Evolution/Eggy II battery doors?

[Marbo40k]

Have any of you fine 3D printing folks tried to make an updated/replacement battery door for the Viewloader Evolution/Egg loaders?
I used these for years with the usual electrical tape wrap but it would be awesome if someone were to come up with a better version. They were good loaders but unfortunately their usable lifespans were cut short due to battery door failures.
I would happily pay for a handful of doors if someone could come up with a solid design.

[JeeperCreeper]

I'd take a couple of replacement doors, too.

You need a neoprene cover for the egg, it will hold the door shut, and help keep it from shattering.

They were definitely fast loaders, but I wouldn't say good. The balance on them was bad, and they are so big. They also couldnt take a hit, and had no option for speed feed. The doors would often break and you usually had to hold them open to fill them. They are also battery hogs.

But it's the only hopper I ran for the longest time on my Ion. With the z-board, it would usually keep up with 20+bps. Nowadays, I use it to fill 10 round tubes with a drop 10 attachment, as the force feed on it is very satisfying.

[Marbo40k]

Yeah I guess “good” was too strong of a word to use haha. There is a lot of jankyness about them (mainly the lids) but that is part of the charm. Issues and all, I very much preferred them over halos back then.
I have a couple of the neoprene covers and they do help with the brittle plastic and They cover up black tape.

Over the last decade plus, I have primarily used Rotors and Revolutions but the eggs are a classic and I have 4 of them just sitting I want to put them back into the rotation.

[CrAzEdPB]

If anyone sees this i am working on making the file for the battery doors now

[JeeperCreeper]

Whoever comes up with a solid design, I'll buy 3

[treadsoflty]

keep me posted on the battery door stl

[romeoecho84]

I'm working on this too, with an Egg-II door on hand. It's a challenge for sure. Giving it another couple weeks of effort, before I go into the "Spray and 3D Scan" method, which has its own caveats.

[romeoecho84]

Got my new Pika scanner, and will continue working on this. The battery plateau will be left in for now, but assuming that the print doesn't get complicated, I'll try to leave it as one piece. If it gets too complex for supports, I'll take the battery plateau out and we'll just have to find tiny screws, and and screw it in like the original.

[romeoecho84]

I’m a little behind the egg timer so my apologies fellas. I got the first prototype finally done and fitted. It’s snug, and while it’s functional, it’s not something I’m fully ready to release yet. I’m gonna give another couple of days to revising the file and then I’ll post it up here. Right now I’m getting away with the fact that the slicer is throwing away all of the random bad edges. The inner rails are also a little bit too fat and makes it an exceptionally tight fit which I feel like I can optimize. That said, “it fits and it works”. All down hill from here
.

[zinger565]

I like it, but what orientation did this print? From the photo, it looks like bad layer orientation for strength. high likelihood of snapping at the hinge arm.

[romeoecho84]

You nailed it, it was as printed on the hinge (standing on it upright). I will do a 45 print next once I fix the inner rails

I prefer 45 degree prints, but this one was strictly for fitment.