3D Printer project

[Wedg1e]

... work turnaround is expected to be so quick the whole business has become all about stress, you know, designers leaves it to the last minute to do something & then expects it to be made & perfectly finished...

Oh aye... we built an automated system to inspect artillery shells for defects using a Fanuc robot.
In order to mount the various test probes on the end of the robot arm I started by precision (cough) milling an alloy adapter plate. Then the boss wondered why progress was slow so I rushed around the workshop and cobbled something together from bits of Rittal cabinet, Dexion etc. so we could demo the technique to the client.
Almost three years later the lash-up is still in place on the robot and it runs 24 hours a day keeping the boys in Afghan supplied with things to lob at the fundamentalists...

 

[Shox Dr]

Oh aye... we built an automated system to inspect artillery shells for defects using a Fanuc robot.

How are they formed, swaged or machined out of billet

 

[Wedg1e]

How are they formed, swaged or machined out of billet

Sorry Shox, only just seen your reply... they heat up a billet then ram it over a spike to get the basic hollow shape, then it's drawn (swaged I guess) into something vaguely tapered, then they lob it into a Puma 400 CNC to get somewhere near finished proportions.
Our machine waves a couple of test probes at it to look for surface and sub-surface defects; if it passes that (not many fail) the shell goes for further machining to take the copper band that seals the shell into the barrel rifling. A nose thread for the fuse, some anti-corrosion coating and it's off to be filled with something dangerous

We've also built machines that inspect the tungsten dart of APDS rounds and the alloy centre core of mortar rounds. There's other stuff as well but if I mention it on here I may never be heard from again

The precision is ridiculous: gun barrels that big are made to fantastic tolerances which means the rounds have to match within silly limits (weight-wise as well as dimensions)... so the cutting tools are replaced about every hour whether they're worn or not; certain parts of the line (including our bit) have to recalibrate themselves every 10 shells etc. etc. - each round costs thousands and all they do is throw them away