Xshot / Nerf Fly Swatter

Description: This is a fly swatter tip designed to work with Xshot darts. With the right Xshot or Nerf gun you will be able to dispatch flies much more easily than with a traditional fly swatter. The hole in the dart tip is sized so you should be able to just push the dart in without glue, though adding a little hot glue (or glue of your choice) should make it even better. It should work with Nerf darts too, though you might need glue.

How to use: You will need 3 things to make this work, one of these 3d printed dart tips, an Xshot or Nerf dart and an appropriate Xshot or Nerf Gun. The Xshot / Nerf gun needs to be the kind with a very short barrel, short enough that the darts don’t go in all the way when fully seated. I’ve provided a picture of an Xshot Micro, which is perfect for this application. Once you’ve assembled your dart, insert it into your gun, arm it, and your ready to track down the offending fly. Don’t forget to notch your gun after each fly is terminated.

Technique: The technique that I use is to try and get within 10-14 inches of the target. I find that if you approach the fly slowly they will usually let you get that close. Squeeze the trigger slowly and let the dart gun do the high speed work. Sometimes you can get even closer like when they are against and window and behind blinds.

Recommended Print Settings: My recommended settings are PLA (or the filament of your choice) and the design is optimized for a 0.4mm nozzle and 0.2mm layer height. Orientation should be with the swatter side down. No infill or supports are needed. If you run into bed adhesion issues, consider adding a 4-5mm brim in your slicer.

Design Notes: This design is the culmination of 9 years of intense development involving hundreds of design iterations with 276 hours of wind tunnel tests and over two years in fly psychological analysis and profiling. Okay, you’re right, none of that is true, but I’ve tried several of the other Nerf designs out there and decided to design one up specifically for the Xshot and with my own custom architecture for the technique that I use. I’ve found that a 60mm diameter is sufficiently large and I went with a 4mm hexagonal hole pattern which I found prints well and should minimize drag. To keep weight down I kept the hex mesh pattern down to only 3 layers, but I added six stiffening ribs to keep the tip light but stiff at the same time for the best energy transfer.

If you use this successfully, please post a make, preferably with a new notch to your Xshot / Nerf. Also, let others know which Xshot / Nerf gun besides the Xshot Micro work for this application.

I printed this on an old MakerFarm Prusa i3V printer, so any modern printer should handle it.

Good luck and hope it works for you.