Sorting Brass 2.0

[NewBeige]

I have the shell sorter: Shell Sorter™ sorts your brass by caliber, saving you time, shoot more
It’s great and I love how low tech it is. You just need to wear a mask when using it.

Now I’m looking for a method to find the few .380’s that make it into my 9mm bucket which is what this device is made for: www.utleysort.com
Video in use:
View: https://youtu.be/i5PS06ZX0b0


I also noticed that if flipped over, the device could be used for quickly identifying desirable head-stamps from undesirables cases. Which would be great for those brass snobs out there (you know who you are).

Has anyone else used this utleysort device or made one yourself? He is asking $25 plus shipping. This might be a candidate for 3D printing at the local library. A quick search on thingieverse.com turned up no plans for this yet.

 

[edin508]

Another thing added to my future print list.

 

[jek]

I use the plate from shell sorter for .380. Works well.

 

[ddeck]

This person has the original 3d print for the shell sorter (Brass Case Sorter by Surrogate) and the comments has this:

I printed these, and they are fantastic, thanks for your efforts. 380's are a problem. I found that the range pick-up brass had the following diameters - 9mm = 0.390" to 0.394", and 380 = 0.378". I modified the file to create a similar separator with slots that are 0.383" wide, to catch 9mm brass on the top side and let 380 brass fall through. Depending on how your printer prints, you will likely need to do some light filing to touch up the slots to let 380 brass fall through. Be careful, as it is easy to file a bit too much and then the 9mm brass will fall through too. This will work ONLY for brass that has not yet been re-sized. Search for "380 brass case separator" for the file.

I found this when searching too: 380 Brass case separator by dontfeedmyfish

I cannot personally vouch for these as I haven't printed them and the printer is doing something else at the moment, but will try tomorrow

 

[NewBeige]

I use the plate from shell sorter for .380. Works well.

I agree it works well, especially if you lay it inside of the 45 (yellow) dish and push down enough for the plate to stay seated in the dish. That being said, some 380s still get missed. Maybe 0.5%. Which if they make it into the press, is 5 wasted primers per 1000. That’s a whole 50 cents! At $25, this blue tray will pay off in saved primers in 50,000 rounds lol.

Stating the obvious: I know physics isn’t my friend here, but it would be nice if the 9’s fell and the 380s stayed in the sorter dish. The 9s staying in the dish and clogging the tray and then needing to be dumped every small batch, is a test of my patience and that’s when the 380s don’t make it through and get kept with the 9s, hence why we are talking today

 

[ddeck]

This is a simple solution that won't give you the headstamp sorting feature: 9 mm Sorter by jason96x

What I will do is print a 9 mm box like this: Parametic Stackable Ammo Box by Loreroth

And then slice off the bottom and drop them into that one at the top....see if that works to put them all facing up so you can then do a height check...

Update: Printing as of 10:55

 

[jek]

some 380s still get missed.

Haven't had this problem yet, and I've done many thousands of 9mm. It is a bit tedious since you don't want to overload the plate with 9mm, but one thing that helps is that they sent me two by mistake which speeds the process.

 

[ddeck]

It kind of works as is, but since the person is dumping just 9 mm and 380 brass, I need to make the holes a little bigger so the cases can fall right in. I can't just use the 9mm box since the holes are too tight. Then, the bottom is just a reloading tray spaced to the holes in the top.

Right now, it takes too much to get the cases to fall into the holes.

 

[NewBeige]

This is a simple solution that won't give you the headstamp sorting feature: 9 mm Sorter by jason96x

What I will do is print a 9 mm box like this: Parametic Stackable Ammo Box by Loreroth

And then slice off the bottom and drop them into that one at the top....see if that works to put them all facing up so you can then do a height check...

Update: Printing as of 10:55

DDeck: Waiting for an update on the printing

If it works, can you change the 3D printing file to delete the bottom so its just a grid of holes?

I believe someone else in the group ordered the $25 sorter from above online yesterday. Will be interesting to see how that works compared to the one you are making.

 

[ddeck]

DDeck: Waiting for an update on the printing

If it works, can you change the 3D printing file to delete the bottom so its just a grid of holes?

I believe someone else in the group ordered the $25 sorter from above online yesterday. Will be interesting to see how that works compared to the one you are making.

I did make it just the grid. Using the slicer, I cut off the bottom.

The problem was that the holes didn't allow the cases to fall very easily. And at only 50 rounds, it didn't go very quickly.

I'm going to just get a 40 S&W box (100 rds) and cut that one and try that since the extra size should make the cases fall more easily. I'll then print the 40 S&W box to hold the cases so you can easily see the height. The printer is printing something today, but I've got the files done.

 

[greencobra]

you could stop being a brass scrounge and shoot even more! who knew?

 

[pastera]

I have the shell sorter: Shell Sorter™ sorts your brass by caliber, saving you time, shoot more
It’s great and I love how low tech it is. You just need to wear a mask when using it.

Now I’m looking for a method to find the few .380’s that make it into my 9mm bucket which is what this device is made for: www.utleysort.com
Video in use:
View: https://youtu.be/i5PS06ZX0b0


I also noticed that if flipped over, the device could be used for quickly identifying desirable head-stamps from undesirables cases. Which would be great for those brass snobs out there (you know who you are).

Has anyone else used this utleysort device or made one yourself? He is asking $25 plus shipping. This might be a candidate for 3D printing at the local library. A quick search on thingieverse.com turned up no plans for this yet.

The difference between 380 and 9mm is too small compared to 3d printer tolerance
It can be done but not likely in production.

Most of the 380 sorters I've seen are metal
Let me look at those trays and see if I can print something that works

 

[ddeck]

After testing the 40S&W box, I decided to test just shaking the cases into a 45 ACP box. It worked perfectly, so I need to print a 45 ACP top and then reconfigure the bottom to accept the top tray. I can test that by just taping it together, which I can do tonight.

These prints do take some time (4 hours).

 

[NewBeige]

After testing the 40S&W box, I decided to test just shaking the cases into a 45 ACP box. It worked perfectly, so I need to print a 45 ACP top and then reconfigure the bottom to accept the top tray. I can test that by just taping it together, which I can do tonight.

These prints do take some time (4 hours).

I appreciate the effort. You are doing yeomen’s work for the rest of the team on this! Apparently, you and I were not the only ones annoyed by this sorting issue. Thanks!

 

[gerrycaruso]

I just stand them all on the edge of the workbench and look down the line. It's easy to see the shorter .380s. I have a metal sorter but it's too slow.

 

[ddeck]

OK, I've made it and it works as is, but I want to add some posts to make the top fit quickly on the bottom.

I've essentially taken a 45 acp 100 rd ammo box and sliced it halfway up. This allows for the cases to quickly fall in and then you take off the top half, allowing you to quickly see and remove the 380 brass. I then had to add something to align the two pieces that could also quickly be removed. I thought about creating a groove for the top one to fit in, but decided to go with posts instead (posts on bottom, holes on top). The only danger is that the posts get broken

 

[ddeck]

I'm having printing problems at the moment, but I have placed the files on Thingiverse:

380 versus 9 case sorter by spaventato

This is a tool to sort 380 from 9 mm cases. Simply put the two pieces together with an m4 bolt (it's a 5 mm hole) and dump brass onto the top. The brass will fall into the holes and stand upright. Remove the top portion and look across the top to see any height differences. The shorter ones...

www.thingiverse.com

I'm reprinting today and will make adjustments as necessary

 

[Nick Leduc]

OK, I've made it and it works as is, but I want to add some posts to make the top fit quickly on the bottom.

I've essentially taken a 45 acp 100 rd ammo box and sliced it halfway up. This allows for the cases to quickly fall in and then you take off the top half, allowing you to quickly see and remove the 380 brass. I then had to add something to align the two pieces that could also quickly be removed. I thought about creating a groove for the top one to fit in, but decided to go with posts instead (posts on bottom, holes on top). The only danger is that the posts get broken

So are you saying the 45 top half acts like a funnel for the 100 9/380? I'm just trying to picture what's going on. Is the top half tapered at all in the 100 holes? Does the brass get hung up at all as you are filling it?

 

[ddeck]

So are you saying the 45 top half acts like a funnel for the 100 9/380? I'm just trying to picture what's going on. Is the top half tapered at all in the 100 holes? Does the brass get hung up at all as you are filling it?

Picture a sliced in half 45 ACP ammo box, where you can remove the top half.

There is no tapering as I found that if you used too tight of holes, the brass would not fall in easily.

The brass won't tip over due to the height, even though it fits loosely in the holes.

Once the print finishes, I will make a video and post.

IN response to post #9, I made it so you can also just print two of the tops and you would have the bottomless thing. The problem with that is how you would remove it from the brass you just poured over it? But, you can do that. This is why I removed the posts, so you could do either.

 

[ddeck]

OK, it's done:


View: https://youtu.be/RRD-9TBvVKM


Sorry about it being in portrait

M4 screws work well as the holders...if you wanted you could glue them in place at the head. I had some printing trouble, but finally eradicated the stringing this morning. Running with PETG on these ones. This is using the exact files as above, so anyone can print this. I guess if anyone wants one, I can make them for $5.

The 3 .380 ones were only found in the second set...the first set had 0.

 

[pastera]

The difference between 380 and 9mm is too small compared to 3d printer tolerance
It can be done but not likely in production.

Most of the 380 sorters I've seen are metal
Let me look at those trays and see if I can print something that works

Replying to my own post to admit I didn't read the whole damn thing - the www.shellsorter.com type sorters for 380 need to be too precise for 3d printing.
The other one just lines them so their easier to pick out - that's much easier

I can model up the www.utleysort.com and post the STLs if there is real interest

 

[Wickedcoolname]

I can't say shell sorter three times in a row.

 

[ddeck]

Replying to my own post to admit I didn't read the whole damn thing - the www.shellsorter.com type sorters for 380 need to be too precise for 3d printing.
The other one just lines them so their easier to pick out - that's much easier

I can model up the www.utleysort.com and post the STLs if there is real interest

I'd be interested in the hole size they use. I found anything 40 S&W or less was too small and didn't fall in very easily. I don't see a taper either, but maybe there is one.

 

[NewBeige]

OK, it's done:


View: https://youtu.be/RRD-9TBvVKM


Sorry about it being in portrait

M4 screws work well as the holders...if you wanted you could glue them in place at the head. I had some printing trouble, but finally eradicated the stringing this morning. Running with PETG on these ones. This is using the exact files as above, so anyone can print this. I guess if anyone wants one, I can make them for $5.

The 3 .380 ones were only found in the second set...the first set had 0.

Oh, that worked out nicely! Great job.
How big of one do you think you could make? Seems like a 20x20 row would be best for volume but still remain handleable.
Also if there was an outer box that was maybe three inches higher than the sorter, you could use it instead of the cardboard box.

 

[ddeck]

Oh, that worked out nicely! Great job.
How big of one do you think you could make? Seems like a 20x20 row would be best for volume but still remain handleable.
Also if there was an outer box that was maybe three inches higher than the sorter, you could use it instead of the cardboard box.

I'm limited by the size of my print bed. I might be able to go 15 by 15 but that would really be stretching it. I will say that if you look across, it can be harder to see a 380 in the middle. So, I think if you were to go 20x20, you would have a tougher time distinguishing the smaller ones.

In terms of a box, there is definitely some better way. In the video from Utley, he's just using Tupper ware. This allows for you to sweep off the ones that are on top of ones already. I think if you made a box, you would have a harder time sweeping the ones off.

In order to see headstamps, you can cut a piece of cardboard to just lay over the top and flip it over, then remove the bottom portion.

 

[ddeck]

Some more testing:

I found that if you raise the height of the box to 15 mm, you don't really need a top portion. The brass falls into the correct holes and you can then easily see across the brass to identify any 380. I don't know why a top portion would be needed as long as the bottom piece was high enough, but not too high to obstruct the view of the cases.

 

[NewBeige]

Does it have a bottom? Or do the cases just slide through if you pick it off a table?

 

[ddeck]

It has a bottom, so it's just a case holder with no top practically. I was able to sort through about 500 in less than a couple minutes. Just dump some over, shake it to get the stragglers to fall and look at them to discover the 380's. This way you don't have to mess with the top portion. My original one had the bottom too short, so I added the top, then I just increased the height halfway and it worked perfectly. You need just enough height for them to stay in the hole, but not too much so that you can't see the height differences. 15 mm is that height.

 

[NewBeige]

You have a winner. Let me play with one for a week or so. Hopefully you might have a product to offer the rest of the group for their sorting needs too.
You should post the photos that I saw via PM today.

 

[ddeck]

Here are the two. The side by side shows the two designs. The second picture shows the solid base of the bottom piece

After playing around a little bit, I just used two of the bottom pieces to flip it and read the headstamps once I picked out the 380. I'm curious why the original design from Utley has the top half...it's not needed (IMHO).

The black color also helps see the contrast with the cases.

And just putting these side to side in a box or tupperware makes the process much quicker.