AR-15 Carrier in One Operation

[PUCKER]

Another thread here mentioned youtube videos...thought I would share this one, sure, it's a promotional video, but very cool, nonetheless!

AR-15 carrier machined in one operation on the Eurotech Trofeo in 11 min. 22 sec.

[video]http://youtu.be/xIHmZjiIseI[/video]

[The Annoyed Man]

Interesting video. But can one machine keep up with the production demands of a large scale rifle-maker? At 11:22 per unit, that's about 126 units per day. My guess is that you'd need several of these machines to keep up with the demands of a larger manufacturer like Colt or DPMS. I have no idea of what a CNC machine like that costs, but it is anything like the capital investment for a good printing press, it has to be $1 million-2$ million or more. So adding enough machines to produce say 300 rifles per day plus replacement bolt carriers would be a significant capital investment.

That leads me to wonder if that isn't an explanation for outsourcing. When I lived back in California, I had a friend who was a machinist working for a subcontractor that made control sticks for both the F16 and the F15 fighter jets. He had a couple of rejected samples that he took home with him as keepsakes. That's about all that company did was machine specific parts like joysticks and such under contract from companies like General Dynamics or McDonnell Douglas.

[PUCKER]

Yep, that's where a shop full of machines come into play! That or else multiple job shops (contract manufacturers, like the one your friend works at). I do not know exact pricing for this particular model, I'd guess it is well under $500K. Machine tools are definitely a capital investment. When you look as US (or even global) manufacturing you have your OEMs (both large scale and smaller, ie - GM, Ford, Boeing, Airbus, Stryker, Smith & Nephew, Colt, Lockheed, John Deere, etc), their Tier 1, 2 & 3 suppliers, along with all the job shops/contract machine shops that support them (many of these folks also have their own products)...subcontracting makes sense many times (and dollars too! ). If you want to see some neat machines come out to Chicago in September (even years) for IMTS http://www.imts.com or EMO (it alternates between Hannover, Germany and Milan, Italy) in the odd years http://www.emo-hannover.de. As a member of the press we get to see some really cool things. Heading to Switzerland in a few weeks to visit with a major grinding manufacturer.

[The Annoyed Man]

Under $500K would be surprising to me. Like I said, I compare it to buying printing presses. A sheet fed 52" 6 color press is.....or at least used to be.....well in excess of $1 million. True, the CNC machine is not as large, but is in many ways much more complex. That's why I was estimating so high.

[PUCKER]

You'd be surprised what $50K (yes, fifty, or even less) will get ya! You can spend a few million too....it all depends on the builder, the capabilities, the size, the options, the mission/job, etc. There are machine tools that will fit through a standard office door up to those that the building is built around (think of machining an object the size of a school bus...OR LARGER!). It all depends on the application. BTW, the Heidelberg web (w/ heatset) that our printer uses IS definitely a capital purchase...the room it takes up is crazy!

[dcphoto]

So how do I order my brass BCG and Bolt for display?