Anthropomorphic sci-fi project

KL-90 PLASMA HANDGUN

The most common configuration of the weapon, with black polymer frame and slide, a standard magazine, and fiber-optic sights.

The most common configuration of the weapon, with black polymer frame and slide, a standard magazine, and fiber-optic sights.

Breakdown of the internal components.

Breakdown of the internal components.

Conceptual model of just the muzzle portion, showing the unique barrel and silhouette.

Conceptual model of just the muzzle portion, showing the unique barrel and silhouette.

Figuring out how to join these surfaces together pushed my skills in CAD to the absolute limit.

Figuring out how to join these surfaces together pushed my skills in CAD to the absolute limit.

Sketches for a weapon light that could be installed on the accessory rail.

Sketches for a weapon light that could be installed on the accessory rail.

An early CAD render, with the basic form largely complete and the first draft of the magazine design.

An early CAD render, with the basic form largely complete and the first draft of the magazine design.

I spent way too much time designing real moving parts with the intent of building a physical prop. The trigger safety shown here is near-identical to the mechanism in a real Glock handgun.

I spent way too much time designing real moving parts with the intent of building a physical prop. The trigger safety shown here is near-identical to the mechanism in a real Glock handgun.

Early CAD sketch in which I toyed with the idea of the trapezoidal cooling grate.

Early CAD sketch in which I toyed with the idea of the trapezoidal cooling grate.

The final CAD model, with the major exterior parts hidden.

The final CAD model, with the major exterior parts hidden.

Even deadlier at close range than a ballistic firearm, yet far safer beyond that in the event of a missed or negligent shot. Engineered using multiple legal loopholes, and powered by resources far easier to obtain than the costly high-density metals needed to manufacture bullets. Firearms based on the exothermic decomposition of pressurized komaline gas are the weapon of choice among the Tyron system's industrial clan. The KL-90 is a generations-old system, trusted by security personnel, undercover industrial observers, and anyone with the right connections who might find themselves in a rough situation.

This was my first time undertaking a serious CAD project beyond simple parts for 3D printing, and it pushed my skill and some of the capabilities of Autodesk Fusion to the absolute limit. Things started out manageable, but quickly got hard as soon as I needed to start joining my basic shapes into one smooth form. In particular, the region on the frame directly above the trigger took several attempts before I could obtain something that looked close to what I wanted and could be generated by Fusion. Several times, I thought about giving up and trying to start over using hard-surface subdivision modeling in Blender instead, but I stuck with it and pushed through to the end.

I also made the project much harder on myself by choosing to design plausible internal components as well. Unlike the well-known mechanics of gunpowder, I had to think about how my made-up physics and chemistry might actually work while preserving the outward appearance and behavior I wanted. Specifically, I really liked the motion of a normal handgun's slide, both in blowback at the moment of firing and the dramatic action of racking the slide to cock the firing mechanism. The solution was to borrow ideas from rifle platforms, adding a gas compression piston roughly analagous to a bolt and shaping the slide to act as both a buffer and a charging handle. When you pull the trigger on a KL-90, the piston is forced rearward, dumping most of its energy into the slide like a Newton's cradle with the remaining amount resetting the internal parts for the next shot.