this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2026
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Idk when you were in college, but tormach has come a long way with automation. It wouldn't surprise me if someone had automated paths & tool changes and was able to pump out gun parts without much human intervention.
Once the machine is set up yes, they can absolutely do that. That's how they're manufactured for the most part.
But the idea that any untrained, inexperienced person has the ability to physically setup, make jigs, indicate in said jigs, make a cad file, turn it into a cam program, load it into a machine, indicate in the stock, select the correct tooling and set it up, etc, etc, etc... It's a magnitude more difficult than 3d printing, and the machines that do that kind of fully automated work costs in the millions.
Honestly, the only difference would be the jigs and clamping, and making sure the tools are in the correct loading bay/socket. Everything else can be done by a 3rd party and distributed like it is with 3d printing. even the stock can be pre selected, it's not any different than recommending abs over nylon or tpu.
I think the difference in magnitude only applies to the price of the machine.
What's you background? Do you work with or operate machinery?
What kinda old ass 1900s grade equipment are you working with?
I'm not trying to be a dick, I just want to know if I'm talking to a layman or a professional.
Sorry, long day, I was the dick there.
I'm in Autodesk most of the time, but have operated (read: babysat) on occasion, our multi-axis mill.
My point is that once the full workflow is set up and documented it can be transmitted.
Maybe I'm thinking about it differently than you in terms of final output. I'm not talking about copying a Glock piece by piece. I'm thinking closer to the type of gun Tetsuya Yamagami used to assassinate Abe. Basic, simple, and repeatable if not reusable. Something so easy it could eliminate moving or flipping the workpiece all together. Silencers could also be fairly simple to automate.
Ok, so you do at least know the machinery. My point was that it wasn't as simple as someone just loading a workflow onto a mill and pressing go. Workholding, zeroing, probing, tool offsets, and all the little setup stuff. Takes someone with experience to get going. Most times, the first time running, a program doesn't work, or at least doesn't work correctly. It is totally possible to setup a machine with a bar feeder and a robot to make finished parts all day long. Getting it to do it correctly and accurately is the trick.
Not that you are wrong, but that isn't hard to teach somebody. Sure they will get a few failed parts, and likely break a few cutters. However all the instructions you need are there, there are plenty of how to machine parts videos on youtube (as always of various quality levels).