Advanced blowgun - rifled barrel, 3D-printed darts

Advanced Rifled Blowgun with CG-Optimized Arrows (PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION)

Unlike standard blowguns, this model features a rifled barrel for enhanced accuracy and CG-optimized arrows that spin in flight. Arrows are front-loaded into the barrel and cannot pass through the mouthpiece, ensuring safety when inhaling to shoot.

You can print the barrel with the mouth piece first, and the you have to choose if you want 2 or 3 piece version (3 piece version is 67.6mm in total)

Update 1: I’ve uploaded a STEP file with the dart base in case you want to design your own darts in Fusion 360 or another CAD program. Feel free to upload your designs as print profiles under this model. I aimed to make the darts fully 3D printable, but I realize a metal tip might be better for shifting the center of gravity forward. Maybe someone will come up with a good version—or I’ll add one later. Still figuring out what kind of tip would be easiest for most people to source.

Update2: Following a user suggestion, I’ve added a small alignment line to the barrels to make lining up the rifling easier. I also included a plate with arrows that now has an increased tolerance of 0.1 mm, in case it's a tight fit initially before the barrel wears in. Also I uploaded a print profile with the Barrel 1 (the one with the mouth piece) that has no inhale safety as requested, in this version you can load the arrow from the front or back. Please be extra careful when using this one!

Update3: I added a thicker variant of the arrows with more weight to the print profiles. Those arrows also solve the issue with the not clean print of the lower parts of the arrows and the higher weight makes them fly further and penetrate the target better.

Let me know if you want any further changes!

There are 2 print profiles, one for the 2 piece and one for the 3 piece Blowgun. Each Profile includes the arrows as single and dual color version (Try the single color first!).

Important: I really like how this turned out, but this is a precision 3D print involving a rifled barrel and is not suitable for beginners. If you're new to 3D printing or unsure what you're doing, this project isn’t for you. I did my best, and worked on this for a long time, but some fine-tuning will likely be needed—don’t expect plug-and-play, please read the “After Printing” section on the bottom. Please note that you need to choose either the 2-barrel or the 3-barrel version for printing—combining parts from both won't work, as the rifling won't align properly.

Print Recommendations:

• Material: PLA
• I strongly recommend using the same PLA color for all barrel parts, and avoid multicolor prints on the barrels. (Arrows are less critical in this regard but still should be printed single color on your first try.)
• Each barrel has a brim at the bottom to improve bed adhesion — you’ll need to remove it after printing, unless you're using a SuperTack build plate, in which case you can disable the brim.
• Clean your build plate with dish soap for optimal adhesion.
• For bedslinger printers, reduce print speed for best results.
• Arrows are printed with a built-in internal brim at the finned (hollow) end — you can remove it after printing or leave it on, based on preference, I find the arrows fly better with removed brim.
• Seam is set to random for optimal barrel and dart precision.
• It seems the arrows penetrate better if a minimum distance to the target is at least around 6 meters.

Performance Tips:

• Arrows work best when fired into dense foam board (e.g., insulation foam) or standard Styrofoam.
• With a strong breath, the tip of the arrows will fully go thru a thick cardboard from up to 10 meters - BE CAREFUL! You can increase the power and acuraccy with the 3 Piece Version
• Do not shoot at people or animals, this is not a toy!! Not for small children, use at your own risk and use responsibly! 

After Printing: The threads will be tight at first. Make sure the pieces line up straight, then screw them in a little, back them out, in again, out again—work them in gradually until fully seated. To check the alignment, hold the barrel up to a light and look through it. (Now, after the update you can also check the alignment using the little alignment lines on the barrels) You can also slide an arrow in from the front of the barrel and see if it passes cleanly through the connection point. If it doesn't, back it out slightly, make a small adjustment, and try again until the arrow slides through smoothly. Never force the arrows in. If you do it anyway and one gets stuck, you can try to push it out using a long skewer, a thin chopstick, or something similar. Tapping the barrel gently on the floor can also help. (I did a lot of arrow testing, so I know what I’m talking about :-) )

Once the alignment is perfect, I recommend locking it in with a bit of superglue. Keep in mind that the barrel will wear in with use and become smoother over time. If your arrows don’t fit at all, check for elephant foot or try scaling them down slightly (and use the arrow option in the profile with more tolerance).

If you want adjustments from my side, just let me know. I used an A1 for all test prints and went through many iterations to get it to this point.

Enjoy your build — and happy printing!

Important Update: Makerworld is currently facing pressure from its payment providers, which means those models of mine are no longer searchable on the platform. I’ve put together this collection so you can still access them: https://makerworld.com/en/collections/9949820-under-the-buildplate

Take a look at some of the other models: