RL-1100 Changes when adding Mark 7 Autodrive

[Highpowerindiana]

I have a Mark 7 autodrive on order, and will be installing it soon on my RL-1100.  I have a couple of questions, and looking for input on changes others have made to the RL-1100 when adding the autodrive.

1.  I've read to remove the toolhead spring and spring tube, as they are not needed with an autodrive.  Recommendations?

2. Since the drive will index the shellplate fully, why do I need the index ball?  As most users know, it snaps the shellplate into position and causes cases to wobble.  This is not conducive to keeping bullets seated on the case, or not spilling powder.  It just seems to me that I could remove the index ball completely.

3. Other recommendations on things to do prior to automating.

 

Dave

[HOGRIDER]

23 minutes ago, Highpowerindiana said:

I have a Mark 7 autodrive on order, and will be installing it soon on my RL-1100.  I have a couple of questions, and looking for input on changes others have made to the RL-1100 when adding the autodrive.

1.  I've read to remove the toolhead spring and spring tube, as they are not needed with an autodrive.  Recommendations?

2. Since the drive will index the shellplate fully, why do I need the index ball?  As most users know, it snaps the shellplate into position and causes cases to wobble.  This is not conducive to keeping bullets seated on the case, or not spilling powder.  It just seems to me that I could remove the index ball completely.

3. Other recommendations on things to do prior to automating.

 

Dave

Having moved from the RL1100 to a manually operated Apex10 for the last year, I have the autodrive coming for installation in the next coupe of days.  Like you, I've also had several questions that I have discussed at length with Mark 7 support.  IMO, they should be your first resource for specific questions as they have an extremely helpful/knowledgeable staff! 

 

I too questioned removal of the tool head spring on the Apex 10, and was told it is now recommended leave the spring in place since the tool head is carrying/supporting a lot of weight.  And, the Autodrive has the option to be manually placed into "neutral".  Of course check your Manual for the specifics.  Also note in this recent YouTube video, Gavin leaves the spring/tube in place:

 

 

With regards to your shellplate index ball, I also think you'll want to leave that in place as the Autodrive offers "Index Speed" adjustments in the tablet that allow the user to slow down the shellplate rotation speed in order to prevent/eliminate powder spill/case wobble/toppling bullets!

 

Quote

INDEX SPEED - The INDEX SPEED function allows the operator the ability to incrementally reduce the index speed of the shell plate. The higher the value in the INDEX SPEED field the slower the shell plate will index.

 

Right off the top of my head, there are several things that come to mind prior to adding the Autodrive.  Definitely remove the RL1100's ratchet system (Page 14 of the Owner's Manual).  Would also give the press AND priming system a thorough cleaning and lubrication.  

 

On thing that's very important, IMO, is to cycle your RL1100 manually and make sure you have "NO" dies touching the shell plate when the press is at the bottom of the stroke/toolhead all the way down!  During initial calibration, which is one of the first steps during setup, the autodrive needs to find the top and bottom limits of the travel of the toolhead via the press's internal stops. After this calibration, it will then set the press's travel limits about .005" off/less than those two mechanical stops.  Then you can set/readjust your dies to achieve your desired results. 

 

HTHs!

[shred]

FWIW, I leave the toolhead spring and ball in place on my Mark 7 1050.  Loaded nearly 300K rounds like that w/o problems.  The Mark 7 is just automating the handle pull, so you still need something to stop the shellplate from overrunning if it gets loose.

 

[m700]

The ball needs to stay as the shell pate is not on a motor it is pushed to index and the ball locks it into where it needs to go

[Highpowerindiana]

23 hours ago, HOGRIDER said:

Having moved from the RL1100 to a manually operated Apex10 for the last year, I have the autodrive coming for installation in the next coupe of days.  Like you, I've also had several questions that I have discussed at length with Mark 7 support.  IMO, they should be your first resource for specific questions as they have an extremely helpful/knowledgeable staff! 

 

I too questioned removal of the tool head spring on the Apex 10, and was told it is now recommended leave the spring in place since the tool head is carrying/supporting a lot of weight.  And, the Autodrive has the option to be manually placed into "neutral".  Of course check your Manual for the specifics.  Also note in this recent YouTube video, Gavin leaves the spring/tube in place:

 

 

With regards to your shellplate index ball, I also think you'll want to leave that in place as the Autodrive offers "Index Speed" adjustments in the tablet that allow the user to slow down the shellplate rotation speed in order to prevent/eliminate powder spill/case wobble/toppling bullets!

 

 

Right off the top of my head, there are several things that come to mind prior to adding the Autodrive.  Definitely remove the RL1100's ratchet system (Page 14 of the Owner's Manual).  Would also give the press AND priming system a thorough cleaning and lubrication.  

 

On thing that's very important, IMO, is to cycle your RL1100 manually and make sure you have "NO" dies touching the shell plate when the press is at the bottom of the stroke/toolhead all the way down!  During initial calibration, which is one of the first steps during setup, the autodrive needs to find the top and bottom limits of the travel of the toolhead via the press's internal stops. After this calibration, it will then set the press's travel limits about .005" off/less than those two mechanical stops.  Then you can set/readjust your dies to achieve your desired results. 

 

HTHs!

Thanks HogRider and Shred!  I'll probably leave the spring in place, and definitely the detent ball.  I happened to think, without the detent ball, the plate could move during the upstroke.  I have completely cleaned and lubed while I await the autodrive.  I also removed the ratchet quite a while ago, so it will stay off.

Dave

[HOGRIDER]

4 hours ago, Highpowerindiana said:

Thanks HogRider and Shred!  I'll probably leave the spring in place, and definitely the detent ball.  I happened to think, without the detent ball, the plate could move during the upstroke.  I have completely cleaned and lubed while I await the autodrive.  I also removed the ratchet quite a while ago, so it will stay off.

Dave

You'll love the Autodrive!

 

 

[Tom Freeman]

I trimmed the spring under the detent ball so there is less "snap."

 

There is still pressure to keep the shellplate lined up, but not as much.

[ddc]

Think of it this way...Even after you get your auto drive all tuned up it won't be 100% perfect as it isn't perfect when you run it manually either.

 

The auto drive (or your manual lever) will move your shell plate somewhere between about 99.5% and 100.5% of the theoretical perfect distance it needs to rotate.

(Yes I'm pulling those numbers out of my ... )

 

The index ball and spring is what makes that last little bit of correction to get the shell plate just right before the indexing pin comes down.

 

You don't want the indexing pin coming down on a shell plate that isn't perfectly indexed. The indexing pin can accommodate a bit of misalignment but do not rely upon the indexing pin to perform the last little bit of indexing for you; it is there more to lock the shell plate in place while the dies do their thing. Ideally the indexing pin should be hitting nothing but air as it comes down through the shell plate.

 

At least that's the way I see it.

 

And very important: Don't bother hooking up your drive until you've got the RL1100 to the point where it is error free when run manually. No more than 1 issue per 1000 rounds or thereabouts...you will be surprised at how many issues you just deal with when running manually and you just never think about it. When running auto those become big deal irritants if not show stoppers.

[esquared]

I just put a mark 7 drive on my super 1050 and I bought a CP2000 with a dillon autodrive. Dillon tells you to remove the spring and rod and mark7 says to not remove it with their drive. I left it on and have had no issues with it so far. Only issue is getting the case mouth opened up enough so I can speed it up without the bullet falling over. Suepr hardened expanding funnel for for bucks that doesnt ever stick sticks every time. Last issue to deal with.

[HOGRIDER]

@esquared Inquired to M7 Tech Support about removing the spring since I was adding automation. Here's the reply I received from upper level support:

Quote

Even after moving to automation, we do still recommend the use of the toolhead spring. It helps to keep the toolhead in the up position when press is turned off, in neutral, or if communication is lost. This is to make sure the toolhead does not come down unexpectedly, especially if performing maintenance or clearing any malfunctions.

I have left the spring installed.  During my initial testing and final sensor(s) setup, press and autodrive are excellent in operation.  Placed the drive in "neutral" for a final belt adjustment; and the toolhead had zero sag/movement.

 

BTW:  after almost 10 years of using a Dillon Powder Measure on 650s, an RL1100, and now the Apex 10; a polished Photo Escape powder funnel along with some Hornady One Shot has proven stick/problem free with the MBF loading 45acp and primarily 9mm!

 

 

[Cuz]

Damn, you guys have me thinking I should take my auto drive out of the box and install it on my 1100. Now that the 2 year warranty has expired I suppose it’s safe to deploy.  But first I gotta give my press a good cleaning, but before that I need to clean enough of my loading room so that I can get to my press to clean it…

 

It seems precision rimfire “stuff” has sort of taken over my loading room lately. 

[HOGRIDER]

35 minutes ago, Cuz said:

Damn, you guys have me thinking I should take my auto drive out of the box and install it on my 1100. Now that the 2 year warranty has expired I suppose it’s safe to deploy.  But first I gotta give my press a good cleaning, but before that I need to clean enough of my loading room so that I can get to my press to clean it…

 

It seems precision rimfire “stuff” has sort of taken over my loading room lately. 

@CuzYou have the Mark 7 Autodrive for your 1100?  If so, IMO, you'll love it once you get it set up and in production!  

 

 

[Cuz]

2 hours ago, HOGRIDER said:

@CuzYou have the Mark 7 Autodrive for your 1100?  If so, IMO, you'll love it once you get it set up and in production!  

 

 

Thanks, right now it’s just laughing at me from across the room. I need to get my butt in gear soon, or I’ll have to shoot factory ammo when the spring season gets here. 

[HOGRIDER]

1 hour ago, Cuz said:

Thanks, right now it’s just laughing at me from across the room. I need to get my butt in gear soon, or I’ll have to shoot factory ammo when the spring season gets here. 

 

[esquared]

On 12/17/2023 at 10:39 AM, Highpowerindiana said:

I have a Mark 7 autodrive on order, and will be installing it soon on my RL-1100.  I have a couple of questions, and looking for input on changes others have made to the RL-1100 when adding the autodrive.

1.  I've read to remove the toolhead spring and spring tube, as they are not needed with an autodrive.  Recommendations?

2. Since the drive will index the shellplate fully, why do I need the index ball?  As most users know, it snaps the shellplate into position and causes cases to wobble.  This is not conducive to keeping bullets seated on the case, or not spilling powder.  It just seems to me that I could remove the index ball completely.

3. Other recommendations on things to do prior to automating.

 

Dave

 

I still use the spring on my Mark7 for my super 1050, tried it without and the tool head will go down sometimes while stopped. My CP2000 processr I took the spring out and it stays up even when not used for 2 months, not going to stay up on the 1100 without it.

 

On the detent ball it also stops the shellplate in position however remove the spring and cut it down the where it barely catches it. Also right under the station where the bullet drop is there is a small hole that allows you to adjust the stop for the feed pawl.

 

Another thing I would do is replace the crappy primer arm with the one from FW arms. I have ripped my primer magazine off the press 3 times now. It will happen if you dont make this change. I also pre prime brass and store them in a bucket so I dont have to deal with dirt from actual loading jamming up my primer slide, I have done runs of 25,000 cases primed with no issues and when priming in one pass you will get jammed.

 

Usually on large runs I have to stop, tear the press down and clean between 6 and 10,000 rounds when priming, on a autodrive clean is really important.

 

I am halfway through a run of 25000 9mm and this is the first time I have not had to do a tear down before 10K rounds.

 

[esquared]

On 12/22/2023 at 10:11 AM, Cuz said:

Damn, you guys have me thinking I should take my auto drive out of the box and install it on my 1100. Now that the 2 year warranty has expired I suppose it’s safe to deploy.  But first I gotta give my press a good cleaning, but before that I need to clean enough of my loading room so that I can get to my press to clean it…

 

It seems precision rimfire “stuff” has sort of taken over my loading room lately. 

The key to making a autodrive really run is preprocessed and pre primed brass. Clean it, prime everything you have, clean again and run ammo. Otherwise you will have issues. Also get a FW arms prime time.

[Cuz]

6 hours ago, esquared said:

The key to making a autodrive really run is preprocessed and pre primed brass. Clean it, prime everything you have, clean again and run ammo. Otherwise you will have issues. Also get a FW arms prime time.

Thanks, I have switched to 2 pass reloading on the 1100, but I’m only decapping, swaging, and sizing on the first pass. 
 

I don’t have the Prime Time, but my PAL Filler does a very good job filling my primer tubes. Although I just ordered an FW Arms shell plate over the weekend. We’ll see how that affects the process. 
 

[slavex]

I remove the big spring, nothing I hate more than hearing that thing squeak as the machine is cycling. I tried lubes, different springs etc, and it still squeaked annoyingly. Adding in the bushing from Immortobot also keeps the toolhead aligned better with less twisting. 

[Cuz]

Have any of you guys replaced your case feed plunger?  Getting 9mm cases into the shell plate seems to be the source of most of my hangups lately when running manually. I’m not sure why it’s happening. I do have an FW Arms shell plate in the way, and expect to have my replacement drive motor from Mark7 arriving tomorrow, so I’d like to resolve this before converting the 1100 back to autodrive. 

[ddc]

9 hours ago, Cuz said:

Have any of you guys replaced your case feed plunger?  Getting 9mm cases into the shell plate seems to be the source of most of my hangups lately when running manually. I’m not sure why it’s happening. I do have an FW Arms shell plate in the way, and expect to have my replacement drive motor from Mark7 arriving tomorrow, so I’d like to resolve this before converting the 1100 back to autodrive. 

 

I replaced my case feed plunger spring with a cut-down 1911 spring.

I also try to set my shell plate with 0.018 to 0.020 of clearance when measured at the small cut out in the frame to the left of the case ejector tab.

[Tom Freeman]

So far the best change I have made is the Lithium Arms Wear Plate/Case Ejector.

 

Absolute magic.

 

1,000% not needed on a "not" automated Dillon.