>>
|
No. 112708
ID: 20f3d2
>>112706
The plastic you are referring sounds more like plastic resin reinforced and infused with fiberglass. Some plastics have been reinforced with wood fibers and even cotton and asbestos (an East German car called the Trabant that had body panels from plastic mixed with recycled cotton from old Soviet coveralls that was truly horrible). I remember a Bakelite compound for experimental Armalites were infused with a fine mesh of steel wires, but I have not read that fiber-reinforced polymers are used with contemporary pistols.
The actual composition of polymers used in pistol parts and frames are proprietary and closely-guarded trade secrets of the manufacturers, so it is difficult to discuss the merits and deficiencies of one polymer over another. I remember reading about Heckler and Koch introduced the polymer framed VP-70 pistol in the mid-1970s, but the real revolution began with the Glock G17 of 1983. Not only did Glock use plastic material for the frame, it was used for a number of the smaller parts, as well. It seemed to have exceeded the skeptics' expectations as many range Glocks are reported to have had hundreds of thousands of rounds shot by them without incident.
Plastic offers far less tensile strength, making it more susceptible to catastrophic failure than either steel or aluminum. While over-pressure cartridges can damage steel or aluminum framed pistols, there are many more reports of polymer-framed pistols suffering explosive destruction, due to the material itself failing. These instances are relatively rare, considering the sheer number of polymer pistols sold, but the numbers are still significant. https://www.chuckhawks.com/pistol_construction_materials.htm
For many, plastic is the way to go as it offers corrosion proof construction, light weight, durability and lower manufacture cost. But there have been notable failures of polymers that have dissolved when electric tape has been applied to them, or those that split or crumble under firing pressure. And some people just hate the sharper recoil felt from lightweight polymer firearms.
Polymer or Metal frame: Which is Better at Recoil and Controllability? https://youtu.be/9HOa_Ah_Rn0
|