EMAG LLC
Rifle barrel manufacturers have a new EMAG machining solution to consider. Our new 2-spindle ECM rifling machine provides the same extreme precision and process repeatability as our larger models but at a lower price. Talk with our ECM specialists in the Supplier Showcase, booth #51217.
More efficiency and precision for barrel rifling
Few industries demand as much precision and repeatability as sporting firearms manufacturers. The accuracy of the firearm often comes down to the “minutes of angle” (MOA), with the barrel playing a critical role in achieving the “perfect shot.”
Firearm barrel production combines process extremes, placing high demands on the material properties of the barrel, which must be hard enough to withstand intense forces without permanent deformation, yet soft enough to form complex geometries. EMAG’s electrochemical machining (ECM) is ideally suited for this challenging application.
Barrels have different inner diameters, as well as rifling, which causes the projectile to spin and improves its aerodynamic stability. Very detailed geometries are required in hard material machined with high precision and reliability. EMAG’s ECM special PI Rifling Machine module ensures a fast and efficient barrel rifling production with high precision surfaces and tight tolerances in the firearm barrel, without any mechanical or thermal stress to the barrel.
ECM rifling with special machine solution
While the basic principle of ECM remains the same (positive anode, negative cathode and electrolyte solution), EMAG fine-tunes a technological concept developed specifically for rifling. A narrow and elongated cathode tool generates the desired internal geometry of the barrel with precision. The electrolyte flows between the two and metal ions detach from the work piece.
Various complex geometries are possible – polygonal, progressive or standard rifling. Within the machining area, there are up to eight cathodes inside a compact module. The process is safe throughout, with easy cathode exchange and fast component loading. “We drew on 20 years of experience in the development of ECM processes,” explains Manuel Steinhauer, Technical Sales Manager at the EMAG Group. “The ECM solution is suitable for short and long barrels, and almost any inner geometry is possible.”
ECM is faster and more affordable
The ECM rifling process has several advantages over alternatives. It is faster and less expensive than the hammering process, and unlike button broaching, subsequent stress relief is not needed. Additionally, the outer geometry of the blank matches the later finished geometry; whereas, for hammering, the blank is oversized at first, and then takes on desired smaller dimensions during extreme forming processes.
“Contrary to hammering, the ECM process generates much less noise and vibration,” adds Steinhauer. “Our process can be used universally, unlike alternatives such as hammering or broaching. The EMAG ECM is easier to process plan and decreases reject rates.”
EMAG’s proven ECM solution is also available quickly, thanks to its modular basic design, which is IoT-Industry 4.0-ready and easily customized. “With this technology,” says Manuel Steinhauer, “you will produce barrels with better accuracy and MOA.”