John Saunders and Yanne Root, Tormach PCNC 1100 owners and co-founders of Strikemark, manufacturer of the lightning fast SM-1 auto-reset rifle target, have extended their range with a line of Picatinny rail mounts for the GoPro and Contour camera systems.
“We originally had the idea to machine a GoPro Picatinny mount with our Tormach as a way to take footage of our targets in the field, both by us and by the military units we work with downrange,” Root said. “We bought the Tormach because we needed something beefier for product development, and we never envisioned it as a production tool like it is today. Every single Picatinny mount we sell is made on our Tormach using efficient fixturing systems and optimized SprutCAM tooling paths.” Using a lightweight, rugged mount made from anodized aluminum, a camera is locked tightly to any weapon with a Picatinny rail. Ideal for hunters, airsoft, military, law enforcement, and recreational shooters, Strikemark Mounts are a great way to record shooting adventures and document training. Running their PCNC 1100 between 20 and 50 hours any given week, Strikemark has focused on workholding and tool path optimization. “For us, it’s all about fixturing and optimizing mill performance. We are very proud of our fixtures. We machine them on the Tormach and ensure they make the best use of the real estate we’ve got. Fast part setup and repeatable accuracy are important,” Saunders explained. Saunders added, “We fit 32 pieces on a fixture plate for a single run. I can make over 200 mounts per day and all I’m going back for is to do tool changes. We’re getting to a point where we feel we have optimized the tool path. SprutCAM is all we use and I love it.” “We started the auto-reset targets in 2005 and struggled to justify paying machine shops to make parts and prototypes one at a time. It was painful on the wallet and it meant we weren’t as involved in the process as we wanted to be. At that time, I didn’t know what an end mill was. I set up a small machine shop on my own and taught myself CAD and CAM. I have since spent thousands of hours machining parts and am still very passionate about it,” Saunders said. He continued, “We’re at the point where we can absolutely justify growing our shop. As PCNC 1100 owners, we value the service, the support, and leveraging Tormach’s tooling and knowledge.”
