Amazing Engineering Breakthrough!

op, that is the interesting thing about engineering breakthroughs, they do exist and they do change things and most folks don't get it until its done. I have no trouble believing things can be improved significantly. Who would have ever thought that coning the bottom of a grain bin would make the shovel obsolete? Can't wait to find out what it is. For all the naysayers, progress is for some, not all.
 
I wonder if its just Magpul coming out with their lowers. At one point I remember seeing some pictures of some prototypes being released..
 
SCDL said:
What about modern ceramics?

Or perhaps additive manufacturing processes like 3d printing?
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Ceramics are great for some applications, but they would not work well if at all in the application of making AR-15 lowers. The material is brittle and would not fare well against the high and low cycle fatigue.

Most engineering application of materials require some form of warning that a part is going to fail. In the case of ceramics, they fail suddenly and catastrophically. This would not be great in a rifle, as your next round could be the guns last, and potentially yours last as well.

Interesting that you mention 3D printing. The materials used in that have great properties. It depends on the machine and the application, but 3D printers in fact can are sometimes used to manufacture functioning parts in short order. The only way to know if it would work would be to have a materials and manufacturing engineer run out the numbers and material specs.
 
I've been shooting these for more than the past year in Az and they run like a top, super light, and not one malfunction with bushmaster upper and 16" barrel.
There's nothing wrong with these, and they sell like hotcakes: you can't beat $99 for the complete lower or aroung $450 for the whole gun! Never had one problem with the polymer internals either, and they have demo guns that have been firing full auto for the past 2years or more in prototype. The guy who makes them tells me they haven't been able to break them. Fyi, they also make boat propellers out of the same stuff and that's for sterndrives pushing hundreds of ft.lbs of torque. Can't say these worry me too much!:D
 
Plastic is ghey! Metal lowers in Canada are cheap as it is, $139 for a Blue Line or Aero Precision.... I mean really, why would anyone want a plastic rifle. If it's solely based on price, you my friend are in the wrong hobby. If it's the 2lbs of weight savings, then you need to hit the gym once and a while. The plastic lower makes me cringe, it's like a knock off for cheap skates. Reminds me of fake oakleys for some reason...

As far as this magical breakthrough, if it ain't plastic then it's off shore junk. Surprise #### ### the magical break through is child labor. IF its American made, It's a moot point anyway, once it crosses the boarder the "importing" costs wash any savings away. How much cheaper can you get really? A RRA AR is like 800 bucks US, same with all the other entry level AR's...

This is not news.
 
TangoDown made poly lowers for SCAR.

Nothing new.

The Plum Crazy lowers are very flexible -- we got one at work to look at, lets just say I won't be getting one...


For MIM work - you could MIM Magnesium in a lower, which from my understanding does not have an issue like Aluminum for this aspect.

However MIM work especially for precision parts often needs to be re-worked after it is cast, which can pull any cost savings out of doing it that way.

The lower however is not a cost driver on the AR...
Nor the weight area.

Much ado about nothing, IMHO
 
50calshooter said:
Plastic is ghey! Metal lowers in Canada are cheap as it is, $139 for a Blue Line or Aero Precision.... I mean really, why would anyone want a plastic rifle. If it's solely based on price, you my friend are in the wrong hobby. If it's the 2lbs of weight savings, then you need to hit the gym once and a while. The plastic lower makes me cringe, it's like a knock off for cheap skates. Reminds me of fake oakleys for some reason...

As far as this magical breakthrough, if it ain't plastic then it's off shore junk. Surprise #### ### the magical break through is child labor. IF its American made, It's a moot point anyway, once it crosses the boarder the "importing" costs wash any savings away. How much cheaper can you get really? A RRA AR is like 800 bucks US, same with all the other entry level AR's...

This is not news.
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2lbs is a great weight saving when you are humping a 50lb pack up a mountain in Afghanistan. Hell they are spending big bucks to shave ounces off of gear.
 
Colin said:
2lbs is a great weight saving when you are humping a 50lb pack up a mountain in Afghanistan. Hell they are spending big bucks to shave ounces off of gear.
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True, but I just threw that number out for conversation sake. I highly doubt it's two pounds difference. At any rate, if I was hiking mountains in Astan, I think I would feel more comfortable having the extra weight of a metal gun rather then a lighter plastic "plum crazy" one. You'd feel pretty dumb if you slipped and smashed your lower on a rock...

This plastic lower thing really is plum crazy.
 
50calshooter said:
True, but I just threw that number out for conversation sake. I highly doubt it's two pounds difference. At any rate, if I was hiking mountains in Astan, I think I would feel more comfortable having the extra weight of a metal gun rather then a lighter plastic "plum crazy" one. You'd feel pretty dumb if you slipped and smashed your lower on a rock...
This plastic lower thing really is plum crazy.
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In your line of thinking i would rather have a cracked lower that still worked than a dented lower that you couldn't change mags! If i so smashed it on a rock!!!
 
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