The XYZ RMX 3500 with ProtoTRAK® control in-situ at Precision Rifles

A new XYZ RMX 3500 bed mill with ProtoTRAK® RMX Touchscreen control is proving a sure-fire hit at one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of custom rifles. Precision Rifle Services Ltd (Precision Rifles), located on the 55,000-acre Glenlivet Estate in Scotland’s whisky country, is using the RMX 3500 to facilitate its transition to CNC milling. By moving away from manual mills, the company is already seeing a significant reduction in machining hours for key operations such as the in-letting of composite rifle stocks.

Formed in 1990, Precision Rifles is a small, four-employee business dedicated to producing the world’s most accurate custom rifles providing customers with an accuracy guarantee.

The company’s workshop is located deep in the Scottish Highlands. Although an unlikely place to find an XYZ CNC milling machine, like much of the surrounding countryside, it is a sight to behold.

“Business is currently as strong as it’s even been, which is part of the reason for investing in a CNC bed mill,” explains company owner and Managing Director Callum Ferguson. “There’s a limit to how many workshop hours we can exploit with our existing manual milling machines. Investing in a CNC mill will help us move through our workload much faster.”

Precision Rifles has known of XYZ Machine Tools for many years, largely from its prominent industry presence and exhibition appearances. After initial discussions, the company visited XYZ’s showroom in Livingston to see demonstrations of an RMX 3500 bed mill with ProtoTRAK® RX Touchscreen control.

“It’s great having a showroom here in Scotland,” says Callum. “We wanted to make sure we were making the right decision. Investing in a CNC machine tool is a big commitment for a small business like ours.”

Precision Rifles imports its composite stocks from the US, where they are manufactured from layers of fibreglass cloth, impregnated with epoxy resin and moulded together at high pressure. Machining these synthetic materials is problematic because of subtle differences in the geometric tolerances of each moulding. Precision Rifles has to calculate the optimal position for the action in relation to individual stocks.

“We use Fusion 360 software to create a drawing for each stock and then export the DXF file to the ProtoTRAK® control,” explains Simon Nicoll, who is responsible for operating the new XYZ machine at Precision Rifles. “In-letting stocks is high-tolerance work, with precise draft angles and radii to ensure a perfect fit of the action metalwork with supporting contact all round.”

Each stock costs hundreds of pounds before Precision Rifles even starts machining. Accuracy is therefore paramount, as scrap can prove extremely expensive.

“One of the machine’s many benefits is its flexibility,” says Simon. “We take advantage of the conversational programming capabilities of ProtoTRAK® to make as many parts as possible in-house.”

The XYZ RMX 3500 with 5,000 rpm, 3.75 kW programmable spindle in-letting a composite rifle stock.

Offering up the metalwork of a rifle action to the stock inlet.

A good example is the custom base for each rifle’s sight/scope. Machined on the RMX 3500 from aluminium, bases feature a custom radius and, depending on the rifle’s intended use, an incline that makes it slightly lower at the front than the rear.

“We can machine these manually but it’s an all-day operation that proves expensive for the customer,” explains Simon. “However, with our RMX 3500 we machine the bottom side in just 8 minutes, turn it over and complete the top side in 24 minutes. It’s quite incredible what we can achieve conversationally at the ProtoTRAK® control.”

Precision Rifles takes particular advantage of the control’s TRAKing® feature. Certain toolpaths feature very small clearances of 0.01 inch (0.25 mm), which are quite easy to misjudge.

“TRAKing® means we can physically move through the program with the handwheel for complete peace of mind,” says Simon. “It reduces the chances of wrecking an expensive workpiece. We’re so impressed with the precision of the machine. We get gauge-level accuracy almost without trying.”

Precision has always been a topic of interest to Callum. Before founding Precision Rifles he worked for a rifle barrel maker, learning how to manufacture and fit match-grade barrels. Callum soon had a yearning to set up a business building custom rifles with ‘bench-rest’ accuracy.

“Like many things in life, a rifle is only as good as the components, tools and expertise used in its creation,” he says. “Component quality depends on utilising modern methods of production, which is why we’ve taken a huge step forward with our machining capability. We’re extremely pleased with our RMX 3500 milling machine, and it will only get better as we create more programs and gain familiarity with different CNC operations. We’re already able to create types of radii and pockets that are extremely challenging on a manual mill without consuming an inordinate amount of time. The XYZ CNC bed mill is proving to be an enormously helpful asset.”