Barrel Dimpling vs. Fluting?

Randall or ColdBlue or Grant (or anyone else w/ the facts who cares to answer)-

Are there any benefits to the new KAC-style barrel dimpling (ala the KAC PDW) as opposed to fluting?--For rigidity, cooling, weight-reduction, etc., which is better and why?

It definitely "looks cool" :rolleyes: but if the dimpling is the latest and greatest thing, then how come more people aren't doing it and it hasn't been around until just recently? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

-Bryan

IIRC a dimpled barrel is a stiffer a barrel than a fluted one, and cools more quickly than a fluted barrel. It does cost quite a bit more, as it's more labor intensive to manufacture.

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Originally Posted by Bcm3087

if the dimpling is the latest and greatest thing, then how come more people aren't doing it

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Reed Knight patented it.

http://www.google.com/patents?id=kOd2AAAAEBAJ

Thanks for the responses so far. So if I'm reading this correctly (from link provided above):


"Abstract:
Gas-operated automatic and semi-automatic guns are improved by providing their barrels with unique exterior surface configurations to reduce the weight of their barrels while retaining the barrels' original stiffness and to cause the barrels to dissipate heat faster."


...It sounds like the dimpling's primary purposes are faster cooling and lighter weight, but that they should not be significantly "stiffer" than a standard contour (i.e. "normal" non-fluted/non-dimpled) and otherwise equal barrel. So the benefits of such a barrel would be most apparent in a full-auto weapon or one that is subjected to long bursts of rapid fire, not necessarily in a weapon with the primary purpose of precision accuracy. Right? :confused:

Also, if this process is patented by KAC, does that mean that no one else can perform this work on a barrel if I wanted to have one done in a similar manner?

Thanks,

Bryan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bcm3087

if this process is patented by KAC, does that mean that no one else can perform this work on a barrel if I wanted to have one done in a similar manner?

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Nobody else should be able to offer a barrel for sale with the patented feature.
Nobody should be able to offer the service to create such a barrel.
At least that's how it's supposed to work.

Now if you were to ASK someone to do it, they are not "offering" to do it.

That's the "gray area"...

I did one for a guy that asked me.
I don't ever want to do one again though.
Too much work as I don't have a CNC...

http://ar15barrels.com/tech/dimpling.jpg

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by altav

You just need to know who to ask... ;)

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And who might that be...?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by AR15barrels

Reed Knight patented it.

http://www.google.com/patents?id=kOd2AAAAEBAJ

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I'm not anything close to a lawyer and I can say with utter certainty that there's no ****ing way you could enforce that patent. The scope of what's claimed to be patented is far too broad.

If you look at traditional fluting, it's infringing upon Knight's claim of an oval or oblong radiused machined surface on the barrel. I'd laugh my ass off if I was a judge hearing them try to enforce this.

Adco does it as well. 115$ forward of the fsb. 125$ rearward. 240$ total