Are Magma bullet master mold arms spring loaded only?

Can someone with a bullet master tell me if the arms that hold the mould halves are only spring loaded? My MC has a spring to bring the halves together but have two guides to hold them in place when the sprue is cut off and under the pour spout. Does the bullet master have this setup too? as i have noticed that with changing moulds on my MC, on some moulds i need to adjust the guides. With 8 moulds on a bullet master, how do you ensure each mould is touching the guide (if it has said guides)?

I'm half considering trying to build my own version of a bullet master, it may work, it may fail miserably. I have seen a few videos on you tube of what i think was an Italian remake of a bullet master, 8 moulds driven by an electric motor with a reduction drive, no ratchet action. I assume PLC control to index the moulds under the pour spout.

It's all just in my head at the moment, see if i actually get it made and more importantly, if i can get it to work!

I'll snap some pics for you.

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On the Bullet Master you have two brake shoes stopping the wheel when the sprue is cut


A little lower you have two guide rails guiding the spring loaded carrier arms.

You have the same rails ensuring the closing of the blocks before lining them up before pouring again



All these are adjustable on both sides. I have newer adjusted them since I use only Magma blocks and they all have the same measurements.

Directly under the pot you also have a cam adjusting the sideways motion of the moulds so they line up directly under the orifices. You can adjust it by placing shims.

Please ignore my steel piece under my pot. I place it there incase it drips when cooling down after use.

I don't know if I've answered your questions but you could also download exploded view drawings from the Magma website. You may also get useful information there.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1b3e65c28e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c315e4bfe0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9e2d1b5ec2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f679c4836c.jpg

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The Bullet Master also have these cams (note the step, so it shakes the moulds when running over it) in the bottom of the machine, holding the carrier arms apart when the boolits are released. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a8ed58f67c.jpg

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Mold holders look identical to the MC


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Thank you for taking the time to take pictures and do a write up for me, that is exactly what i was looking for. The mould shaker cams, i had visions of the drop off being more abrupt. The pictures i believe cover all the questions i asked, i just need to see if this is out of my league. I hope to get a chance to start making the mould carriers on the weekend, that may be the test to see if i can do it or not :)

Good idea about the exploded view, it may help explain more bits that i didn't think to ask about.

Hatch - that is exactly what i thought too. I have some fairly thick steel stock i was going to try and make the mould carriers out of, it's only 3/4" thick and not 1" that the MC uses, i an hoping it will still be suitable

The most fascinating thing about the Bullet Master is that it runs smooth and it keeps going.... and going...... and going..... [emoji28]

The bullet drop is also smooth, so the pneumatic knockers is a needed ad-on. With them running it's not often that a boolit is stuck.

I've only seen YouTube videos of the Ballisti-Cast MkII, but but their cams and bullet release sollution seems a lot more abrupt

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I would just get the correct stock.
I made 4 lefts and 4 rights. They are identical to the Magma ones. If you make them identical then it's easy to get replacements or have someone make a replacement because they are more readily available to be cloned.

I found out that I will have access to the MC clone project starting next week :-)
They got everything worked out.

So it looks like I might end up with the new MC I just got and two clones!!
Got my fingers crossed.

Sorry for the late reply, been a busy weekend.

I started cutting up material, my bandsaw had other ideas.... It has decided to start eating blades again, so i need to sort that out before i throw another $30 blade on it.

Hatch - Glad they have worked it out, looking forward to seeing your fleet of MCs running :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HATCH

I found out that I will have access to the MC clone project starting next week :-)
They got everything worked out.

So it looks like I might end up with the new MC I just got and two clones!!
Got my fingers crossed.

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Good to here that you're getting your stuff back.

I have made the arms that hold the mould halves, or mostly made them. I'm curious if anyone can see a reason why they wouldn't work leaving the material thick near the top where the mould attaches with a pin. The Magma one is thinned out in this area, i just don't know why. Hopefully a picture will help (if the upload works)
Attachment 202086
Attachment 202087

Sorry, the image is around the wrong way to see the top of the F easily, but you can see it at the top of the lower image. This is the thinned out.

Is the thinned out section riding on the rail? It leaves the rail than as the mold opens so it could be a alignment issue.

Yes, that is exactly the part i was talking about, it runs on the rail for when the sprue is cut. I'm just curious if it needs thinning, i don't see any reason why it needs to be, but i may be missing something.

Not the part that holds the mould halves open to knock the cast projectiles out, that section i need to cut an angle on.

If you'll be using the same pouring sensor as Magma does, I guess you'll have to machine the slanted tops. I don't think you'll get that to work with the aquare angles.

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I wasn't going to use a magma switch, i was going to use my own switch setup. I'm not exactly sure how yet. I hope to get the mould holders finished tomorrow and hopefully start on the wheel part. I'm going to have to make a guess of the diameter. See if i can get fairly close.

So, the 16 arms are made, not exact, but i feel they will work. Hopefully the way i have set them up in the mill, they are all within a few thou of each other when they have the moulds in place and closed.

I plasma cut a disc for the wheel, i need to weld a boss to it and then machine the disc so it's true with respect to the shaft that will drive it. It will need the mounting bits for the mould carriers welding to it and all required holes drilling. This part will be hardened with the mould carriers. Onl because where the carriers run, it is a potential wear point.

Seems like a waste i know, but the place i have found that will do the case hardening for me have minimums which work out to be about 12kg, so i'll be paying it no matter what, and this will hopefully make things last longer.

The next hurdle is springs, flea bay don't have exactly what i want, they will sell me one long spring i need to cut down, but the price seemed a bit much. We don't have mcmaster Carr over here, i'd bet they would have what i wanted.

I got the Wheel part done, hopefully i got everything accurate enough to work. I am trying to find springs at a reasonable price, the local guys want $13 each plus shipping... Magma wanted $3, but they are half way around the world away. Good excuse to buy springs and fill the rest of the flat rate box with moulds :) it's only logical right? can't waste good space.

Here are two pictures of said wheel.
Attachment 203972
Attachment 203973

I now know why the carriers were the thickness they are, i used thinner steel on mine, the bolt that holds the sprue makes contact with the part the carrier is attached to, i will need to fine tune said parts with a grinder to allow it to fit.