(l-r) Steve Morris, V.P. Manufacturing, and Melvin Lemus, Mill Operator,
F-1 Firearms, with the Mori Seiki NHX5000.
1b (inset): The BLUM TC50 probe measures workpiece hole diameter and checks against given tolerances.
TC probe checking hole diameter and tolerances
Laser tool setter mounted in the Milltap 700
Graphical interface with Siemens control
A BLUM system provides in-process tool detection on a DMG/Mori Seiki DuraVertical 5100.
Hand guards are machined from 7075-T651 aluminum extrusions. The DMU Milltap machines outside profiles and the NHX5000 performs secondary operations (finish length, inside milling, diameter probing to maintain tolerances). The opposite end is also probed on the inside, and then finishing features are milled. The hand guards are then finished and sent off for anodizing.
Billet upper and lower receivers are each machined in two operations. Cycle time is under one hour.
The upper receiver is made on the DMG DMU 5-axis. The BLUM laser is used for tool length setting and updating. Before the second operation begins and before critical dimensions are machined, tools are re-measured in order to update tool geometry based on temperature, wear and tool life.
The lower receiver is machined on the NHX5000 equipped with a 4th axis rotary table and pallet changer. Probing is used in both operations to locate work offsets. The laser is used for tool length setting, tool breakage detection and wear updates.
A finished AR-15. Almost all of the components are made in-house by F-1.
F-1 Firearms, a manufacturer of high-quality firearms, needed the ability to track tool wear and breakage during lights-out machining. Some of the machining centers run long hours, so it was imperative to catch any issues before they resulted in scrapped parts.
The solution would require both length and radius measurement capabilities. One product manufactured by F-1 is gun drilled 15" deep, while another requires a lot of small diameter tooling.
Many of the parts manufactured by F-1 are machined on Mori Seiki NHX5000 machining centers. F-1 researched possible solutions to be used on this machine, but found that they either had no radius capabilities or did not work with the NHX. Conventional part probes were also found to be too slow. As a result F-1 began searching for a metrology supplier that could meet its tooling automation and faster part probing requirements.
F-1 selected as its solution a BLUM laser system and TC50 probe. These are used on the NHX5000, as well as other machining centers at F-1, to measure hole diameter, update tool geometry and check tolerances.
BLUM was able to design and retrofit a mounting bracket for the laser system that would not restrict F-1's NHX machining center. "I use every inch of the pallet changer and my working envelope," said Steve Morris, V.P. Manufacturing, F-1 Firearms. "BLUM's design has allowed me to retain all of the NHX's work envelope and still record measurements while allowing for length and radius. Very few non-laser presetters can do this."
The NHXs can run continuously with 12 hour cycle times per tombstone, so F-1 needed the capability to check all tools for breakage during lights-out operation. "In the past, as an example, a 1/4 inch tool would break, followed by an 1/8 inch. At the end of the cycle we had a scrapped part," said Morris. "Now we run the 1/4 inch tool, the laser verifies whether it is broken or not, and then continues the program. We check tool breakage in-process so we do not compound the breakage." Morris also checks tool lengths before the machining cycle so the tools are always up to date relative to tool wear and the temperature inside of the machine.
The BLUM TC50 touch probe is a workpiece measuring system with infrared transmission. Applications include detection of workpiece position, correction of workpiece orientation, thermal compensation of the machine tool and contour measurement.
"BLUM is all laser-based," said Morris. "Even its probe has optics on the inside. We are measuring at the speed of light, which increases our probing speed and accuracy. Our stylus is six inches long, but we can still rapid at full rapid rate and probe at 75 inch per minute (IPM). This is only half the feedrate of which the probe is capable. The speed and accuracy have allowed us to increase our production capability."
Morris uses the probe to pick up center points, update offsets on the control and update the XY position. For in-process work, on one part example, the probe is used twice. It is first used to measure the hole diameter and given a specific tolerance. If the hole is oversized it will signal an error. If it is undersized it will update the tool geometry and recut the part with the correct value to get the proper diameter.
F-1 manufactures semi-automatic sporting and hunting rifles, hand guards, upper/lower receivers, bolt carrier groups, barrels and more. F-1, founded by Dion Podgurny in 2012, started small but has grown quickly. "Whenever Dion could not buy enough components to support his product line, he would just start making it," said Morris. "For example, we could not buy receiver sets, so we bought some horizontal machine tools and started making receiver sets."
The company has a wide variety of machines in addition to the NHXs, including DMG Milltaps, DMG DMU 50s, DV5100, NLX 2500 SY, Citizen M32, and Haas TM2 and TL2. Most are equipped with BLUM probes and lasers. F-1 also has a Unisig gundrill, reamer and rifling cell.
"We are vested in our abilities to grow the current product line and offering while maintaining the precision and quality we take so seriously," said Morris. "We want to be a leader in the premium quality gun market and change expectations of what a premium rifle truly is."
For more information contact:
Steven Morris, V.P. Manufacturing
F-1 Firearms
5045 FM 2920 Rd.
Spring, TX 77388
832-299-6112
steven.morris@f-1firearms.com
www.f-1firearms.com
Blum-Novotest, Inc.
4144 Olympic Blvd.
Erlanger, KY 41018
859-344-6789
solutions@blum-novotest.us
www.blum-novotest.us