03312004 LLC has secured a major milestone in the Machine Die and Tool, and Defense industry with a newly patented firearm design. This innovation focuses on the patent titled ‘Rifle with tapered interfaces’, which won Swanson Reed’s Patent of the Month for February 2026 because it is an outstanding invention in this industry. The patent describes a rifle utilizing stably tapered interfaces to generate a secure wedging effect.

Advancing Firearm Mechanics

Abstract: A rifle with tapered interfaces has a receiver, a barrel extension connected to the receiver at a first interface, a barrel connected to the barrel extension at a second interface, a barrel nut element connected to the barrel extension at a third interface and to the barrel at a fourth interface, and at least two of the first, second, third, and fourth interfaces being tapered interfaces. The tapered interfaces may be stably tapered such that a wedging effect is generated. The barrel extension may have two tapered interfaces. The barrel extension may have a forward external tapered interface connecting to the barrel nut element and a forward internal tapered interface connecting to the barrel.

Meeting U.S. R&D Tax Credit Rules

This outstanding invention qualifies for the U.S. Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit by satisfying the IRS Four-Part Test:

• Permitted Purpose: The research aimed to create a new or fundamentally improved product, specifically enhancing the stability, alignment, and long-term durability of a rifle assembly.
• Technological in Nature: The development process fundamentally relies on the hard sciences, specifically mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and physics, to manage recoil forces and induce a stable wedging effect.
• Elimination of Uncertainty: At the outset of the project, there was technical uncertainty regarding the exact taper angles, component tolerances, and interface locations needed to achieve the wedging effect without causing material failure.
• Process of Experimentation: The company engaged in an iterative process of CAD modeling, prototype machining, stress testing, and evaluating alternative interface designs to finalize the four specific interfaces described in the patent.

3 Practical R&D Applications for this Patent

1. Prototyping Optimal Taper Angles: Engineering teams conducting iterative physical and digital testing to determine the precise degree of taper required at the third and fourth interfaces. Evaluating different angles to find the exact geometry that produces a stable wedging effect—without causing the components to seize permanently or fracture under thermal expansion—is a qualifying R&D activity.
2. Stress and Metallurgical Testing: Experimenting with various advanced alloys and heat treatments. Because the “wedging effect” introduces unique radial and axial stresses on the barrel extension and receiver, testing multiple material combinations to ensure they can withstand high-pressure, repeated firing cycles without deformation directly qualifies as R&D.
3. Developing Precision Machining Processes: Designing new manufacturing techniques or custom CNC tooling required to reliably mass-produce the internal and external tapers on the barrel extension. Overcoming the manufacturing uncertainties of holding ultra-tight tolerances on dual-tapered components represents a clear process of experimentation.