DEFCAD Newsletter - Printable Magazines
October 19, 2021
Welcome to the latest issue of the DEFCAD newsletter. Today's focus is a line of development that has literally been part of guncad since its origins: the printed magazine.
The very first file released by Defense Distributed in 2013 was a printed AR-15 magazine, and since that time many new designs have been released for all sorts of pistol and rifle platforms. This proliferation of reliable, easy to print designs has functionally mooted the concept of magazine restrictions, one of the clearest victories in guncad's history.
Printing your own magazine allows you to customize the color and even the aesthetic shape of the magazine design, but it is also quite cost effective. A printed magazine can cost as little as a few dollars in plastic and parts, compared to the much higher cost of OEM magazines.
This email reviews some of these designs that are today available on DEFCAD.
AR-15 Magazines
America's most popular firearm has a wide variety of printable magazines available. The world's first printable magazine - and, in fact, the very first guncad file ever released, as well as the originator of the practice of naming printed mags after politicians - is the Cuomo mag.
This design was later superseded by Ivan's 100% DIY design; and finally, 2021 brought us the reliable and aesthetic Waffle magazine. The Waffle design is today considered the best available AR-15 magazine design. With several capacity options as well as windowed and non-windowed variants, it is a design that all AR owners should print.
Glock Magazines
When it comes to printable Glock magazines there is no better design than IvanTheTroll's gold standard Menendez magazine. Version 1 was released on the 4th of July 2019, and version 2 - the latest version - followed in 2021.
This data package contains variants ranging from the 10 round Mini Menendez, the 17 round standard, all the way to the 30 round Extendez, and several other sizes in between. With so many guncad designs utilizing Glock magazines, virtually all gun printers will benefit from having a few Menendez mags printed.
AR-22 Magazines
The popularity of the AR-22 design has risen in 2021, both commercially and in the guncad world as well. Several printable magazines are available to serve this increased popularity.
Among these are the early AR-15 .22LR mag design from nguyenkvvn, and the more recently released Everytown mag and Altivolo mags. Shooting .22 should be cheap, so save money on your magazine as well by printing one of these designs.
AK Magazines
While not as well represented as the more popular Glock or AR magazines, there are still a few printable AK magazines of note. For your consideration first is the Feinstein magazine, the second printable magazine file ever released to the world from all the way back in 2013.
Also available is EmpireCADDesignz' more recent AK Freedom Mag. The AK has always trailed the AR in the number of guncad designs developed, but we hope to see more of these in the future.
Scorpion Magazines
When first released, AWCY's Sczorpion Evo contained in its data package a few printable magazines to go with the firearm itself. These magazines have now been released as a standalone package, containing both the original releases and a few new ones. Go check them out!
Magazine Extensions
In addition to full printable magazines, several designers have released magazine extensions to increase the capacity of OEM magazine designs.
Glock is well represented here with three separate designs - a +4 extension from CtrlPew and both a +2 and a +16 extension from FFFTech. The venerable FMDA has also released a series of AR magazine extensions. These quick projects are a good first print for new gun printers looking for something small yet functional.
Printing a Menendez Mag or Waffle Mag is a great way to get started with making guncad parts, as magazine designs are generally easy to print, simple and cheap to assemble, and quite useful and functional once finished.
The variety of printable magazines is wide and growing. As always you can find these designs, and many more, at DEFCAD.
