War is a racket; Gen. Smedly Butler (and artilery shells)

[mkd]

War is a Racket
speaking of which check out the artillery shell racket.
https://time.com/6252541/inside-the-us-army-plant-making-artillery-shells-for-ukraine/

quite the thread on PM
https://www.practicalmachinist.com/forum/threads/could-your-shop-make-artillery-rounds.411665/

[CNCAppsJames]

I like to think outside the box as much as anyone... not exactly sold in the "just get a bunch of 2-Axis lathes, it'll be easy" idea. 

People MUCH smarter than I have been forging/forming shell casings for hundreds of years all the while the turning process has been stable enough for North of 100 years... and yet they continue to forge/form them. 🤔

But hey... let THAT guy test the charges and see how it goes. 

 

[Jim at Gentex]

That plant is right down the road from where I live, and has been running since the Korean War.

They do have a machine shop, but it is mostly for tooling and machine repair.
I put an application in there many years ago, and I'm actually happy they DIDN'T call me.

It is one of the better paying jobs around here, but as you can see by the pictures it's hot and dirty all of the time.

Those nice robotic machines that move the product around are great, but before they came along that work used to be done by hand.

[crazy^millman]

War is a Racket
speaking of which check out the artillery shell racket.
https://time.com/6252541/inside-the-us-army-plant-making-artillery-shells-for-ukraine/

quite the thread on PM
https://www.practicalmachinist.com/forum/threads/could-your-shop-make-artillery-rounds.411665/

Again how ignorant Washington is:

"So, that's going to be critical because production ramp-ups do take time and we are looking at various sources, including foreign production, to make sure Ukraine has what it needs."

[Surface]

Government procurement does not allow for 'out of the box' thinking. (or any thinking for that matter)

Even small changes in design, material or process can require so much time and work, it's easier and more cost effective to remain with traditional/documented methods.