2018cnc8-9

24 www.CNC-West.com CNC WEST August/September 2018 Blackout Defense has a DMG Mori NHX-4000 horizontal milling center. They run lights out and machine 24 lowers in 9 hours. Ash hopes to add a pallet pool to increase the automation level in the shop. His goal is to have it run for days with minimal operator interaction. real accuracy and stability enhancements for the AR. “Our target market is serious shooters and law enforce- ment,” he says with a smile, hovering over the pun. Blackout Defense elected to start with the best of the best. “For some reason,” Ash puzzled, “new shops are afraid of horizontals and tend to start with commodity- level vertical mills.” “But not us,” Ash proclaimed. “The first mill we bought was a DMG MORI NHX-4000.” But they didn’t stop there. “We dove right in and ordered at the same time a Mitsubishi MV1200R from North South Machinery.” Reflecting on the pairing, Ash noted “it was the logical choice.” “DMG MORI and Mitsubishi are highly respected and North South Machinery also is a trusted name in the business. We knew these would be worthwhile investments.” And, indeed, they were. The learning curve on the EDM turned out to be steeper than expected, causing Blackout Defense to turn the experts for help. Brian Juarez from North South Machinery and the team at Mitsubishi were instrumental in getting them back on track. “We had some operator error in the beginning,” Ash confessed, “and we had to crush more subpar lowers than I care to admit.” Ash heaped praise on Mitsubishi’s customer service. “They got us back up and running like we should have been from the beginning.” Ash has no regrets with his recommended purchases. “They were worth every penny.” Blackout Defense has found the EDM to be particular- ly worthwhile because of its accuracy. “The only alterna- tive to the EDM for the magazine well is broaching,” Ash