Machinist Mondays with Defiance

[DefianceMachine]

We started this a few months back, and thought we'd share them here as well, since there's been an interest in how things are made, etc, etc. So, We'll post a couple throwback posts each week until we're caught up.

The Nakamura NTRX Mill-Turns have been working out so well, we've just moved in #5. These machines are the top of the line and allow us to machine critical components in less operations, often only one. This helps us to produce the most precise actions we've ever made.

Kitamura also makes some of the best milling machines out there, and we've used them to make actions since day one. This new compact model, is small in size and huge on performance. It's a nice upgrade for our scope mounts and small parts area, that also gives us more room on the floor to expand. We're installing a twin spindle 4th axis rotary table, so we can increase production and quality, while still offering custom options.

 

[DefianceMachine]

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘷𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵?" -Eduardo Rivera Torres

Great Question:

Since Day 1, Defiance has used Kitamura 5 axis mills to machine the final two operations on the Rebel and Deviant bolts. These mills are built heavy duty allowing us to machine pre-hardened steels with ease and accuracy. With laser tool setters and electronic probes for locating the parts in all 5 axes, they are indeed accurate. That being said, the Deviant and Rebel bolts require multiple operations across several machines to achieve the final shape and dimensions. The back of the locking lugs and the bolt face are machined in different machines with different tools. This process allows us to machine 10,000's of bolts, all within a couple thousands of an inch of each other. But the bolt is only half of the headspace measurement, there are still the receiver dimensions. Headspace tolerance for most cartridges is only +/- .002".

Our newer Nakamura NTRX mill-turn machines are basically a twin spindle lathe with a 5 axis mill inside. There's not much that we can't do with these machines, and they are incredibly accurate. These machines manufacture the Tenacity, anTi, anTi X, and Ruckus bolts. We load a 6' bar of steel and lathe-turn and mill entire bolts in one operation until that bar is consumed. Then we load another bar. The program machines the bolt in sections and pulls more bar out of the spindle as needed. After each pull, we use an electronic probe to locate critical features within .0001" before machining the next feature. This is how we can hold .0005" tolerance on the bolt and guarantee +/- .001" on the bolt/receiver assembly.

What does all this mean? We prefer to machine parts in as few operations as possible. It's just good machining practice and lends itself to a higher degree of precision. Does "guaranteed headspace" mean the rifle will be more accurate than one without? Absolutely not.
Guaranteed headspace means these actions are more consistent with each other. This helps rifle builders have a more streamlined process. A rifle with a properly fitted barrel can achieve world-class accuracy, regardless of the headspace dimension.

 

[HSmithTX]

Those Nak's are first rate machines. Some people would say that they are expensive and they do cost quite a bit more than some other options, but actual users will tell you they are worth it. Appreciate the story as well.

 

[mcdil]

The output from a well-built, well programmed, and well-maintained mill-turn is unbeatable with the products you produce! Love the history lesson on Defiance!

 

[FEENIX]

@DefianceMachine, keep up the exemplary work producing excellent products with those top-quality types of machinery. I am glad I went with the Anti-X for my next project build.

 

[338 dude]

@DefianceMachine, keep up the exemplary work producing excellent products with those top-quality types of machinery. I am glad I went with the Anti-X for my next project build.

I was admiring the picture of your build earlier today,I will be buying one myself within the next month or two!

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘷𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵?" -Eduardo Rivera Torres

View attachment 378329

View attachment 378330

Great Question:

Since Day 1, Defiance has used Kitamura 5 axis mills to machine the final two operations on the Rebel and Deviant bolts. These mills are built heavy duty allowing us to machine pre-hardened steels with ease and accuracy. With laser tool setters and electronic probes for locating the parts in all 5 axes, they are indeed accurate. That being said, the Deviant and Rebel bolts require multiple operations across several machines to achieve the final shape and dimensions. The back of the locking lugs and the bolt face are machined in different machines with different tools. This process allows us to machine 10,000's of bolts, all within a couple thousands of an inch of each other. But the bolt is only half of the headspace measurement, there are still the receiver dimensions. Headspace tolerance for most cartridges is only +/- .002".

View attachment 378332
View attachment 378333

Our newer Nakamura NTRX mill-turn machines are basically a twin spindle lathe with a 5 axis mill inside. There's not much that we can't do with these machines, and they are incredibly accurate. These machines manufacture the Tenacity, anTi, anTi X, and Ruckus bolts. We load a 6' bar of steel and lathe-turn and mill entire bolts in one operation until that bar is consumed. Then we load another bar. The program machines the bolt in sections and pulls more bar out of the spindle as needed. After each pull, we use an electronic probe to locate critical features within .0001" before machining the next feature. This is how we can hold .0005" tolerance on the bolt and guarantee +/- .001" on the bolt/receiver assembly.

View attachment 378334

What does all this mean? We prefer to machine parts in as few operations as possible. It's just good machining practice and lends itself to a higher degree of precision. Does "guaranteed headspace" mean the rifle will be more accurate than one without? Absolutely not.
Guaranteed headspace means these actions are more consistent with each other. This helps rifle builders have a more streamlined process. A rifle with a properly fitted barrel can achieve world-class accuracy, regardless of the headspace dimension.

WOW!!!!
I love anything that involves machining, welding engineering. DEFIANCE MACHINE manufactures Great Actions. The addition of these CNC machines will help with production and Quality.
What is DM doing as far as EDM Processes and machines??? Would also like to see some of those machines.
We have several Defiance Actions and really like them. In todays' market there are several high quality actions so it almost comes down to access/availability. The Actions that are available get purchased. It is getting harder and harder to wait up to a year to build a custom rifle. I can see that Defiance with these additional CNC machines will increase production and hopefully less wait time.

 

[Deputy819]

@DefianceMachine
Absolutely elegant machinery! Like @FEENIX I am happy I made the decision to invest in one of your actions for my latest SML build. Was my first custom action investment and it will not be my last from Defiance!

 

[Mark37082]

I'm just in awe of the machining processes at great manufacturers like Defiance. I would vote for Feenix to get a discount on Defiance actions. He sure has hooked several of us on this forum by sharing info and pictures of his Anti X.

 

[Rick Richard]

I have or have owned several of their actions and it is the only action that I prefer.

 

[DefianceMachine]

WOW!!!!
I love anything that involves machining, welding engineering. DEFIANCE MACHINE manufactures Great Actions. The addition of these CNC machines will help with production and Quality.
What is DM doing as far as EDM Processes and machines??? Would also like to see some of those machines.
We have several Defiance Actions and really like them. In todays' market there are several high quality actions so it almost comes down to access/availability. The Actions that are available get purchased. It is getting harder and harder to wait up to a year to build a custom rifle. I can see that Defiance with these additional CNC machines will increase production and hopefully less wait time.

We have covered that as well, and we'll be posting it up within the coming weeks. We figured rather than flood this thread with a bunch at once, we'd do two posts every Monday until we catch up to where we're at in our current posting schedule.

 

[GunHawk]

following.

 

[DefianceMachine]

Machinist Monday Question: "Tight Tolerances, how tight?"​

tolerance
noun
tol·er·ance \ ˈtä-lə-rən(t)s \
: the allowable deviation from a standard
especially : the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece

clearance
noun
clear·ance \ ˈklir-ən(t)s \
: the distance by which one object clears another or the clear space between them

The terms "tolerance" and "clearance" are both important but are sometimes mistakenly interchanged.

Nominal dimension is the exact dimension that a part is designed to. An engineer will decide how much tolerance (or variation) will be allowed and whether it will be allowed to be both larger or smaller than nominal or just vary in one direction. This controls how the variation will affect function.

A bolt action consists of a bolt that fits into a receiver and must be able to freely move fore and aft as well as rotate. Clearance between these parts is necessary but excessive clearance will negatively affect the accuracy of the rifle. Benchrest rifles will typically have the least amount of bolt clearance. Hunting rifles and tactical rifles will have more clearance to allow reliable operation under varying conditions such as dust, rain, snow, and ice.

Most Defiance actions are made with either .002" or .005" nominal clearance when the bolt is locked up with an additional .001" in the center section of the bolt for reliable cycling. The Rebel, Deviant, Ruckus, and anTi X are available with either a .697" or .700" bolt that fit into a .702" hole in the receiver. (And .747" or .750" that fit into a .752" receiver). The Tenacity and anTi are only available with .697" or .747" diameter bolts.

How important is bolt clearance? It is very important and that can mean a very tight-fitting bolt for a target shooter or a reasonably tight-fitting bolt with ample clearance for a duty rifle.

The Defiance way is to give our customers options, and bolt clearance is no exception.

 

[DefianceMachine]

Machinist Monday question: "What all machines do you use?"
When you machine hardened steel for a living, you can't have cheap, light duty machines. You need the best.
Here's a list of the machines we have and a brief description of their application.

5x Nakamura NTRX Mill Turn
· These machines can do everything from lathe-turn and mill bolts out of pre-hardened 4340 in one operation, mill receivers to completion, and make small parts in "lights out" mode after everyone has left the building: all with extreme accuracy.

4x Kitamura Mycenter 5-axis milling machines
· With 50 Taper tool holders, robust box ways, and custom fixturing, these machines can take heavy cuts in hard steel with precision and ease. 5 axes minimize operations.

4x Sodick Wire EDM
· Wire EDM uses an electrically charged wire to accurately produce intricate profiles through long parts with no added stress, tool deflection or tool-wear issues.

Hardinge T65 High Performance and Nakamura Tome AS-200 lathe
· High level rifle accuracy is dependent on critical features of the receiver being square, parallel, and concentric. We use these two lathes to gun-drill the bolt bore, single-point turn the barrel threads, and cut the receiver face and locking lug abutments. We do this all in a single operation to minimize variability.

Yama Seiki CNC lathe
· This machine is set up with high pressure oil coolant and a gimble-chuck.

Tsugami SS 327-5 AX and Ganesh Cyclone 32CS screw machines
· These machines continuously make small parts like bolt shrouds, bolt stops, cocking pieces, firing pins, etc. out of bars of metal, sometimes 12' long.

2x Sodick Sinker EDM
· Some features just can't be properly generated with conventional lathes and mills. Sinker EDM uses electricity to burn a mirror image of the electrode's shape into steel.

Omax Waterjet
· Our Deviant and Rebel bolts begin as a rectangular block of pre-hardened 4340 with two bolts nested in each block. We use the waterjet to cut these out into a rough shape.

2x Sunnen Hone
· These honing machines bring the bore of every receiver to the finish dimension, measured to 1/10,000 of an inch.

2x Minilase Laser engravers
· Adding laser engraving took machine time out of the Kitamura's while adding finer detail to the finished parts.

Other machines:
· Kitamura 3020G 4 axis Mill
· Zeiss Contura CMM
· Okuma Multus Mill-Turn
· Fryer CNC toolroom lathe
· Fryer CNC toolroom mill
· Haas VF5 5 axis mill
· Haas VF4 SS
· Haas VF4
· Haas TL1
· Zoller Tool Presetter
· Hemsaw automatic bandsaw set up for 12' bars
· Manual mills, lathes and grinders
· Heat treat oven
· 5x Tumblers for metal finishing