Dillon Automation finally shipping the new automation systems!

[Helocat]

2.5 yrs ago Dillon bought AmmoBot and all the IP. That meant no AmmoBots available new on the market, just waiting for Dillon to finally release their own version. Due to ITAR compliance in however it effects Dillon Precision, they formed a new company Dillon Automation. Well they finally are shipping!!!!! Ok sort of. They called, then banged my card Monday and got a shipping notice today, so assuming its the DA3000.

I have been wanting to set up a dedicated case processing machine. However since going automated yrs back I have been holding out for another AmmoBot vrs. Row the slave ship. (I still have a D550 and yes row the slave ship for my odd ball or low production calibers like .308 for the bolt or 50AE for the range toy) But the new systems only work with the D1100's. I only have 1050's So my small primer 1050s with the last generation AmmoBot is going to get stripped down as a case processing or CP machine. Then a D1100 is on its way with the new DA3000 system to become the new small primer machine.

I came close to working on machining my own press, I really want a 7 station press but just flat out no time. But it looks like they are finally going to ship a D1100 and the new Automation, so will keep it all blue.

The new system has better automation controls with dwell and auto slowing going into each station. Looking forward to testing it out and getting it going. Yes yes, new systems first gen and all I am sure there will be updates in the coming year, but by golly I can't wait to have a dedicated case processing machine after waiting the last 2.5yrs! Now to hook it up to auto feed into the roll former……

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[Cerberus Group]

If you're looking to do high volume processing and/or loading, the Dillons do not hold up well.

Soft metal and aluminum parts fail in short order, and the frame will eventually give out long before it should.

They just aren't made tough enough to hold up when attaching a motor.

Good news is, there's a few companies offering hardened parts etc to get them to last longer...but there's still the frame.

 

[Helocat]

If you're looking to do high volume processing and/or loading, the Dillons do not hold up well.

Soft metal and aluminum parts fail in short order, and the frame will eventually give out long before it should.

They just aren't made tough enough to hold up when attaching a motor.

Good news is, there's a few companies offering hardened parts etc to get them to last longer...but there's still the frame.

Guess I have been doing it wrong the past 5yrs. Personally 100ks of cases processed/reloaded on twin Dillon 1050 Suppers w/ AmmoBot Auto Drives. Never any structure failure, and not sure of what "soft metal and aluminum parts" I should have worries about. However did have a advance prawl fail on the dedicated small primer machine, it was replaced free from Dillon WAY out of any warranty with full disclosure I was running auto drives. They did not care and flat out shipped the part + a spare no charge. I am sure it failed due to the shear volume of doing all case processing separate from reloading, so every case is fed 2x including over 10k of 300BLK conversion of 5.56 LC brass, running brass from AmmoBrass in FL. (Why I have wanted a dedicated CP machine!)

Speaking of AmmoBrass.com in FL, they only use AmmoBot auto drives on 11 Dillons for their 7day a week year round processing is due to how they hold up. (Dillon and AmmoBots) Day in and day out just processing brass. They are not shy to share their experience with "brands", if you call or email them.

Lyman Mark 7, lost my business when I tried ordering and they failed to return calls or emails. I did get them on the phone eventually and it was clear they did not care, maybe it was that persons "bad day". I am sure they build a machine that works, no personal experience of using their brand to the point of failure myself, so no web-reloading spoofing here, but do know the poor service I received = me looking at just machining my own 7 station press, that never happed due to time.

My humble hands on experience x5yrs of Dillon presses on auto drives. Of course I am just a father keeping 3 boys in ammo, not commercial reloading. If I was commercial reloading then "Lyman and Dillon" would not be in the vocabulary, it would be AmmoLoad or Camdex, proven commercial presses dedicated to the calibers they are loading. Again my limited experience here, but visiting commercial operations in Idaho the only brand outside of Camdex and AmmoLoad actually was some Dillon 1050s they used for some case prep in small runs.

Five years running, Dillons on AutoDrives, one part failure 200% supported by Dillon. I am comfortable with the staying with Dillon.

 

[Cerberus Group]

Have ran many Dillons into the ground using auto drives.

The bell crank, the part at the bottom of the ram that connects to the linkage is aluminum...they are prone to failure. First you'll get some noticeable slop, then alot...then they will crack. Not sure why Dillon would do such a thing.

 

[Helocat]

Have ran many Dillons into the ground using auto drives.

The bell crank, the part at the bottom of the ram that connects to the linkage is aluminum...they are prone to failure. First you'll get some noticeable slop, then alot...then they will crack. Not sure why Dillon would do such a thing.

Sorry to hear they did not work out for how you used them. For me 100K+ and still going strong + full factory support = me keep buying the Dillon Brand. I would only move to AmmoLoad personally at this point. (Unless it was a killer deal on a Camdex). Just, yikes at the cost of a true commercial machine!

Just checked my small primer machine, it has by far the most cycles, no slop no issue with the lower crank. Just the lubrication from my last maintained round with it, but no movement. If I ever took it to that point, then its a ware part that is replaced as part of the PM cycle to support my use. Pushing commercial use one has to expect PM. For me this machine will move to dedicated case processing once the new D1100 and DA3000 arrive as the dedicated small primer machine. Then it will just do nothing but run brass prep, 300 BLK forming and all rifle case trimming.

Old video but still current. Dillons just do the work.

.45ACP small primer sorting = all automated on the Dillon.

 

[ar addict]

Sorry to hear they did not work out for how you used them. For me 100K+ and still going strong + full factory support = me keep buying the Dillon Brand.

I do the brass prep for @Cerberus Group, we run 4 1050's on PW, AmmoBot and Mark 7 auto drives.
The last 2 years we have completely wore out 2 1050's. Replaced the crank and bell crank
on 2 and the bell crank on 2 others.
There is no warranty for commercial loaders.
But... We run 50 to 75k a day on them.
Both of the 1050's we wore out. Were used to process 223 brass, decap and swage.
They did well over a million cases. The Mark 7 Evolution has full length resized and trimmed
all that brass. Without many issues.
We have the same setup for pistol brass that you have, and I love that machine. It runs 10 to 20k a day.
With very few problems. Sorting 45 large and small primers is its best asset.
So we will stay with that for pistol, but have a new Mark 7 revolution to use for rifle.
Cerberus has been at this longer then I have. He told me what to look out for and what parts
I needed to have on hand. I thought he was crazy how could someone wear out a Dillon.
Soo... They work great for pistol case prep, not so much for rifle.

 

[Cerberus Group]

One of the 1050s, we bored out the frame and sleeved it for the main shaft in hopes we could keep resleeving it.

To keep ours going longer we used a roller bearing under the shell plate and replaced various parts with aftermarket hardened steel parts.. such as the bell crank, shell plate, and the case feed foot along with an aftermarket guide assembly.

Not knocking your choice of machine, just passing along what I've personally witnessed as well as what I've heard from other loaders and brass processors, about what parts are prone to what we think are premature failure and the fixes for them.

 

[Hueco]

I just can't take a company seriously who does a product launch and can't even set the title of their web page correctly...



MountCool huh?


Oh.

So.

Cool.

Their primary web dev must have died of covid or something. Sure hope their manufacturing isn't as lazy.

 

[TDH]

Since I've switched to a 750 I've gone through so many primers - I couldn't imagine how many I'd use if I automated it.

 

[Cerberus Group]

Since I've switched to a 750 I've gone through so many primers - I couldn't imagine how many I'd use if I automated it.

Quick answer...as much money as you have to feed the beast!

 

[Cerberus Group]

Guess I have been doing it wrong the past 5yrs.

NWFA is a place where we meet and make new friends, share comradery, and build a stronger foundation of all things firearm related. Apparently I have failed here.

No one has said anything in this thread that you have been doing anything wrong at any point. My intention was to give a heads up with common problems when hooking a Dillon to a power unit.

Where we agree..I am not brand loyal as well. I have operated Ammoloads (Mark X and Mark L) machines, along with Camdex, Bitterroot Alpha, Mark 7, Dillon and Scharch case processors. All have their plus and minus sides…with most being the priming system. No one of yet has come up with a good efficient system.

Mark 7s are pretty much a throw away machine. At their price point, not sure if they are worth rebuilding. Have two that are over a million rounds each. Still operating and producing good product…so will see how far they go. We still have Dillons processing pistol brass, but for rifle processing (size, swage, trim, neck size) we use a Mark 7, as they are built way heavier.

As ar addict stated…for pistol brass processing, the Dillons will run a long time, way less stress on the machines with pistol brass. But for rifle brass processing, it places a good amount of stress on the machine, thus the need for aftermarket parts for the long run.

Where we disagree…the aluminum bell crank. I don't believe it's a wear part. In my opinion Dillon got cheap where cheap doesn't need to be, as that is the highest stress part in the linkage system…and they used aluminum…ugh….and rifle case processing accelerates the wear. Hopefully they have already, or in the very near future will address this weak link…no pun intended…or maybe pun should be intended.

I don't expect you to take me up on my offer, but in the future if you ever need anything…parts, components etc., don't hesitate to contact me…as many people on here can attest, have helped many and never asked for anything in return.

Be well…go forth and commit processing and loading!

 

[Helocat]

I do the brass prep for @Cerberus Group, we run 4 1050's on PW, AmmoBot and Mark 7 auto drives.
The last 2 years we have completely wore out 2 1050's. Replaced the crank and bell crank
on 2 and the bell crank on 2 others.
There is no warranty for commercial loaders.
But... We run 50 to 75k a day on them.
Both of the 1050's we wore out. Were used to process 223 brass, decap and swage.
They did well over a million cases. The Mark 7 Evolution has full length resized and trimmed
all that brass. Without many issues.
We have the same setup for pistol brass that you have, and I love that machine. It runs 10 to 20k a day.
With very few problems. Sorting 45 large and small primers is its best asset.
So we will stay with that for pistol, but have a new Mark 7 revolution to use for rifle.
Cerberus has been at this longer then I have. He told me what to look out for and what parts
I needed to have on hand. I thought he was crazy how could someone wear out a Dillon.
Soo... They work great for pistol case prep, not so much for rifle.

Only a one year warranty on 1050s for everyone else so they say. However they did take care of me no questions asked for that one part.

Since I've switched to a 750 I've gone through so many primers - I couldn't imagine how many I'd use if I automated it

Quick answer...as much money as you have to feed the beast!

OR how much one stockpiled in the years before they went hard to get.

@Cerberus Group I think the message here is using high level tools designed for hard individual use, for commercial operations may save a company allot of $$ upfront over investing into an AmmoLoad or Camdex but it sounds like the company pays anyway in the long run. I would just go AmmoLoad, but that is just one tool. I would think forming and swaging projectiles would become key to long term profitably. Brass forming probably too expensive, same for primer MFGing or powder, but projectiles are in reach for small munitions manufacturing. But of course would need the equipment.

I may process 50k of 9mm cases in one run, but I am not doing 50-70k per day, everyday. For my use the Dillons have done and continue to do a great job for the investment. + I have yet to sell a used Dillon for less than what I paid for it after years of use. (Only sold two) I have said it before, the Capital in the Dillons when taken care off, is just parking cash. You get it all back later if you wish to turn it back into cash, the only true cost was the potential loss to investment gains.

Commercial reloading vrs. Consumer reloading . I reload because I enjoy it and I save considerable amount of $ in ammo knowing I can just load what ever I want. Hats off to anyone who makes a go of it commercially. As a small business owner myself, the liability, dependency on the small number of big guys that control the key components and volatility of the market makes it one intimidating business proposition. Equipment is key for both and being used for what they were designed for.

Appreciate the offer, all good on my parts and components.

 

[HotRod61]

Wow !!!!!! what a good read. Hats off to all involved for a nice discussion. I learned a lot. Sounds like both sides is very knowledgeable