Systems and methods for electroprocessing a gun barrel using a moving electrode

Abstract

A guide system for use in electro-processing a bore of a gun barrel includes a non-conductive external bore guide and a non-conductive internal bore guide. The external bore guide is an adapter that is configured to removably engage the outside of the gun barrel and includes a conduit formed therein. The conduit is disposed such that it is axially aligned with a bore of the gun barrel when the external bore guide is engaged with the gun barrel. The internal bore guide is elongated and includes an axial recess that is sized to seat an electro-processing electrode (an anode). A method for uniformly plating the bore includes moving an anode through the gun barrel at one or more rate(s) of travel to uniformly plate the bore is also disclosed. The plating is sufficiently uniform to conform to military specifications. The systems, methods, support structures, etc. described herein are particularly well-suited to plating small-bore gun barrels.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.