Friday, April 27, 2012
PLASTIC PISTOL post by Ian Tsao
I recently submitted my term paper on the material
diversity of the GLOCK handgun?s frame and slide. Unlike most handguns, whose
frames are made of steel, the GLOCK utilizes a Nylon 6 based polymer material,
giving the frame a plastic look and earning GLOCK the unfortunate and erroneous
nickname of the ?plastic pistol?.
Despite what critics believe, the GLOCK?s frame is significantly more
resilient to the elements and blunt force trauma than a traditional steel frame,
given its high compressive strength and inability to rust or corrode. With this in mind, do you believe it would be
possible to develop a ?plastic pistol? or, to be more specific, a pistol whose
external and internal mechanisms were based completely off non- metallic
materials? What materials do you think could withstand the impulsive recoil of
the ignited gun powder and speed of the moving projectile?
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The only issue I can see is with replacing the barrel and slide. Everything else can be replaced, but I don't know how well plastic springs and triggers would work.
ReplyDeleteThe issue with the barrel and the slide is that they have to be designed to withstand the pressures (more than the recoil) of a cartridge being discharged. In the case of a kaboom (catastrophic failure after improper chambering of a round - look it up) in a fully polymer frame, it may not be as easy to predict what will happen, considering all of the parts will be of the same strength. (Hopefully the magazine just blows out)
Heat dissipation is also an issue. With some polymer framed assault rifles, the H&K G36 in the instance, the default optic is notorious for loosing zero after prolonged usage due to heating of the barrel and warping issues. With a pistol, the iron sights could have the serious issue of being impossible to zero from use to use.
I could definitely see this happening more on a .22LR as opposed to a .45ACP or 9mm Para where the pressures are much lower.
I cannot see the of a plastic pistol because there are too many durability and reliability concerns. The closest thing to this is the Glock 17 which is an Austrian-made automatic pistol that has some plastic parts, including the grip and trigger guard but even this gun is still 83% metal by weight. Many of the parts of a pistol could hypothetically be replaced with plastic but the spring is the one part that I would think had to be metal. I don't think a plastic replacement for this part would preserve the functionality of a pistol.
ReplyDeleteI do agree I think it is really hard to make the tiny parts of the pistol from nonmetals because the temperature that is generated inside the pistol is so high that it could melt those parts. but if they can coat the plastic parts with a thin metallic coating that make them withstand the heat it could be possible.
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