MEEEE posted:

Ben: How did the Mega Machine Shop get into firearms manufacturing and how smooth was the licensing process?

Mike: We were approached from a customer that was just getting into the ar business to machine lower receivers for them. We applied for our own manufacturing license, which was a very smooth transition. A few months later we were making AR parts. We've never advertised before and have done very well just through word of mouth.

Ben: Besides your Gator what sets your parts apart from your competition?

Mike: How we handle our parts and the is one of the biggest things that sets us apart from our competition. Many of our competitors don't handle their forgings like we do. We inspect each forging in the mill before we start the machining process and once we finish each surface it is checked against the other surfaces which allows our machines to hold such a tight tolerance. It's not just about the machines that are used to build a lower (our competitors use everything from critical mills to EDM shapers) it's about how you handle the product at each stage in the process.

Ben: Earlier today you (Mike) mentioned that you emphasize fit and finish. How do you manage to maintain such a high level of quality?

Mike: All of our parts are checked at the machine with a set of hard gauges that checks all hole sizes and slot widths. We then pull one part from each work shift and do a 100% check on our five axis CMM (Coordinated Measuring Machine). Once parts have passed our initial inspection they are hand vuffed, media blasted, and then hand inspected for minor imperfections before being sent off to our anodizer. We pack each item that is sent off with the utmost care and our anodizer reciprocates by repacking using packing material that we have included and following our set packing procedures. This helps protect our products while they are in transit. When our parts get back from the anodizer they are hand inspected again for defects and then repacked and sent to our customers.

Ben: I understand that before you started manufacturing AR-15 components you drew a large portion of your business from the aerospace industry. Were there any major considerations when making the shift from manufacturing components for major companies to making components for consumers?

Mike: Due to the high expectations of our aerospace client base, our production process did not drastically change. We had to prepare the shop to handle a higher constant production run, but basically our tooling, and inspection process remained the same. We just hired some extra staff to handle the additional work load and to insure that everything we send out is of the highest quality possible.

Ben: Speaking of demanding customers; would you like to share some names with us?

Mike: There are a few contracts we can share:

Alexander Arms is the only firearms manufacturer that doesn't mind being mentioned. We have a particularly large firearms customer base but we respect their decisions to remain anonymous. Our other commercial work includes Boeing (Wind tunnel, Commercial, and Tooling) Compass Aerospace, Tect Aerospace, and Ingersoll-Rand just to name a few. We are a very diverse company and our services include multiaxis milling and turning, laser cutting, forming, and welding. This has helped us maintain a steady work flow even with the current economic climate.

Ben: Could you explain the differences and advantages of billets and forgings?

Mike: Forgings are great because they reduce the amount of machine time needed for each part. Unfortunately they also require more effort to maintain tolerance.

Billets don't have any of those inherent stresses on them and are dimensionally consistent from billet to billet which aids in keeping them in tolerance. Plus billets have more material which allows us to manufacture complex and visually appealing components. There is some truth to the claim that billets aren't as inherently strong as forgings due to the molecular structure of the forging, but because we beef up our billet components in high stress areas any strength differences are negated. In fact because our billets are so dimensionally consistent we can build them to an even higher tolerance which helps us improve the fit and finish of our final product.

Ben: Besides all of the care your employees take when handling your components, how do you make them look so gosh darned pretty?

Mike: Trade secret.

Ben: We all saw how the 2008 presidential election helped the firearms industry grow during the end of 2008 and into early 2009. Since then have you seen any changes in the market or has demand plateaued?

During the first few months Mr. Obama was one of the best firearms salesmen in the industry, but since March we have seen a significant drop in orders. While, we understood that the way the market was going at the end of last year was unsustainable, we did not expect the sharp drop in orders and the increase in cancellations. In December of 2008 we had multiple companies offering to buy all of our available machine time and by March everyone was canceling their remaining orders. While the sudden drop off has hurt, we are still doing very well due primarily to our diversified offerings. As we lose firearms orders we fill our available time with other projects. Thanks to this strategy we have been able to avoid mass layoffs, but we are still being impacted by the slowing economy.

Ben: What about side projects? Are there any other super secret projects you want to tell us about?
Mike glances at Larry who is driving the car, and minding the road.

Mike: Well, we have a couple projects that we're working on but the one we're most proud of is the 100% integrated hand guard and upper receiver made out of 7075 billet. You will have to check it out when it's ready.

Ben: Now for the mandatory closing questions; what are you most proud of about your company?

Mike: The fact that we’re still in business and have come as far as we have come. We survived the aerospace industry crash after 9-11, and since that market bust we have managed to maintain record breaking years. Now we're in a foul year, economically speaking, but we've still managed to keep our orders where we would like them. We've done very well for ourselves and our employees.

Ben: And to close on an easy question, where do you expect to see the Mega Machine Shop in 5 years?

Mike: Well, since we're not quite old enough for you to buy us out yet. Our goal is to stay in business and continue doing what we're doing. What we would really like would be to expand our firearms line to include complete firearms, perhaps even our own line of pistols. We've managed to grow so much since we took over Mega Machine Shop, and although we can't expect another record breaking year this year, we expect to weather the economic times and stick around for quite a bit longer.

Monolithic Upper Known Information
The monolithic uppers are being machine entirely out of a billet of 7075 aluminum. They'll take standard AR-15 barrels and utilize a specialized barrel nut and nut driver which will allow the end user to install their own barrel using a conventional torque wrench and wont require indexing of the gas tube.

For more information on the product or the company: http://megamachineshop.com/

Dannywilson posted:

That upper is gorgeous. If they sold an assembled version, I'd have to buy a couple.

Miso Beno posted:

Also.

Miso Beno posted:

The beauty that monolithic upper is the only specialized tools you'll need to install the barrel come with the upper. (Unless you don't have an automotive torque wrench)

Capn Beeb posted:

That upper is some pimp poo poo. Is billet easily painted?

Wa11y posted:

Only problem I can see with that monolithic upper is getting the gas tube in and lined up after the barrel is installed. Unless they have some barrel nut that doesn't require you to line up holes for the gas tube, it's going to be a pain in the rear end.

RU 187 261 LIB posted:

That thing is way too sexy. What makes the tactical crowd consider a monolithic upper "good" or not anyway? I never hear much about them due to the PITA factor which this looks like it may help solve.

Miso Beno posted:

It's sexy and freefloated.

RU 187 261 LIB posted:

The fact that it's midlength makes me as a MERE CIVILIAN feel so loved. I hope the bare upper will be in 3 digit range and not 4!

Miso Beno posted:

They were planning on being very competitive against VLTOR's monolithic system.

Black Stormy posted:

I hope they sell like hotcakes, because I would shoot someone in the face for a rifle length upper like that.

dexefiend posted:

Wow, that is some beautiful machined metal.

I might want to use that monolithic upper to make my three-gun carbine!

So, are you on their payroll? You should be!

Miso Beno posted:

Haha, the article ended up being a joint venture and they're using my photos on their new website, and I got some parts for my next AR build.

Fog Tripper posted:

WTB: Group Buy

Miso Beno posted:

This is a really good idea, I'll see about getting something organized when it goes into production.

Methylethylaldehyde posted:

Man, every time I see one of these threads, it makes me want my own shop that much more. Especially since most of these rail sets and uppers end up costing like $60-150 in raw materials and sell for $150-900.

Would it be possible to get pictures of the manufacturing floor? I'm always up for some CNC machine porn.

Methylethylaldehyde posted:

Would it be possible to get pictures of the manufacturing floor? I'm always up for some CNC machine porn.

Miso Beno posted:

Don't forget that after the cost of the raw materials is the cost of labor, machine time, rent, employee benefits, machine repairs, and somewhere in there is a little profit.

larrystorch posted:

Oh god yes! I'd love to see their fixturing, gaging and know more about the engineering back end (Solidworks? Pro-E? MasterCAM?)

Methylethylaldehyde posted:

I've always loved the full up versions of Solidworks and MasterCAM, because you can direct import your Solidworks doodles into MasterCAM, load your machine and tools, and tell it to go nuts. God bless student licensing for that stuff, otherwise it would cost a few thousand a year just to have the program.

RU 187 261 LIB posted:

Whoa, you can do that now? What progress the world has made!

Dannywilson posted:

That upper is gorgeous. If they sold an assembled version, I'd have to buy a couple.

Methylethylaldehyde posted:

I've always loved the full up versions of Solidworks and MasterCAM, because you can direct import your Solidworks doodles into MasterCAM, load your machine and tools, and tell it to go nuts. God bless student licensing for that stuff, otherwise it would cost a few thousand a year just to have the program.

Miso Beno posted:

Methylethylaldehyde posted:

I kinda want to see what those hard gauges look like. If it's just a complicated set of go/no go pins they have to try and fit the finished part in, or if it's a recessed contour they have to drop the part in, or one of a half dozen other ways to check dimensionality of the finished work.

Miso Beno posted:

They're using an included barrel nut that doesn't require indexing of the gas tube, and I'll get you guys REAL pricing and a better timeline in the near future. The last I heard is they want to have the carbine MID LENGTH length version in production in time for Shot '10 and if that sells well then they will put a rifle length into production.

Edit: Midlength

Fifty Three posted:

wait if it's midlength how long is the rail/can I use a shorter barrel with it

I can use different barrels right it isn't proprietary or anything silly like that I assume?

LavistaSays posted:

This is a pretty slick upper. It seems very similar to the Vltor VIS except it's truly Monolithic.. the VIS starts off as three seperate blocks of metal that are permanently joined together.

The VIS has a similar barrel nut setup. You buy the upper and it comes with the needed wrench, which you use in conjunction with an automotive torque wrench. It isn't necessary to index for the gas tube on Vltor's setup, I doubt you will have to on the Mega upper.

Does the bottom handguard come off for cleaning?

Miso Beno posted:

It's 100% solid so you'll have to get creative (or just hose it down with oil) when you clean.