I don’t think they’ve made it past 80 rounds with a printed lower receiver before it cracked. At this point it would be more like a throw away gun.
One can do a lot with 80 well aimed rounds.
“I don’t think they’ve made it past 80 rounds with a printed lower receiver before it cracked.”
That is strictly a developmental problem. Go to greater wall thickness in the weak areas, sprinkle a few glass or Kevlar fibers between printed layers.
Lots of possible solutions.
> “I don’t think they’ve made it past 80 rounds with a printed lower receiver before it cracked.”
The first one made cracked in something like 3 or 4 rounds. It was an exact duplicate of the AR15 receiver only in plastic. Some changes were made to reinforce it at the weak point (which means it is no longer MIL spec dimensionally, but it still worked), and it made it to much higher rounds.
I have no doubt that they will work in some more dimensional changes and it will get to even more rounds. In addition, there are metal 3-D printing machines available now (but not at a reasonably low cost) that will become even more available in the next few years. The only reason this is happening now is that plastic 3-D machines are available at reasonably low cost.
Gun companies had better be looking into this technique if they want to stay in business. The music and movie industry did not deal with the “new information age” and they are having problems because they did not adapt.
Remember when lost wax castings came into being. The old companies would have no part of it. Some are no longer here. Several others are struggling. A new company (Ruger) did not invent it, but embraced it wholeheartedly. Look where they are now.
That they went from nothing to 80 rounds in a few months of part time puttering should be rather sobering.
Won’t be long before those chinchy little 3D printers are churning out solid metal parts ready for tempering.
Learning Curve ~ they’re just starting ~