Gundrill Production Cells Boost Precision, Output

Unisig’s R-4-2-2 fully automated barrel cell provides continuous and synchronous production. The cell can reportedly gundrill four barrels at once, while two gundrilled barrels are precision reamed and two others receive the final step of button rifling at the same time.

In operation, the Unisig R-4-2-2 production cell uses a smart conveyor to simultaneously load four barrel blanks into a UNI four-spindle gundrilling machine. Drawing from a bulk feeder, this automated loading is the starting point for many hours of unattended operation. The four gundrilled parts are moved out of the machine by the conveyor, and a six-axis robot then loads two gundrilled parts into the UNR reaming machine.

After precision reaming, the robot transports the two gundrilled and reamed barrels to a blow-off station and then loads them into the R-series rifling machine. Gundrilling, reaming and rifling operations are happening simultaneously for maximized productivity. The robot then delivers finished, rifled parts to a multi-level discharge magazine.

According to Unisig, production cells like the R-4-2-2 open the door for small to mid-sized, as well as very large manufacturers, to develop scalable barrel production cells, designed for productivity and reliability.