MIM

I guess the folks who swore they would never own a gun with alloy, polymer, plastic, stamped or MIM parts have taken up knitting. Where they swear they will never knit with nylon, etc.

Jim
 
I guess the folks who swore they would never own a gun with alloy, polymer, plastic, stamped or MIM parts have taken up knitting. Where they swear they will never knit with nylon, etc.

Bingo...... Technology is here to stay so embrace it. The good old days were not always that good. Guns today are generally higher quality at every price point.
 
Meh. I'd rather have a base Porsche 911 than any Vette.

No use for either here. Had them both in the past, these days I'd rather have the one that I could sell quickest for the most money!
 
"...Most people find if a MIM part in a firearm will it will fail quickly..."What? That's nonsense whatever you're trying to say. Ruger has used MIM since the very beginning with zero fuss.
 
"...Most people find if a MIM part in a firearm will it will fail quickly..."What? That's nonsense whatever you're trying to say. Ruger has used MIM since the very beginning with zero fuss.

You misunderstood his point.

What he was saying... Is that if a MIM part is going to fail, it will most likely do so after only a little use. If the part has not failed after a few hundred rounds, it most likely will last as long as a part made by machining.
 
A young friend pointed out that there was no problem accepting lightweight (alloy) guns or stamped parts. I beg to differ; when alloy guns, like the Colt Cobra, first came out, there were many claims that they they blew up, failed in a few shots, didn't look as good, or had unacceptable recoil. The German P.38, which had a few stamped parts, was widely denounced as "stamped out junk" and some claimed that U.S. use of the "all milled parts" M1911A1 was the reason we won WWII.

Jim
 
good MIM = good gun parts

bad MIM = bad gun parts

Not every body who does MIM does it well.

As mentioned in some of the previous posts... it requires proper design work, by an engineer who knows what the heck he's doing and a high quality precision mold.

I've been learning a little about injection molds at work lately and they are not all created equal.
 
Good steel, properly hardened and heat treated = good gun part
Bad steel, low quality and soft = bad gun part

What else is new?

Jim
 
Twilight Zone

I found the claim that jet engines use MIM extensively interesting. I only see a small part of the supply chain, but it certainly seems as though several of the mentioned companies go to an extreme to avoid even the smallest chance of problems. It surprises me that MIM tolerances are within aerospace engine tolerances reliably. I've manufactured parts for seats that have tighter tolerances than many firearms.
 
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Firearms are not really that dependent on precision manufacture, and tolerances are fairly, well, tolerant. The hard drive on this computer requires tolerances that make even the best firearm look positively sloppy.

The fact is that in firearms super precision is not needed. Some of today's gun companies began in an era when there were no engineering drawings; parts were made to a gauge and assembly described as a "slip fit", "push fit" or "drive fit". There was no mention of dimensions in inches or millimeters.

Jim
 
Hard drives... The tolerances for the reading arm to the spinning platter is crazy. They actually use aerodynamics and ground force to help control distances.

Firearms have tolerances at least a few orders of magnitude greater.
 
Even with modern versions, think of when most firearms were designed.
Long time since.
Compared to most other things in our lives, guns are really old fashioned.
No doubt one of these days there will be a real break through in design that will render what we use now to the museums.
 
T. O'Heir --

You kinda' misquoted 1911Tuner. He stated, "As a rule, if an MIM part is going to fail, it usually does it early on. If the part survives for 500 cycles, it'll likely last for 50,000."

You're free to take from this whatever you want. Some people are more knowledgeable about what they speak than others. I can tell you that 1911Tuner is one of the people I listen to. That doesn't mean you shouldn't research and think for yourself. Just consider the opinion of someone who is widely respected.

I've come to the conclusion that MIM is fine for certain parts in a 1911 but not for other parts. Also, some MIM is better than others. That said, if I'm going to spend $2,000 on a 1911, I want it without MIM. Why? Because it's a $2,000 gun, that's why. I can't understand people who do not understand this logic. :D
 
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