well this is Dave.... the guy who owns Tennessee Arms Company
We had some initial issues that we are doing everything we can to fix. Rome wasnt built in a day and doing something that has never been done before is far from easy.
The reasons for having a polymer lower receiver are the exact same as the reasons for having a polymer lower on a pistol. There are significant weight savings and the material is much more resilient. There is zero reasons that the lower receiver needs to be metal. There are zero reasons for the upper receiver to be anything but metal.
The last post was about having metal reinforcement in the RE and pistol grip areas.. Its already been incorporated into our design and we have the patent filed for it. No other company will be able to run a threaded metallic insert in polymer once the patent issues. Until then we are having to suffer through having competition.
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Polymer itself has some interesting properties that arent a concern when dealing with metal. The shrinkage rates vary according to the temperature of the injection material and the time of the shot. The greatest change is from the temperature of the injection mold and the cooling of the part after extracting it from the mold. That is where our initial issues were coming from. My personal rifle is the sixth one that was ever produced on our mold and everything works fine. A few dozen more into it we started seeing variation of about .02" in shrinkage variation in some places and .018" in others depending on the manufacturing process.
We have altered our mold tolerances to produce a part within mil-spec manufacturing tolerance using a predetermined process. We have our bugs worked out now. while we are constantly improving our process and product the main issues we were having have been resolved.
As for if people will accept a polymer lower industry wide is not really a concern. My concern is making a high quality part that is as tough and reliable as I can. I think I have done that. My receiver can be nearly crushed in a vice and still drop a mag free. The are also more rugged than a forged lower. They are capable of taking far more abuse and remaining within operational tolerance.
I understand the polymer lowers have gotten a bad rap... Im a shooter I get it. That wasnt my company or me. Im not going to allow a product like that to have my name on it.
If you ever have any questions, comments, or even criticism of my receivers please let me know.... I wont get butthurt..
Dave Roberts
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