Better Way to Spray

That durable, attractive polymer-ceramic Cerakote finish found on Daniel Defense firearms and accessories is (pardon the pun) the finishing touch when it comes to legendary Daniel Defense quality. But our founder, Marty Daniel, who’s always looking down the line—both the proverbial and manufacturing one—wasn’t content to simply apply a high-quality protective coating to the products bearing his name. He was equally concerned with how the Cerakote finish was applied.

So he turned to robots.

While many manufacturers use a manual process to Cerakote their products, which can result in flaws, inconsistent coverage, and variability that create undo waste, Marty had a state-of-the-art, in-house robotic Cerakote line installed at Daniel Defense’s manufacturing plant. This precision robotic application process greatly improves the consistency and quality of our Cerakote finishes, resulting in the high-quality, top-functioning, and just plain eye-catching weapons and accessories that have made Daniel Defense a world-renown brand.

Just bringing the Cerakote application process in-house is a rarity in the firearm world.

Of course, before a single Cerakote-applying robot ever made its way onto the manufacturing floor, Daniel Defense engaged in exhaustive testing to develop a robotic application process that could guarantee a finish quality that met our off-the-charts standards. It wasn’t easy, or cheap, but controlling and optimizing every aspect of our manufacturing process, right down to how the protective finish is applied, is one of the many things that make Daniel Defense exceptional among firearm manufacturers. Just bringing the Cerakote application process in-house is a rarity in the firearm world—let alone incorporating robots—as most manufacturers send their parts to outside vendors for Cerakote finishing.

Each and every Daniel Defense part that gets coated by one of our robots has a computer program specific to the geometry of that particular part type, and each part path is completely unique. Along with controlling the part path, the robot also dials in the perfect air pressure and speed during the spraying process to ensure the optimal coating. This is important not only to get a flawless finish but also because different Cerakote colors have different attributes, so application variables such as thickness, the application path, speed, and spray pressure must be set and controlled with surgical precision.

In addition to the highest-quality Cerakote finish possible, Marty’s spraying robots offer one more major benefit: They help get Daniel Defense products to market quicker. You see, our robots make the Cerakote-finishing process so much more efficient that we’re able to produce more parts, and consequently more rifles, in less time. Which means we get our firearms and accessories out our doors and into the hands of our customers as soon as possible.

Which makes us very happy.

Because, while Daniel Defense takes great pride in the quality of the products we produce, we also value meeting deadlines and on-time delivery. After all, that’s why we incorporate the latest technology and forward-thinking manufacturing processes in the first place—to get our world-class firearms to discerning customers who appreciate them every bit as much as we do.