How Extrusion Dies Create High-Quality Ammunition
The Right Extrusion Die Can Help You Create Better Products
Whether you’re creating ammunition for military, law enforcement, or civilian purposes, the quality of the product has a huge impact on accuracy and effectiveness. Consumers want only the best ammunition, and it’s up to manufacturers to deliver tight tolerances to ensure consumer satisfaction. These tight tolerances are of major importance during the manufacturing process and are brought to fruition from high-quality tooling like extrusion dies. Here, we’re diving deep into extrusion dies and their role in the ammunition creation process.
What are Extrusion Dies?
Extrusion dies are intricate molds designed to shape materials into specific forms by forcing them through a shaped opening or cavity. It shapes metal — typically brass — into the cylindrical cartridge cases that house the bullet, propellant, and primer. This die is meticulously engineered to match the exact dimensions and specifications required for the cartridge case, ensuring uniformity and consistency in each piece.
How are extrusion dies used? The process begins with the raw brass material, which is heated to a specific temperature to enhance its ductility. The heated brass is then fed into the extrusion press, where it’s forced through a precisely shaped opening in the extrusion die. The extrusion die acts as a mold, shaping the brass material into a continuous profile with consistent wall thickness and diameter. Once extruded, the brass is typically cut to the desired length and undergoes further processing to refine its surface finish and dimensional accuracy.
After the part comes out of the extrusion die, the brass cartridge cases undergo some secondary operations. As mentioned above, the brass will be cut to the desired length. Then, it will likely go through an annealing process to restore the brass’s ductility and relieve internal stresses.
Depending on the need, the cartridge case may undergo further operations. This may include drawing the brass through additional dies to refine its shape or swaging to create features like rims or necks. Once formed, the cases may undergo surface treatments like polishing, cleaning, or coating to enhance their appearance, corrosion resistance, and overall performance.
How Extrusion Dies Affect Ammunition Performance
The precision and quality achieved through extrusion dies directly translate into superior ammunition performance. Consistently shaped cartridge cases facilitate smooth chambering and extraction, which minimizes the risk of malfunctions or jams. Tight tolerances ensure the proper alignment of components, optimizing ignition and ballistic performance. Ultimately, ammunition produced with high-quality extrusion dies delivers the accuracy, consistency, and reliability demanded by ammunition users.
Need Ammunition Tooling? Turn to the Experts at Pivot Precision
If you’re in need of any kind of ammunition tooling, our experts can help. Founded in 1961, we have decades of experience helping businesses get the right tooling for their needs. Our dedicated workforce, extensive capabilities, and ISO certification uniquely position us to take on even the most complex tooling projects.
When you work with us, you get a team that’s dedicated to cost-effectively creating high-quality tooling. As a privately owned tooling supplier, we maintain a dedication to the best customer service. Our workforce strives to meet challenging specifications, delivering the highest quality tooling and maintaining customer satisfaction standards. To date, we’ve partnered with hundreds of happy customers. We’d be honored to partner with you, too.
Let’s Get Started
When you need a one-stop shop for ammunition tooling, contact us. We provide everything from CNC machining and surface finishing to heat treating and more. Additionally, our location near Niagara Falls puts us close to airports and interstates for quick delivery on international or domestic shipments. Reach out to our team for an initial consultation on your extrusion die needs.