Airbow Guard Cover - V2 Design Update

Design Update

After several years of making the previous version of this gadget for various people around the world, I was forced to redesign it a little so that I could print the parts on a slightly smaller 3D printer, because the original printer I was using sorta started having too many problems.  After I managed to make a few of the covers on the other printer, I decided to keep working on it a while and update the design with a few changes that I have thought about over the past few years.

Here's the blog post about the previous design: https://whirlysworld.blogspot.com/2018/01/benjamin-airbow-missing-accessory.html  So, I won't repeat any of that stuff here.  Most of what that post says hasn't changed.  This post will just cover the design changes for "Version 2".

Exterior Shape

The original design was sorta crude in a few places.  One of the things I just shrugged because it was "close enough" was the shape of the exterior shell.  The new design has an exterior shape that matches the foregrip and arrow channel on the Airbow so it has a more professional look.  The old design works just fine, but the outer round shape of the part that goes over the air tank doesn't mate up as cleanly with the lines on the Airbow.

Gauge Peep Hole

One of the things that I would consider a VERY minor inconvenience is the need to remove the guard / cover to read the current amount of charge on the air pressure gauge.  Originally, I just skipped putting a peep hole in because I didn't anticipate wanting to check the pressure that often anyway.  The new design has a peep hole to read the gauge mainly because it didn't take that much effort to add it, and I figured, "why not?"

Larger, Precisely Positioned Dovetail

On the older design, I kept changing the shape of the "catch" part that clips into the picatinny rail, so I wouldn't know, from one print to the next, where exactly the catch would need to be positioned on the dovetail rail.  So, I just left the rail longer than it needed to be, which is just another "less professional looking" aspect of the old design.  The new design prints the dovetail rail exactly where it needs to be, without any extra length.  The dovetail shape is also a little taller and terraced, which makes it a little easier to assemble (but that's only an issue for me when I'm making one).

Flat Front

This change is more of an enhancement for 3D printing than anything functional or aesthetic for the guard/cover itself.  Without the notched-back part on the arrow tube cover part, there is no overhang that must be printed with support material underneath it, and there is less to clean up (where the support material is removed) after the part is printed.

Conclusion

I made a new guard cover with this design for my own Airbow, for more "wow factor" when I take it to the range.  From this point forward, I'll use this new design if someone asks me to make a cover for them.  The materials, time, wear and tear on the printer (and my wife's nerves), and other supplies, etc. are all about the same as they were previously, so I'm sticking with the same price.

Also, I've set up one of those inexpensive e-commerce / shopping-cart sites to make it a little easier, than an email conversation, to get the shipping charges and Paypal part figured out.  If you want to send me a request to make an "Airbow Guard / Cover V2" for you, give that a try here: https://whirlysworld.company.site/ 

Here's the revised Youtube video for the V2 design:

ALERT: This is NOT meant to remain in place while shooting. It is only meant to protect the arrow tube and gauge while the Airbow is in storage or while it is being transported. It must be removed before loading and firing an arrow.