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RevolverGuy.com is in the midst of a pretty in-depth series on MIM parts with a focus on S&W revolvers. I found it thought provoking and I thought the folks here might find it interesting as well.
Part I: https://revolverguy.com/all-about-mi...ne/#more-10563
Part II: https://revolverguy.com/all-about-mim-part-two/
Part III isn’t up yet but I’ll update once it is available.
There's been a lot of wailing about MIM, partially because people are woefully ignorant and partially because there have been MIM products out there that were done badly. It's hilarious watching people who depend on the MIM-manufactured gears in their transmissions to function daily complaining about MIM in pistol parts.
Too many people are too young to remember how crappy many forged parts could be back in the day. It's not design, it's execution.
I've broken machined steel, investment cast, and MIM manufactured firearm parts. Springs are what I have seen fail the most yet they are rarely talked about.Quote:
Originally Posted by TCinVA
Quality control insures that you receive a good part but everyone has a price they are willing to pay.
As most know, Ruger has made excellent cast products like frames and then slides for decades. If these items had shortcomings at any time, I don't recall it being reported. I have zero issues with S&W's mim parts despite being a traditionalist. My view changed over time.
If you do your own trigger work on S&W revolvers there's not a quicker easier task than MIM parts. They are literally the "easy button".
The third and final part is available.
Part III: https://revolverguy.com/all-about-mi...ee/#more-10570
Mike Heffron talks at length about the MIM Colt is using in their current revolvers. The parts are made by a US defense contractor (Pratt & Whitney) and are supposed to be very strong and have tight tolerances. That’s coming from a gunsmith that works on Colts all the time. I think MIM works great in a part designed for it and executed by someone that knows what they’re doing.
Technology improves and manufacturing follows. Look at Hi Powers. They want to a cast frame when they rolled out .40 because the cast frames are stronger. Why? Forged frames have to use an alloy that lends itself to forging which, in the case of the BHP, was not as tough as the alloy they could use in casting.
https://www.heffronprecision.com/blog
Good to see that we have domestic MIM contractors.
Early days when there were a lot of real complaints about the type, there were advertisements in the gunzines for Indomim as a source of parts.
things can change but last I knew P&W’s MIM plant was in Quebec.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Watson