Materials of Weapons

Date: Wed, 30 Nov 1994 23:40:13 -0500
From: CyHiggin@aol.com
Subject: Materials of Weapons

This is an enhancement of the original article posted by Lahtinen Antti;
I propose that as new materials and the technology to machine them
are developed, older materials become easier to machine.  After all, if
you can machine tungsten, soft steel is trivial.

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In FFS weapon design section there is no information about the materials
used in weapons.  However, modern barrels and receivers can be made of
various different materials to produce lighter and more compact weapons.
 Alternative materials can be used in CPR and ETC small arms, but they
should not be used in other weapon systems.

I assume that all weapon design tables in FFS are calculated by using
Hard Steel as weapon building material.  The following table shows the
weight and price modifiers for various materials that can be used in
barrels and receivers (and tech level of introduction/tech level of
improvement).  For price mod, the number to the left is the price at TL
of INTRODUCTION, and the number on the right is the price at TL of
IMPROVEMENT on.
_______________________________________________________
 Material Type   TL      Weight  Price

 Iron            3/4     1.33    1.06/0.8   Probably used in black-powder
                                                      weapons
 Soft Steel      4/5     1.18    0.944/0.8
 Hard Steel      5/6     1.00    1.0/1.0    The most common weapon
                                                        material
 Light Alloy     6/10    0.88    2.35/2.0   Common receiver material
 Titanium Alloy  6/10    0.67    5.0/3.33   Used in rifle barrels
 Light Composite 7/8     0.44    3.5/1.75
 Comp. Laminate  8/10    0.33    4.0/1.33
 Crystaliron     10/12   0.31    4.5/1.125
 Superdense      12/14   0.27    7.0/1.0
____________________________________________________

The weight modifier is derived from FFS page 38 'Vehicle and Craft
Construction Materials' table by calculating how much material is needed
to get the same Toughness as Hard Steel has.  The price modifier is
taken directly from FFS table, and, at TL of Introduction it is not
multiplied by weight modifier to show that it is difficult and expensive
to machine tougher materials.  At TL of Improvement, it is multiplied by
the weight modifier to show that machining technology has improved
enough in the meantime that it is no longer especially difficult to
machine this material.

Note:    currently there are many weapons with Hard Steel barrels and
Light Alloy receivers, and some companies are manufacturing titanium
barrels for rifles.

Source: Lahtinen Antti <al76188@proffa.cc.tut.fi>
with modifications by Cynthia Higginbotham <cyhiggin@aol.com>