Getting a 3D-printed gun case insert.

The three routes

1. Have one made

Small 3D-printing shops, Etsy sellers, and local makers design and print inserts to order. Some sell ready-made files or prints for popular case and firearm combinations; others model one around your gear.

Give them enough to get the fit right the first time:

• The exact case model. Interiors differ between similar-looking cases, and third-party copies of popular cases can have different interior dimensions.
• Every item and variant, including lights, optics, and magazine types. An insert cut for a bare pistol will not accept one with a weapon light.
• How you want to lift items out: finger notches, pull tabs, or a gap at one end.
• Material expectations. Ask what they print in and why, and whether surfaces touching the firearm are soft.

Ask how revisions are handled before you pay. A layout that is wrong on arrival usually means another print, and possibly another fee.

2. Design it yourself in CAD

This route gives complete control and works for any case or item. It is also the most work. The usual process:

1. Measure the case interior. Use calipers at the top and bottom of the walls. Many hard cases have tapered walls, and published specifications often reflect the engineering design rather than the finished case, so measure your own case.
2. Capture each item’s outline. Common methods are photographing it flat on a grid of known size and tracing it in CAD, working from manufacturer drawings, or 3D scanning.
3. Model the insert in a tool such as Fusion, Onshape, Tinkercad, or OpenSCAD. Add clearance around each cutout and allow for any finger access.
4. Split it for your printer. Full-size inserts often exceed a typical build plate. Divide the model into sections with alignment features or joints, keeping seams away from thin walls around cutouts.
5. Test a small section first. Print one cutout and one joint to check the clearance your printer and material need before committing to the full insert.

Owners who have done this report the same pain points: accurate measurement, tracing curved outlines, and joining pieces that were split to fit the build bed.

3. Use a case-specific designer

A designer built around case and gear profiles removes the measuring and modelling. StashGrid works this way: choose a supported case, arrange gear from the library in your browser, inspect the layout in 3D, and export an STL to slice and print yourself.

The trade-off is coverage. It only works if both your case and your gear are in the library:

• Supported cases: Apache 3800, Glock Factory Case, and Pelican 1170.
• Firearm profiles: G17 Gen5, G17 Gen5 MOS, G17 Gen6 Standard, G19 Gen5 Compact, G19 Gen5 MOS Compact, G19 Gen5 A-CUT, G19 Gen6 Compact, G43X MOS Subcompact, G48 MOS Compact, G45 Gen5, G45 Gen5 MOS, G45 Gen6 Compact, G45 Gen5 A-CUT, G49 Gen6 Standard. Accessory and tool profiles are also available; check exact variants in the designer.
• No photo tracing. You arrange known profiles; you cannot upload an item that is not in the library.
• Saved in your browser. The layout stays in this browser only. An exported STL is for printing, not an editable backup.

StashGrid provides the design file only. It does not print or ship inserts.

Materials and contact surfaces

There is no single correct filament. One approach is a rigid body with a softer material where the insert touches the firearm. One owner printed the part touching the pistol in 95A TPU “for a softer interface that won’t damage the pistol.”

Check the filament manufacturer’s data for the temperatures your case will see, such as a vehicle in summer. The printing guide covers build-area checks, split prints, and test fits.

When custom foam is the better choice

Case foam is chosen to cushion its contents by compressing under impact. A printed insert behaves according to its material, walls, and infill, and StashGrid has not tested the impact protection of printed inserts against foam. Consider custom foam instead if:

• cushioning in transit, such as shipping or checked travel, is your main concern;
• you do not have access to a printer and do not want to arrange printing;
• your case or gear is not supported by a designer, and you do not want to model the insert yourself.

A printed insert makes more sense when you want to change the layout later, since you can edit the design and print it again. Compare all the options for replacing case foam.

Check the size before you start

Supported insert models are larger than many printers’ build plates. Compare these dimensions with your printer before designing.

An insert is storage only: it holds items in a case and does not attach to or modify a firearm. Open the designer or read the FAQ.