 0.05mm to 0.20mm, depending on your nozzle size. If your layer height is too high (around 0.8 nozzle size) you will run the risk of insufficient squish betwheen layers.
Post Processing:
You may need to drill through the M5 hole to create some room, depending on the accuracy of your printer. The slit where the pane goes has tight tolerances, but you can easily adjust it with a file or a dremel tool. Don't hesitate to widen the slit by removing some material if needed.
Alternatively, you can wait with the drilling step until after you've placed the pane into the mount, using the screw holes as a guide. However, this step isn't necessary if you've drilled the holes with the stencil provided, as they should perfectly align.