http://polymer80.com/

An 80% lower in polymer.  3D printed it seems.  Or maybe that's just the prototype.

Any thoughts from the hive mind?

The design looks very promising...time will tell though. I would like to know what polymer composition they are using with their design.
They did state that they are using metal reinforcing for the threaded areas, which is a good thing of course...One of the pluses of
polymer is the "self lubricating (depending one which formulation they are using) aspects of the material...hhhmmm.

if they make these things cheap enough they would be good practice for those of us who haven't a clue of how to do the 80% route. I'll borrow my dad's bench press and tinker with this if i can get them for 20 dollars.

$70? No thanks.

Very likely not 3D printed.  They would have been available already.  
Looks like injection or transfer molded.  

Jig is almost certainly injection molded.  Molds are not terribly cheap but, pay for themselves with sales numbers.

Plastic lower??  No thanks.

There is a long discussion on Calguns about this.  http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=752698
The prototype pictured is printed, actual part will be molded with some new super secret, high tech, proprietary method to avoid sinks and voids in the thick plastic.  
Apparently the molds are being built right now.  IMO, they are a little optimistic on the time frame but whatever.  
The plastic jig will be a one time use jig and will come with it's own bits designed for the jig.  The company rep seems pretty good about keeping people updated and valuing feedback.
An AR10 version is on the drawing board as well.

I went ahead and ordered one.  If nothing else, I expect to have some fun with it.  And it's not gonna break the bank.

Plastic, mmm-hmmm, would make a great .22lr plinker toy. Toys are made of plastic, and tools are made of metal. :) and for the glock fellas,... 1911's all the way FTW!

Hi all,

My name is Loran and I actually own Polymer80 and I came across this thread through a google search.

I read through the entire thread and wanted to chime in, if I may, and clear some things up:

First... these are NOT 3d printed, our prototypes were in order to make sure that all of our measurements were perfect before investing 10s of thousands on the mold.

These will be injection molded with some very innovative molding techniques using nothing but the highest quality, impact resistant and industry proven polymers. You would be surprised to find out what kind of cheap polymers are used on some polymer lowers on the market.

To the best of my knowledge this is the ONLY polymer lower designed from scratch to be made from polymer specifically. If you look at the FMK, New Frontier or Plum Crazy, its a near-clone of a mil-spec/forged lower. Ours is beefed up considerably where other polymers have failed. Couple that with the higher end polymer and its (quite literally) bullet-proof.

All the smaller threads (the pistol grip and our bolt-catch pin is threaded) are stainless steel molded into the lower. These threads are more durable that what you get out of forged aluminum lowers.

The Jig system is what we are REALLY proud of... You do not need a mill or CNC. You need a vice and a hand drill. All the specialized bits come with the jig. The design makes impossible to drill too deep, keeps the bits straight and from "walking", you get near to perfect finish every time and the lower is finished in a fraction of the time.

Polymers, when done correctly (and they RARELY are), in many ways is better and stronger than metal. This is why FN builds the scar completely out of polymer (upper and lower), why Ruger has stopped making the 10/22 out of metal and is using polymer, more and more modern firarms are going polymer because when done right... it is better.

Another benefit is we can crank these out at MUCH MUCH faster rate. So shortages are not a problem here.

Anyway I hope that addresses most/all of your concerns. If I missed anything, please let me know here. Thanks everyone for discussing my product! I think this is awesome! I welcome even the most harsh critics, you will only make our product better!

Also FYI, AR10 and 1911 are under development as we speak, and yes... polymer!

Thanks!!
-Loran

VERY interesting idea.

The jig is "one-time use" ?  

The site needs a bit of information re: finishing the lower.  The jig looks like it guides the initial drilling out of the FCG pocket, but I can't see where the jig assists in finishing the pocket to spec.  (I could be blind, and it may be there.)

Again, very interesting.  I'm certainly interested for some rimfire/handgun caliber builds.

Amen to that.  Of my 25 guns not a single one
is plastic.  I am not sure why the craze for plastic,
esp on rifles.  I'm sort of an oddball though.

I might pick one up for a .22, but not at $70...

At least they did their homework and beefed up some of the problem areas with polymer lowers...

My New frontier armory poly lower has held u fine to hundreds of rounds in my 7.5" 5.56 pistol and I also put my 7.62x39 upper on it and shot a mag through it........

Now lay it across a ditch and put a little weight on it, as if it were slung and you fell on it...

Generally not the kind of thing folks do with their expensive toys.  I suspect that any AR, polymer or metal, could be trashed if you did that to it.  Somehow I doubt that many people are going to be taking this into combat, or even into difficult terrain.

I ordered one; $70.00 isn't all that much money.  Certainly doesn't seem like too much to pay to try out something new that might be interesting and fun, and maybe end up with a functioning lower.  Or a pile of plastic scraps.  Never gonna know until you try.

Ya this would jack up just about any lower, you could say the same thing about billet lowers but because they cost $200+ and they look tacticool no one does. I say go for it just to try, every new product needs a Guinea pig at some point and worst case scenario you're out $85 (assuming you have to buy a jig).

Very interesting reading about this and it seems it could even be workable. I might even buy one to try it out just because.. I definitely like the design better than some of the others that I have seen.

I know there are some Nay-sayers at the $70 price point (actually that is discounted for the pre order the real price will be $80). This is not your typical polymer lower receiver..  It is made from better polymers, the design is WAY better than any other polymer AND we have added other features such as stainless steel threads both on the pistol grip and on bolt catch pin holes. We include the threaded pin for the bolt catch as well. In addition to all of this, we back it up with a life time warranty.

Even at $80 it is less than most other 80%ers out there and at they end of the day... better. I do appreciate all those that are participating in the pre order and to the rest of you, I encourage you to stay tuned to what we are doing and as we produce our torture-test videos and the reviews come flooding in, I am confident that you will see this as an awesome deal for $80.

Again, I am open to any questions you may have and even suggestions and constructive criticism.

Thanks again for all your interest here! This is great!

I said a little weight, not jumping up and down on it.  Just a common sense test for something that may have to take a bump every now and then, such as falling off the rifle rack or shooting bench or survive someone tripping over themselves walking through the woods.  I didn't say run it over with a truck.

If it were that easy to destroy a forged lower, we wouldn't have been using them in the .mil for 40 years.

I DO believe that a polymer lower designed like this can take a lot more abuse than the rash of crappy plastic lowers that everyone has been eating up in the last few years.
Vulcan, Plum Crazy, Omni, etc.

Ok I got ya, I was imagining someone laying it down in a rut and falling full weight onto it. Maybe the manufacturer could graciously show us some stress test videos involving their product so that the customer doesn't have to test the durability themselves...


Edit: apparently I missed polymer80's last post

Had an awesome interview with "Dude" from 80sPodCastChannel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zft3jfFOf3U

I think it's an awesome idea. About time someone else made a polymer lower that was actually designed to be made of polymer not just a spec for spec copy of a metal lower.

The 80% aspect and the ability to complete it in your garage with a hand drill is pretty damn awesome as well, and worth the money IMO if they prove to be reliable and high quality.

Lifetime warranty is telling also.

I think the price point is fine. I'm going to pick one of theese up. I will be a little more critical than others as I make plastic injection molds. Glad to see that they have beefed up problem areas. The jig looks interesting, not shure if i'm 100% sold on that yet.

I do admit that i;m suprised that there is a lifetime warranty on it. You are relying on the customer to finish the last 20%, and do it correctly.