Guide

It might not seem evident, but safety is a prime concern for members of the military. The men and women in the armed forces place themselves in harm’s way on an almost daily basis. They rely on training, skills, and properly manufactured equipment to ensure that the inherently dangerous activities they perform are as safe as possible.

Some of the safety equipment is obvious; a well-designed parachute, solidly crafted snap rings securing rappelling harnesses, even the sturdy leather boots that help protect the feet and ankles. All of these things are critical to protecting the lives and safety of the armed forces.

Often overlooked for their contribution to safety are the quality standards that are met by the manufacturers who provide the most critical of equipment, such as weapons and ammunition. Known as ordnance, it is the quality and reliability of these devices that can make the difference between a typical day of training, and a catastrophe.

All products that are manufactured for use by the military are required to meet a unique set of standards known, rightly enough, as Military Specification, or Milspec.

Deep drawn ordnance is no different. In order to ensure the proper function, strength, and tolerances, all military ordnance produced using the deep drawn method is inspected carefully to meet the stringent requirements of Milspec.

The design of military ammunition is far more precise than one might imagine. Consider for a moment the function of the brass casing during operation; the primer must be secure and located correctly, the outer dimension must be accurate and concentric, and the casing wall must withstand the force of what amounts to an explosion when fired. If any of these criteria are not met, disaster can occur.

Since the casing for a round of ammunition is for the most part a deep drawn can, the manufacturing process remains basically unchanged. The naturally seamless design and uniform wall thickness of deep drawn ordnance lends significant strength to the ammunition, which ensures the safety of the soldier firing the weapon. Additionally, the added strength in key areas of the design created through the work hardening effect of the deep drawn process provides further reliability of the product.

Deep drawn ordnance is fast becoming the primary choice for military projects, with good reason. Compared to other manufacturing methods for the same design, deep drawn products are lower cost, higher quality, and safer.

By design, deep drawn cans have many benefits over other manufacturing methods. They are seamless, concentric, and the speed of the process makes the cost per part lower than almost every other method. Like any other manufacturing project, there are a few important facts to remember when deciding to produce cans with the deep drawn process.

#3: Dimensions and wall thickness

The deep draw process relies on detailed calculations regarding the way the material will behave during the process. For each new product, precision dies and punches are developed that are carefully designed to create the highest quality part with the least amount of scrap.

The dimensions and desired wall thickness of the finished deep drawn cans determine not only the design of the die, but also the set-up of the press and the maximum production speed of the process. It is important to compare the desired dimensions to the capabilities of the process in order to best balance quality, speed, and cost.

#2: Communication with the Supplier

As mentioned in #3, it is important to understand how the attributes of the deep draw process affect the design of the desired product. It is possible that a few simple design changes can improve quality and reduce cost. As the customer it is impossible to be an expert on the deep drawn process, which makes it imperative that the lines of communication between you and the supplier are well developed. The discussions between customer and supplier should always be a smooth transfer of information, beginning with the part concept and developing in to the best possible compromise between function and feasibility.

#1: Type of Material

The decision regarding the type of material to be used can often be far more complicated than you may think. As mentioned above, there is a fine balance between final function and process capabilities. Carefully deciding material type during the development phase is critical to the success of the project.

Information on material properties is readily available via the internet (www.matweb.com) as well as a host of books on the subject. By talking with your deep draw supplier and understanding how the properties of material work in relation to the deep drawn cans process, you can develop a design that not only meets the specifications of the product but works fluidly with the manufacturing process.