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I thought I would post this because of the threads I see on the problems with plastic magazines.

I'm a machinist by trade but once after a slow period and lay-offs in machining, I had the opportunity to work in the plastics injection molding industry as an inspector. My job was to reject defects and let me tell you there were plenty of them.

The process of molding  is complicated. It involves mixing material and adding in dye. The plastic is fed into the press by a large screw. Heater bands melt the plastic and the screw supplies the pressure and force to feed the plastic into the mold. The molds have refrigerated cooling units to cool the plastic quickly after forming. All this process can be interrupted by a slow operator or a part stuck in a mold or even mechanical failure of the press. Once the press stops it must be purged because the plastic burns if it stays in the screw too long. Once the press is purged the set up process begins from scratch.

The presses they use require constant oversight and adjustment around the clock. Just starting with the molds, they are expensive, sometimes costing a couple hundred thousand dollars they have vents that get clogged, ejector pins that get bent or broken. They get scratched on cosmetic surfaces. Sometimes they double press parts and get damaged.

Also there is a people factor. Some of the press operators believe that their settings are the only ones that make a good part. Some change the setting just so they won't have more stuck parts. I honestly believe some of them just don't care if the part is good or not as long as the thing keeps running. Anyway that's why some plastic items have the time date stamp on them. This give the press operators responsibility for what they produce.

Most of these magazine suppliers are contracting out to have their product made so it's hard to blame a Magpul or Tango Down of a few mags have cracked feed lips. I would suggest buying another mag and pitching the problem one out. Anyway just my take on this as in industry insider.

Quoted:

Most of these magazine suppliers are contracting out to have their product made so it's hard to blame a Magpul or Tango Down of a few mags have cracked feed lips. I would suggest buying another mag and pitching the problem one out. Anyway just my take on this as in industry insider.