flashforge for high-tensile strength parts

[jamesinvents]

Hi All,

Long story short, I have just been given a nice chunk of change to play with by a generous investor. As an avid hobbyist spearfisherman, one of my long time dreams has been to make inexpensive, but effective parts that fill a specialty niche within the sport. In particular, my current idea is to try to design and manufacture my own working roller muzzles.

A roller muzzle is a device that permits a speargun to be loaded with up to 1.5X the power one could with a normal muzzle on a gun of the exact same length. It accomplishes this by acting as a pivot point or fulcrum around which the speargun bands literally roll on grooved wheels. This in turn allows one to attach a longer rubber than one normally could, on the underside of the gun. The rubber is routed up from its anchor point through the muzzle, and attached on the other side of the gun barrel via a 'wishbone' to the spearshaft, which is hopefully securely lodged at this point in the gun's trigger mechanism housing. A roller muzzle thus confers numerous advantages. The most notable of these for me, as a shore diver, lies in having a shorter, more maneuverable gun with the range and power of a much longer one. This permits accurate snap shots, which can effectively prevent a diver from losing opportunities on larger and more desirable fish that blow by at close ranges. This is a significant improvement over a standard configuration, especially given the additional friction involved in maneuvering a long, handled object underwater.

I have not designed one yet, but the basic idea of the type I want to make is simple: place an axle through a speargun barrel endplug, oriented perpendicular to the barrel, and deck the axle out with bolt-on rollers. The metal hardware is relatively cheap and easy to find (rollers, bearings, bolts, etc.), but on the retail market, the plastic or fiberglass muzzle lends the finished product a high price tag. As an aftermarket part for pipe-style spearguns, these are sold for no less than $90.00, which is very steep IMO.

Anyhow, here are my questions:

1. Is it at all reasonable to think that one could create a functional part, minus the metal rollers, with a $1200.00 Flashforge printer? Keep in mind that the muzzle would have to work essentially as a fulcrum or pivot-point bearing a significant load, up to 200 lbs., in stretched rubber force, and also potentially at a weak point per my current rough design, i.e., a metal bar or axle inserted THROUGH the muzzle.
2. If this is indeed feasible, what sort of material/medium would be good to use? I have a hunch that ABS might have some desireable properties, but ultimately be too soft.
3. After investing in the printer and the proper media, what could I expect to pay in costs per unit for an item weighing say 200-300 grams?

Lastly, I know this is sort of a pipe-dream, and that is exactly why I've come here with my questions. But I have to imagine if someone can make a functional lower receiver for an AR-15 using a 3D printer, a speargun muzzle shouldn't be too far fetched.

Anyhow, thanks in advance for your input.

Best,
James

P.S., I've attached a bunch of images to help demonstrate some common designs as well as the concept.