Slides for FMK 9C1 pistons are machined on one of three Doosan HP 4000 HMCs at FMK Firearms.

October 2015 | AdvancedManufacturing.org 95

moldmaking machines

Plastic Injection Molder Turns to Gun MakingMaking plastic medical components

at TRA Medical or handguns at FMK

Firearms depends on advanced Doosan

machining centers technologyI

n 2006, Jim Pontillo, founder of TRA Medical Inc. (Pla-

centia, CA), saw two distinct trends: his medical mold-

making workload was diminishing and demand for guns

and gun components was rising. Sizing up TRA Medical’s

core competencies, Pontillo saw an opportunity for growth in

the development and production of 9-mm handguns. Today,

these guns are branded and sold under their own brand FMK

Firearms, which is a stand-alone business.

Founded in 1994 as a tooling manufacturer, TRA Medi-

cal has evolved into a full-service plastic injection molder

offering product design services as well as tool design and

manufacturing services. In addition to a Doosan DNM 500

HS, TRA Medical has eight plastic injection molding machines

which range from 25 to 250 tons. In addition to supplying key

components for FMK Firearms, TRA Medical serves its com-

mercial, aerospace, and medical customers and maintains a

class 100,000 clean room for molding services.

October 2015 | AdvancedManufacturing.org 97

Pontillo feels that features that can be found in the spin-

dle, guideways, and control of the DNM 500 HS make it ideal

for machining high-precision tooling for molds The 15,000-

rpm inline spindle found on the HS version offers superior

surface finish, while the spindle head

cooling system maintains accuracy with

minimal thermal growth during the long,

continuous operations typically required

for mold making. The DNM’s roller-type

linear motion guideways also make

a significant contribution by allowing

for higher feed rates and interpola-

tion, which is equally important when

machining a mold. And finally, the DNM

HS, which is equipped with a Fanuc 31

i control, offers additional look ahead, a

must have feature in this industry.

While TRA Medical manufactures

plastic components for FMK Firearms

as it does for many of its other service

clients, FMK Firearms Inc. has its own

facility. The two operations under the

ownership and leadership of Jim Pontillo

are equipped as follows: TRA Medical

operates out of an 8000 ft2 (743-m2)

building and is equipped with one Doo-

san 500 HS vertical machining center.

FMK Firearms utilizes its own 7000 ft2

(650-m2) building and is equipped with

three Doosan HP4000 horizontal ma-

chining centers and two Doosan DNM

400 vertical machining centers.

Molds for Pistol’s Polymer Frame,

Grip, and Backstrap

TRA Medical supplies all polymer

components to FMK Firearms. Most

notable and innovative is the shock

absorbing backstrap for the 9C1pistol.

Tooling used to produce these com-

ponents are representative of the mold

tooling machined on their Doosan DNM

500 HS. “The most unique feature of

our pistol is the rubberized backstrap,”

said Pontillo. “This backstrap not only

reduces the recoil one feels when firing,

it hugs and grips the palm of the shooting hand to provide a

comfortable, positive grip. The result is a grip that seems to

mold to the shooter’s hand, instead of having to mold your

hand to fit the grip.”

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98 AdvancedManufacturing.org | October 2015

“We’ve paid careful attention to the ergonomics

of the 9C1. Some pistols feature a dimple in the

grip for the shooting-hand thumb to rest in. FMK

has opted to extend the dimples into two channels

running from the front to the back of the frame.

The result is a noticeable narrowing of the grip

for both the thumb and trigger finger. The trigger

guard provides a more generous curve where it

connects to the grip so as to give the middle finger

more room,” said Pontillo.

Many of the features found in the 9C1’s

unique grip have contributed to their popular-

ity among female buyers. Back in 2008 female

gun owners made up less than 4% of all buyers.

The female gun owner sector has quickly grown

to 20% of all gun buyers, a potential market

opportunity not missed by Pontillo. In fact, FMK

offers the 9CI with a pink polymer frame and grip,

which is extremely popular among its female buy-

moldmaking machines

Jim Pontillo, owner of FMK Firearms, in the test range where several racks

of pink and dark earth colored FMK 9C1 polymer frames produced by TRA

Medical are stored awaiting final assembly.

October 2015 | AdvancedManufacturing.org 99

ers. Additional colors available are: black, urban gray, green

and dark earth.

Pontillo’s experience as a toolmaker and a moldmaker

and the advanced machining technology he employs have

allowed his company to produce a

gun with a much better feel for the

end-user. The combination of soft

materials on contact surfaces mar-

ried to hard metals on functioning

surfaces has created one of the best

balanced 9-mm handguns on the

market. Since FMK Firearm’s entry

into the firearms market, Pontillo has

seen sales increase from 1200 pistols

in 2010 to an expected production of

12,000 this year.

TRA Medical has evolved into a full-service plastic injection molder offering product design services

as well as tool design and manufacturing services.

Manufacturing and selling guns in

the US isn’t an easy task; that’s why it

is so interesting to see a young com-

pany like FMK succeed in establish-

ing its plant in California. A significant

reason for its success is that FMK

Firearms sources plastic compo-

nents from TRA Medical and metal

stampings and springs from another

vendor and has devised an integrated

manufacturing approach: All major

mechanical parts are machined from

raw stock by FMK Firearms and final

assembly, testing, and packaging are

all done in its own facility. And with

their unique experience with plastic

manufacturing techniques they of-

fer one of the most unique lockable

boxes from an OEM manufacturer.

The resulting product is an authentic

Made in the USA 9-mm pistol.

Machining Slides and Barrels for FMK 9C1 Pistols

The slide of the FMK 9C1 requires the usual amount of

grip strength and pressure to cycle as most mid-sized 9-mm

pistols. The magazine release has a smooth surface but

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100 AdvancedManufacturing.org | October 2015

must be easy to locate and operate. The blued-steel ejector

slides are machined complete, in two operations, from solid

in-house by FMK, instead of a third-party vendor.

The first of three Doosan horizontal machining centers

was installed in 2009, along with a Doosan DNM 400 vertical

machining center, both purchased through Jeff Henderson of

Protek CNC Sales, based in Simi Valley, CA.

“Jeff had been calling on us for maybe 10 years. He

remained persistent, even when at first we purchased CNC

machines from another machine tool builder. It wasn’t until

we hit the higher volumes driven by demand for our FMK

9C1 that we realized we needed more durable machines

with more sophistication. In the mold-making environment,

you’re cutting heat-treated steel, you run at slower speeds,

and most of the time is spent actually setting up your part.

Now in the production environment, you’re running at higher

rpm’s, you’re running more hours a day, trying to keep that

machine running 24 hours,” said Pontillo.

“Currently we have three Doosan HP 4000 horizontal

machining centers at FMK Firearms, all of which are dedi-

cated to making the slide for our 9C1 pistol. These machines

have essentially taken us from being a job shop to an OEM

production facility,” said Pontillo. “Each HP 4000 features

in-process gaging from Renishaw and custom tombstone

fixtures sourced from Germany. All three machines run 24

hours a day and do nothing but run that part. Combined we

can machine up to 90 slides a day,” Pontillo said.

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moldmaking machines

Jim Pontillo holds a recently machined slide in one hand and

a completed FMK 9C1 piston in the other in front of one of the

three Doosan HP 4000 HMCs at FMK Firearms.

October 2015 | AdvancedManufacturing.org 101

“One of our two DNM 400 vertical machining centers is

also set up for high-volume production, with a tombstone

that is orientated horizontally and indexed by a fourth axis.

With this setup we are able to machine up to five faces on

the pistol bolt. The cylindrical-shaped

blank is sourced from a local shop that

turns the bolt on a Doosan Lynx 220

Turning Center.”

In addition to machining me-

chanical parts of the 9C1’s trigger on

FMK’s second DNM 400, the machine

is also used to engrave a variety of

patriotic messages. The surfaces of

the steel ejector slide can either be

engraved with the words, “Proudly

American”; “Freedom and Liberty”;

or “Thank You U.S. Soldiers.” The

slide plate also contains the words

“E Pluribus Unum.” These are the

markings of the plain-slide version

of this pistol. FMK also offers the Bill

of Rights version of the 9C1 with the

first 10 amendments to the Constitu-

tion engraved on the slide.

California was the top manufac-

turing state in the USA in 2013, with

$239 billion in manufacturing output,

and manufacturing employment at

1,250,900. In the state’s history, there

have actually been as many as a dozen

manufacturers of pistols at one time.

According to Pontillo, today there

remains just two pistol manufacturers in

California, including FMK Firearms.

“The thing that’s made the greatest

difference for us is the technology we

have today,” says Pontillo. “Whether

we’re making plastic medical compo-

nents at TRA Medical or handguns at

FMK Firearms, you’re only as good as

the tools you work with. As a tool-

maker, I know this to be true. I also

know you cannot beat the capabilities

of Doosan CNC machine tools.”

For more information from Doosan

Infracore Machine Tools, go to

www.doosanmachinetoolsusa.com, or phone

973-618-2500.

Edited by Senior Editor James Lorincz from information

provided by Doosan Infracore Machine Tools.

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