firearms, whether for soldiers or law enforcement police, have extremely high requirements for reliability. The high reliability of firearms is not only related to the mechanical performance of the weapon itself, but also closely related to the cleanliness and lubrication of the weapon. In harsh usage environments, how to ensure the cleanliness and lubrication of weapons to a greater extent? The emergence of advanced performance coatings is eye-catching -
Due to the frequent failures of light weapons used by the US military in the desert areas of Afghanistan, UCT Coatings, a metal coating company located in Stuart, Florida, USA, developed a nickel boron coating (UltraCem) process, also known as EXO. It is an electroplating process that forms a nickel-boron coating on the surface of the part, making it easier to clean. As soon as EXO appeared, it won high praise and became one of the most corrosion-resistant protective coatings for firearms and other equipment.
EXO coating performance
After being treated with EXO coating, the mechanical parts are covered with a layer of bronze-colored non-corrosive coating, which can be used without lubricant and can prevent dust and dirt from being absorbed on the surface of the parts.
Comparison of SW company's MP series 0.45-inch ACP ordinary magazines (left and right) and magazines using EXO coating (middle)
The lubricity and strong corrosion resistance of EXO coating are used in weapons, which can greatly improve the performance of weapons and make them more reliable. EXO coatings are now approved for use in some weapons systems. The test results of its application on light weapons show that EXO coating not only extends the service life of weapons, but also improves the reliability of weapons use in large-scale and harsh combat environments, and greatly reduces the cost of using weapons.
The test results are satisfactory
UCT The company has applied EXO coating to a variety of weapons, including Beretta 92F pistol, Glock pistol , Mossberg M500 shotgun, M4 carbine and M249 squad machine gun. In addition, some manufacturers are gradually applying EXO coating to their products, including LWRC International, CylinderSlide Gun Shop, etc. In order to improve product reliability, more manufacturers are evaluating the effect of EXO coatings on new products.
Mossberg M500 short-barreled shotgun uses EXO-coated bolt components
Use an EXO-coated, unlubricated Colt government model pistol to fire 200 rounds. No malfunctions occurred and carbon scale was easily removed
After shooting tests, carbon scale on the Colt Government pistol was easily removed with fingertips
UCT tested several guns with EXO coatings. The first batch of firearms tested include the Colt AR15, Beretta 92F, Ruger SR9 and .45-inch Colt Government model pistol. Among them, 200 rounds were fired from the .45-inch Colt government pistol, 280 rounds were fired from the AR15 rifle, and 300 rounds were fired from the other two pistols. Although each gun was not lubricated, the gun itself did not cause any malfunction after firing the above number of bullets. After firing, each gun was disassembled. Normally, the carbon scale produced after firing so many bullets needs to be cleaned with a brush or removed with a chisel, but after using the EXO coating, it can be easily removed by gently wiping it off with your fingers or using your fingernails or the tip of a knife.
After shooting, there was only a small amount of carbon scale on the surface of the EXO-coated AR15 bolt.
Subsequently, the EXO-coated M249 machine gun was tested to continuously fire a large number of bullets. Without lubricant, the gun fired nearly 15,000 bullets. During the test, no interruptions or glitches occurred. The resulting dirt is also very easy to remove after shooting.
In a continuous test, the EXO-coated M249 can continuously fire more than 28,000 rounds of ammunition. The cleaning of the bolt, trigger and related parts in the firearm can be easily completed with only a brush.
Editor: Ding Yongqiang
Proofreading: Wei Kaigong
Light Weapons headline number: Light Weapons
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