The ExtrudeHone company presented its rifling barrel method as the best so far in terms of speed, precision and price, I hope it's not a fairy tale.
Electrochemical Rifling barrel, maybe we are on the right track.
- Thread starter Airfuture
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I only recently learned about this stuff.
I am thinking if it was possible to do something with a EDM machine ( die sinking ) , i mean like pull a connected " button " / die gradually thru the barrel as you spark your way thru it, but then again how do you get it to wist, as it spark i dont think it can be self guiding even if the " button " was machines with a rifling.
I am thinking if it was possible to do something with a EDM machine ( die sinking ) , i mean like pull a connected " button " / die gradually thru the barrel as you spark your way thru it, but then again how do you get it to wist, as it spark i dont think it can be self guiding even if the " button " was machines with a rifling.
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There are "hydraulic tubes" on the market with production tolerances of 0.01 mm, these "tubes" are already adapted for the production of barrel blanks for AG and firearms at ridiculously low prices and made of materials for these standards, I was a little curious and Google helped...
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Extrude Hone has been around MANY years, (20+ ) a LONG time.
Also, it's NOT cheap !
Interesting proposition on a rifled barrel though. Engine parts, yeah, no problem, something a "delicate" as a barrel...? One thing, they do know their stuff working with intake manifolds and cylinder heads.
I'd imagine that they cut up a LOT of gun barrels trying to get the process to work properly.
WHO's...gonna be the first taker ?
Mike
Also, it's NOT cheap !
Interesting proposition on a rifled barrel though. Engine parts, yeah, no problem, something a "delicate" as a barrel...? One thing, they do know their stuff working with intake manifolds and cylinder heads.
I'd imagine that they cut up a LOT of gun barrels trying to get the process to work properly.
WHO's...gonna be the first taker ?
Mike
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It IS interesting... but not new. Don't remember the exact years but a company doing other edm stuff started offering electropolishing for rifle barrels. It was somewhat expensive and I agonized over it for a long time but never went for it. A couple of guys for sure did and praised it endlessly. The company or process was called "Blackstar" and I believe they were based in Ft Worth. Had to have been in the mid to late 90s.
They eventually closed or stopped offering. It was not limited to ag's but for all rifled barrels...
Bob
They eventually closed or stopped offering. It was not limited to ag's but for all rifled barrels...
Bob
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Just did a search for "Blackstar" electropolishing and a lot of stuff came up but it looks like they were for sure in business in 2007 and 2008. There are apparently several companies doing it currently in the USA...
Bob
Bob
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Yes, it is an old method and the patent has expired, fortunately there are several companies around the world that do such things, and the ultimate goal is to make better quality products more accessible to ordinary mortals. Big money is taken by cunning players.
www.extrudehone.com
Electrochemical rifling: the devil lurks in the details
Explores the challenges of firearm manufacturing and highlights the crucial importance of electrochemical rifling to achieve the best possible finish.
www.extrudehone.com Upvote 0
Any of you old enough to remember the "steel wire" grocery store carts ?
They were all electropolished, NOT chrome plated. There used to be a place in Montebello (as I recall), that did a lot of electropolishing of steels, stainless steels.
Mike
They were all electropolished, NOT chrome plated. There used to be a place in Montebello (as I recall), that did a lot of electropolishing of steels, stainless steels.
Mike
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I post this 30 minutes ago on another forum and then I read this post on this forum.
Very interesting read. Very similar to Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) and the liquid hone process I was exposed to in the 1970's. The article stated that the process was patented in 1986 and moved around to several companies. The process burns in the rifling grooves by removing barrel material using electrical and chemical process.
Since this process has been around, are there any products on the market? Has anyone seen, used or heard of any barrels from this process? With the claimed advantages of this process being lower time to produce, less steps and higher quality, companies and customers should be expecting this to be on the market. After 38 years, you would think that this project would be further along. I wonder what the holdbacks are?
This sounds like the definition of stagnation to me.
Very curious!
Very interesting read. Very similar to Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) and the liquid hone process I was exposed to in the 1970's. The article stated that the process was patented in 1986 and moved around to several companies. The process burns in the rifling grooves by removing barrel material using electrical and chemical process.
Since this process has been around, are there any products on the market? Has anyone seen, used or heard of any barrels from this process? With the claimed advantages of this process being lower time to produce, less steps and higher quality, companies and customers should be expecting this to be on the market. After 38 years, you would think that this project would be further along. I wonder what the holdbacks are?
This sounds like the definition of stagnation to me.
Very curious!Upvote 0
Adding a 4th axis to a Sinker EDM is done quite regularly. The button/die you described would be called an electrode in this case but your description of the process is essentially how this is done on sinker EDM’s.
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I have a couple of rifles with a EDM cut chamber. Usually that process is more expensive and precision than a lathe cut chamber.
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While I do not sell a sinker EDM specifically marketed for rifling barrels it could easily be done. My guess on why it is not employed as a method to mass produce barrels is the time it takes for an EDM to actually do what it does. Tradition rifling is done with what is effectively a helical broaching process, one pass done, this is obviously an over simplification but the gist is that the process is pretty fast.I post this 30 minutes ago on another forum and then I read this post on this forum.
Very interesting read. Very similar to Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) and the liquid hone process I was exposed to in the 1970's. The article stated that the process was patented in 1986 and moved around to several companies. The process burns in the rifling grooves by removing barrel material using electrical and chemical process.
Since this process has been around, are there any products on the market? Has anyone seen, used or heard of any barrels from this process? With the claimed advantages of this process being lower time to produce, less steps and higher quality, companies and customers should be expecting this to be on the market. After 38 years, you would think that this project would be further along. I wonder what the holdbacks are?
This sounds like the definition of stagnation to me.
EDM on the other hand is sparking off material at what is a snail’s pace in the manufacturing world. EDM production is focused on super tight tolerances not speed, so while it may produce a fantastic barrel they likely are not produced this way due to being cost prohibitively to end customers.
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The 3D printed gun crowd has been electrochemically rifling barrels in home shops for quite a while. Their approach is relatively crude (I'd rather have a button or cut-rifling barrel) but the process apparently works at that scale.
GsT
GsT
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Apparently S&W has such barrels...I post this 30 minutes ago on another forum and then I read this post on this forum.
Very interesting read. Very similar to Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) and the liquid hone process I was exposed to in the 1970's. The article stated that the process was patented in 1986 and moved around to several companies. The process burns in the rifling grooves by removing barrel material using electrical and chemical process.
Since this process has been around, are there any products on the market? Has anyone seen, used or heard of any barrels from this process? With the claimed advantages of this process being lower time to produce, less steps and higher quality, companies and customers should be expecting this to be on the market. After 38 years, you would think that this project would be further along. I wonder what the holdbacks are?
This sounds like the definition of stagnation to me.
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FN used the process for their prototype hunting rifles for awhile. It was alright, a little bit better than the extrude honing after boring and before rifling. It was mainly to speed up the build by removing a couple of steps. It still encountered the same issues that plague all barrels. Inconsistencies in the grain of the steel.
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