On Apr 1, 10:02*pm, "RogerN" wrote:
Anyone have or use one of those electronic automatic powder weighing
systems? *The ones I've seen have something like a motorized powder
dispenser that dispenses powder on the scale until the set weight is
reached.

I have heard these things work good but are slow, I was wondering if they
would work in addition to a regular powder measure. *Say for example if you
wanted 50 grains, you could set your powder measure to throw maybe 48 grains
and let the automatic dispenser finish to the correct weight. *Just
wondering if it would work that way, thought it might compensate for powder
errors.

I'm thinking a little on automating the reloading process, my progressive
press should be here tomorrow. *I have an Allen Bradley PLC5 with a high
resolution card that can work with load cells. *I could weigh powder out to
a specified tolerance and "Out of tolerance" charges could go back to the
powder supply. *The PLC could also be used to monitor for mistakes that an
operator might not catch. *Maybe someday we'll get ammo back on store
shelves, until then....

RogerN

The automated scale bit is a solution in search of a problem. Just
not needed. The benchrest guys use measures and they're looking for
caliber-hole-sized groups. So minor weight variations in powder isn't
the main cause of group expansion. But if you've got the money to
blow, the equipment guys will thank you for your donation. All
factory ammo is made using powder measured by volume as well.

The other, really big, problem with those progressive presses is the
primer feed. All I've seen in production right now use stacks of
primers in a tube, anvil to face. If one goes off, you've got a
grenade. The manufacturers usually supply a chunk of pipe to mount on
the feeder so that if that happens, the blast goes up and not out.
Doesn't help at all if you drop the tube or fumble it outside that
shield. Guys have gotten skewered when that happens. The primer dust
needs to be removed from the working parts frequently. Priming is the
most dangerous part of handloading. One reason I like using the RCBS
hand primer is the blast shutter between the priming punch area and
the primer tray. Haven't popped one yet, but have mangled a few. The
trays are light plastic and the primers aren't stacked, not going to
generate a lot of shrapnel if they do go off. You'll be working with
little bits of primary explosive and they CAN bite!

Stan