Production Of A Klashnikov - Coursework Example

Information AK-47 The Kalashnikov which is also known as the Ak-47 is a gas operated rifle that was produced in Russia by Mikhail Kalashnikov and has by now sold over a 100 million units since its inaugural production. Part 1: One of the production method used in producing most of the riffle part is through KB-P-580, which serves to be more reliable than most of the other production method and way more better handling characteristics, this method was used in 1948 in Izhevsk factory. Its banana shaped magazine or cartridge is manufactured through curve which is smoothly fed with ammunition, the steel used is quite heavy mixed together with feed-lips which makes it highly resistant to damage in the long run. The design of the magazine is borrowed from other guns and was used in AS-44 model by the soviets. The receiver which anchors the integrated gas piston and the trigger is made of sheet metal with milled trunnion insert. In the year 1940, it took about 150 totally different machine motions to make it.so the new method of making it has differently changed it and help reduce the weight of the gun to only 8 pounds. The gas piston and bolt carrier contained in the receiver were deliberately structured to fit loosely in the receiver and the aim for this is to stop carbon buildup, dust and rust. What should be noted here is that this method of loose fit was borrowed from other designers like Sudayev and the concept was used by several other people after his death. The stock of the AK-47 rifle is made of wood. There have been a lot of developments when it comes to the making of this particular type of gun and some of its features being borrowed from other gun designs. Guns which have folding stocks are better fitted for tighter spaces for instance airborne troops. A combination of the bolt carrier and gas piston make up the gas piston which is a design that is not original but borrowed from another gun. The design is made to provide more energy to the operating system of the gun. How it works is that, when each round is fired, there is a gas which enters into a chamber through a port in the top of the barrel which in turn drives back a piston that then withdraws the bolt from the chamber and removes the already used cartridge. The magazine contains a spring which pushes the next cartridge into its place. There is a return spring which pushes the piston and bolt in front placing the cartridge in its chamber in readiness to fire once again. This system is much better since its stroke is 50% longer than usual which makes the gun versatile and still performs even when infiltrated by foreign substances like water which impedes lubrication. The protective coating of the gun is a phosphate coating which increases its reliability when it comes to rusting. The chamber and barrel of the gun are actually chromed which also helps fight rusting. These anti-corrosive features of the gun are very key when it comes to harsh climate conditions like in times of war. Compared to other guns like an M16 before their chambers and barrel were chromed and which there protective coating were vulnerable to corrosion, AK-47 stood out in this aspect. The selectors switch which regulates when the gun can fire and when it cannot. The options of the switch are; safe, semi-automatic and automatic. When the gun is in the safe mode it is not able to fire. When it is the semi-automatic the shots are single shot and finally the automatic mode which fires rounds in a continuous mode when the trigger is pulled. Finally the trigger of the gun is a borrowed design from the M1 design created by John c and a German gun maker called Schmeisser who was in prison at the time the legendary AK47 rifle was made. Part 2: One production method I would use to produce the riffle is Izhmash production method which produces around 95 units per hour which is an equal amount of over 1 million units per year. The fact that while using this method most parts are joined using hands, makes it more effective and accurate increasing reliability. How this is achieved is that when manually assembling the parts, there is more supervision of the process eliminating chances of wrong assembling of parts which would lead to defective weapons at the end of the process. The other reason this method is preferable is that it can be implemented in the less developed countries since most parts are assembled manually which shall require minimal education on the assembling of the parts for the factories that manufacture these guns to be operational. Another reason in support for the method is that during the assemblage of the parts, people are able to learn which parts fit faster together and which ones do not. This way, there is an opportunity to change and design the parts which do not seamlessly fit together. If machines were the ones fitting the parts for instance, there is no room to see such kind of improvements to be made on the guns. One would argue that this method of production actually produces a smaller amount of guns compared to if the fitting of the guns was wholly done by machines. That could be true, but the flip side to that is the guns produced might have defects for instance since no supervision was carried out with the guns in the assembling process. Although more of a human right reason, one could argue that the world does not need more weapons at the moment and any other method of production that would produce more guns than this method produces is not acceptable since the surplus guns will go to cause unwanted deaths. Part 3: The manufacturing methods used in mass production in comparison to those used in less developed regions are by far very different. The reason for this is that the regions which produce in large numbers have the right resources. These resources are the right manpower which means the people who actually produce the weapons have the right skill and education for the job. The right equipment and technology that is necessary to produce the guns in mass numbers in contrast to less developed regions, they lack the necessary equipment and technology to produce these guns in large numbers. The kind of skill and education required for the production of the weapons is limited compared to more developed regions. For this reason, it creates a big gap and a visible shortage in the said weapons in the less developed areas. New designs and more improvements are being made to improve accuracy and reliability. This kind of improvements are only possible if there exists the right institutions to carry out research necessary to facilitate the accurate and more reliable and better functioning weapons. It is totally the opposite in less developed regions as there are institutions which are solely mandated to carry out these kind of researches and as a result there exists little if no production of these kind of weapons. For instance, in Russia the Izhevsk production method is the chief mass manufacture of the riffle, producing in mass numbers and has equally sold over 50 million units since its inception. One can argue and say that people who actually work in these factories which build these guns in the developed regions are better paid than those who would work in less developed regions or that the government does not have the financial capability to open and run AK-47 making factories. Another possible reason for the gap between the production rates of the guns in the two places could be the gun control laws. In more developed regions which have a higher production rate, they have a more flexible gun control laws like the USA, while in Africa for instance, the laws which control gun ownership are stricter therefore fewer private citizens actually own guns. That means that the amount of guns produced shall be lower than those in the more developed regions. If we further and analyze the reason behind these laws we find that in less developed regions, exists internal insecurity in these countries and as a result, the governments implement stricter measures in gun ownership. The last and another difference is that in the developing countries, most of them only assembly the parts of the guns that they have imported from these developed areas, and as a result they cannot be in a position to produce the guns on a mass scale. Importing weapons is expensive and especially an important rifle likes the AK-47. Developing regions are poor and do not have the financial power to purchase these guns. Works Cited Fackler M, L., Malinowski , JA., Hoxie S, W., Jason, A. "Wounding Effects of the AK-47 Rifle Used by Patrick Purdy in the Stockton, California, Schoolyard Shooting of 17 January 1989". American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 11 (3): 185–9. (1990). Print. Read More