NEW WEEKLY UPDATE on production.

[MikeD 541]

Hey everyone!

 

I will be making an update at least once a week from here on out up until the drums start shipping. The update will come wether the news is good , bad, or nothing new. I'll post it in a closed thread here as well as an update email.

 

The injection shop wasn't able to start injecting the other components last week like they and I had hoped. But starting first thing tomorrow morning they will start injecting them and I will be going in to attend. They are going to start with the dummy round and the follower. Both these parts are in the same mold. The estimated cycle time for this mold is 114 sph (shots per hour). That means that they should finish those 2 parts on third shift tomorrow if everything runs smoothly. The plan is to move directly on from them to one of the top gear component and run it the same way, all 3 shifts until complete, and the same with the bottom gear component and the cover plates. The estimated cycle time for the other parts are as followed: top gear 76 sph, bottom gear 76 sph, cover plates 68 sph. No one anticipates any trouble from these simple parts and molds. Also the estimated sph doesn't include off time for lunch hour for 3 shifts, machine and mold set up time and maintenance and that kind of stuff. I will make and send another update tomorrow evening to let everyone know how it went on the dummy round and follower.

 

The handloads I mentioned being hardened in my previous update didn't get done last week either. We are expecting them back in this week and will hopefully be running the drum bodies as well.

 

 

Thanks again, MikeD

[MikeD 541]

Today we started injecting the dummy round and followers. There was a slight issue with the injecting process that was really hurting the cycle time of the mold. The runner was randomly getting stuck in the mold and not ejecting. The runner is the piece of plastic that is left over in the mold. It is formed in the channel that leads the plastic through the mold to the part cavity (kind of like the piece of plastic that holds all the pieces of a mold car kit together). What was causing some of them to hang was quickly identified. All the molds except the drum body are hooked to what is called a mud unit. A mud unit is a frame that attaches to the injection machine and the mold slides into the frame. It makes the molds really quick and easy to switch out to a different mold compared to a stand alone mold like the drum body's. Anyway, there was a slight ledge forming on the runner caused by the mold and the mud units channels diameter not lining up just right. We worked the rest of the day on resolving the problem and have the mold and mud unit ready for a fresh start tomorrow morning. This would have been a problem for the other molds as well, excluding the drum body, but not now. This wasn't a problem with the parts the mold was making. It was a problem with productivity. If you are extracting a runner by hand every few cycles you are losing valuable cycle time and really messing up the flow of things. We expect everything to resume tomorrow morning problem free and that the dummy rounds and followers will be completed some time during third shift. If so, and highly likely, we will start on the top gear component first thing Wednesday morning on first shift. If everything runs smooth on this part, and it should, they should be completed sometime early during first shift Thursday morning and we will start the bottom gear component. The reason the top gear won't be started tomorrow during third is because they want their best operator to set the process for 2nd and 3rd shift to follow. That is a good thing I feel. We are getting there guys!! MikeD

[MikeD 541]

First and very important. Please check your shipping address on file with your order for any errors. Make sure you are looking at your order info and not your account info. Also a lot can happen in a year and some of you will have ordered that long ago when next Friday the 15th comes! If you have moved anytime from then until now please check your shipping address on file with your order. PLEASE NOTE: CHANGING THE ADDRESS IN YOUR ACCOUNT INFO DOES NOT CHANGE THE ADDRESS OF A ORDER PLACED BEFORE THE CHANGE WAS MADE. Only I can change the address of an order placed. Everyone please check your info before emailing the need of an address change. I have already changed many addresses for customers and want to reduce the amount of double requests and double order pulling if I have fixed it already. If you do look and find your shipping address listed on your order needs changed please email me with a subject title of "ADDRESS CHANGE". If this is not the subject title I can't guarantee I will catch the request.

 

On the production I wanted to let everyone know that the dummy rounds, followers, top gear components are complete. The bottom gear components will be complete in a few hrs. The plan is to start the covers Monday morning. The hardening on the handloads for the drum body is complete as well. I should know early next week when we will resume drum body production. There is a super high chance that we will start shipping drums later next week!

 

I have been going in for the full first shift to help with production. I have also been staying over a couple hours on second shift and coming back at the beginning of third shift to make sure those operators know exactly what is going on when a new part is started and that the parts are coming out right.

 

And as always if you need to you can cancel for a full refund at anytime. Just make sure your email subject title is "Cancel Order".

 

Thanks again everyone, MikeD

[MikeD 541]

Sorry for not getting out a weekly update.

 

All of the parts except the main drum body have been completed. We did another test run on the drum body last Friday. The full production of the drum body will begin in the next few days. In the mean time we will be assembling and shipping the 120 drums we have complete already. When your drum ships you will receive an automatic email with your tracking number.

 

We are hoping to get the first 120 shipped Friday or Saturday. Even if we can't get them out until Monday people will be receiving there drums before the end of next week.

 

I am finalizing detailed instructions to send with the drums. As well as putting together a recommended ammo and problem ammo list. The list will name makes of ammos the drums run great and ammos they have problems with. It will also detail a solution we have worked out that will remove most of the problem ammos from the list. This is NOT a solution that will require mods to your gun or cost $180 either. It will be a spring replacement for your drum, sent to you free of charge. There will be much more detail on this in an update I'll be sending with the drums and in a mass email. Be watching for it.

 

I have also updated all the requsted shipping address changes. If you didn't have an email subject title of "Address Change" your request may have been missed. Please log in on my site and check your order info (NOT your account info).

 

And as always if you need to you can cancel for a full refund at anytime. Just make sure your email subject title is "Cancel Order".

 

Here are some pics of the parts.

 

These pics show the gears and the flashing that needs removed after welding them together. See them all over the floor?

 

This pics show the dummy rounds and followers.

 

These pics show the covers, clear, smoke, and black.

 

This pic shows some of the parts sitting in stock waiting for assembly.

[MikeD 541]

I wanted to let everyone know that the drum bodies are in full production. At this point just over half of the drum bodies have been made. If all continues to go well they will all be complete by early next week.

 

We have started shipping the drums as well. We are going to do our best to get them all shipped with a couple weeks. Orders will be shipped in the order they was received. If you have more than one order in they will all ship together and que by the first order placed. Please keep in mind while your waiting for your tracking number that it will take some time to ship all the orders. Thanks everyone!