Folding Airsoft Sights

Elevation adjustable, fixed windage. Based on a 20" (508mm) sight radius. Would be suitable for most carbine length replicas, but probably doable for some of the shorter ones. The small ears on the side of the base help protect the sight body from side impacts when stowed, while the detents help keep the sight in either the folded or unfolded position. 

Printing - You'll need to print two bases and detents, one each of the sight bodies. Additionally, since the slicer provides provisions to add these, create two cylinder shapes of 4x4x23mm. Your plate should look like this one below, orientation included. I recommend using the variable layer height - one click each of adaptive and smooth at 0.5 and 5. Print with enough walls for your nozzle width for the picatinny legs to be solid for strength. I used PLA in testing and honestly for back ups, it should be fine.

Hardware - for each base, an M4x25 bolt and nut.

For the front sight, an M3 set screw between 10 and 15mm length. The post hole is generous so you can use something longer, so long as you can achieve the distance you need for your replica. I used a set screw from this cheap set - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H5P7J5P?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

You'll also need 4 0.3x3x15mm springs. I bought a large kit of small springs for this project - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F47T44GH?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Assembly - Load two springs in a detent, and set it spring side down into the pocket in the base. Using the sight body fully depress the detent and springs all the way down until the base lines up with the sight bodies mounting axle. Careful not to let the springs bend themselves sideways, go slowly. Take the 4mm cylinder and press it through both the base and body. Depending on how smooth your holes came out ( I've had varied results from experimenting with layer heights and cooling ) you should just be able to press it into place. Channel-lock pliers can be helpful if the cylinder doesn't want to get in there. Use a small punch or similar tool to tap the pin in below the outside of the sight base. A dab of super glue will lock it into place permanently. The sight bodies rotate on the cylinder so it can be fixed into place.

After locking the sight body into place, move it into the up and down positions a few times. This will help smooth out the action of the detent and smooth some of the layer lines a bit for a cleaner operation. It will click into place in both the deployed and stored positions, requiring some mild force to get them moving. This way they have some give if you bump them into something, but also stay deployed under use. They'll also stay stowed if you aren't using them.