What is billet lower receiver

The inner lining of the receiver is also coated with a dry film lube to reduce friction on the bolt carrier group. For all intents and purposes, billet receivers are more refined and every manufacturer offers some sort of proprietary aesthetics or features to set them apart. Inherently, AR style rifles will function the same whether they are built on billet or forged receivers.

Both will have some common feature sets like M4 feed ramps and fire control markings. Similarly, a Timex and a Rolex will provide accurate timekeeping; one just does it with more precision, finesse, durability and style. All prices are in USD. Please wait Call us at Sign in or Create an account. Home Receivers Explained. Not All Receivers Are Equal When selecting a receiver set for your build, there are many options available to you in our wonderful land of capitalism.

Some companies have manufactured their own dies, but they still carry a very similar style. The forging process gives the aluminum a continuous grain characteristic, which results in the receiver becoming stronger than a cast or billet part of the same thickness. This forging process can also have slight surface imperfections such as small divots. The forged receiver has been the standard for decades and is the most popular type of receiver.

Billet receivers can be made and usually are with thicker walls and unique designs because the machinist is starting with a raw block of material. Thicker walls help to minimize flexing in the receivers, making for a more rigid platform. Most of the time, this added strength comes with added weight. Historically, the general consensu s has been that billet offers more precision.

These sets allow a tighter fit when paired together because they are hand fit at the factory and stay together during the whole process of manufacturing. A tighter fit can help increase shot to shot accuracy at longer ranges. Billet receivers typically cost more than forged because of the extra machining time or additional feature sets.

We recommend primarily considering the different features that are offered and then look at the aesthetics. The price increase is easier to justify if you're getting better use out of unique features, instead of just paying for a unique look. In our opinion, cast receivers especially uppers should be avoided like Ebola. Cast receivers don't have the strength or durability to stand up to the abuse we put our rifles through during 3 gun matches, patrol work or military purposes.

The price increase from a cast receiver to a forged receiver is minimal, so we highly recommend saving a few extra bucks and staying away from any kind of cast receivers. Polymer receivers have seen an increase in popularity over the last few years.

Many manufacturers incorporate polymer receivers into their. While there are some good quality polymer receivers on the market, we feel that it's just not a durable enough of a material to withstand the abuse that someone might put it through. If you're inexperienced with drilling and cutting metal, you want a receiver that's as easy as possible to fabricate.

The softer billet aluminum is easier to work through and causes less wear-and-tear on carbide drill bits and end mill bits. It's also less prone to causing tool "chatter", vibrations that can occur in your bits, router, or drill press when tool pressure is too high. Because it's slightly softer, billet aluminum is typically more forgiving on your tools. Although personal preference will ultimately be the deciding factor as to what lower receiver you purchase, each method of manufacturing offers some form of benefit.

While there has been great debate between the loyalists of each manufacturing process, few can attest to the failure of any lower that has been purchased from a quality manufacturer. If you have questions regarding our lower receivers, please feel free to contact us. Holographic Optics Explained Muzzle Brakes vs.

Flash Hiders vs. Best Sellers. Cast vs Billet vs Forged These three terms, "billet", "forged", and "cast", refer not to the aluminum's composition but to how each type of receiver is manufactured. Cast Aluminum Cast receivers are made by melting A aluminum alloy and pouring it into a receiver-shaped mold.

A Chemical Composition Aluminum Al : Cast Cons While A is a wonderful alloy still used by the automotive and tool industry, it has fallen out of favor in the firearm industry for one simple reason: Forged and billet receivers have become incredibly cheap to make.

Billet Aluminum A billet lower receiver is formed from a solid block of extruded T6 aluminum called bar stock. Billet Cons Billet receivers are more expensive to produce than forged and cast receivers, so they typically cost more. Forged Aluminum Forged receivers are made from T6 aluminum which is heated and hammered under intense pressure into a mold to achieve its final shape.

Heat-Treating and the "T6" Temper It's important to note these two alloys' properties are only achieved by heat-treating both alloys to improve their strength. Heat-treated alloys are given "T" temper codes, ranging from T1 to T T1 - Cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process.

Naturally aged to a stable condition. T2 - Cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process. Cold-worked and aged to a stable condition. T3 - Solution heat treated, cold worked, and naturally aged to a substantially stable condition.

T4 - Solution heat treated, and naturally aged to a substantially stable condition. T5 - Cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process then artificially aged. T6 - Solution heat treated then artificially aged. T8 - Solution heat treated, cold worked, then artificially aged. T9 - Solution heat treated, artificially aged, then cold worked. T10 - Cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process, cold worked, then artificially aged.

Which is Better? Forged or Billet? Many machinists say is a little easier to cut and drill. Billet receivers cost more due to the machining process. Every surface of a billet has been machined. With a forging you do not do mush work to the outside mostly just hogging it out. Most billets are made with a T65 if they are using a good material. The strength of a forging vers billet is not a whole lot. It is measured in tensile strength. The ratings for a forging are 72, to 76, psi A billet is 67, to 69, depending on the material.

When will you ever put over 50, pounds per square inch load on a receiver? I have a billet receiver that is Full Auto and has seen 5 years of very hard abuse as a rental gun and there have been no problems at all Quoted: Billet receivers cost more due to the machining process.

And I have yet another question - how come there were so much problems with cast aluminum receivers made for ARs? What are the differences between a receiver machined out of a billet, which is a cast product, and a receiver that was cast in a mold? My question had been answered: And despite the over misuse of the term "billet".

Most reputable companies will use a certified billet, the same that would be used in aircraft parts. Are you sure they are not bar stock? Quoted: For those of you who received an email from Ranier Arms about their billet uppers and the grade of aluminum used, what do you think about it?

There is no advantage as far as strength goes billet vs. Either is only as good as the quality put into the manufacturing process. I work with Manufacturers starting with a lb. In the example above a 25lb forging may be requred to produce the 16lb part.

The advantage to forging is the money saved in machining. On an airplane on the frame parts you don't want a material flow as in a forging. Those layers can delaminate under stress. You will not see this on an AR as the stresses are not enough. OH one other thing I keep seeing is people think billet is cast, it is not. Castings are cast. Billet is not anything near a casting. They are as far apart as left is to right.

Quoted: OH one other thing I keep seeing is people think billet is cast, it is not. Quoted: There is no advantage as far as strength goes billet vs. Quoted: Quoted: OH one other thing I keep seeing is people think billet is cast, it is not. The advantages are in the manufacturing; a forging requires a large initial investment in tooling, but the payback comes in the ability to mass produce consistent, strong parts relatively cheaply on a per item basis.

Manufacturing from a billet assuming a forged billet has a lower initial cost investment for the manufacturer since the parts are produced on a one-off basis.

The drawback of this approach is that it takes longer to produce a part, and is therefore more expensive on a per item basis. No, the original piece is a billet. A billet is an intermediate wrought product between a bloom and finished stock. Too bad SMOS screwed the pooch by signing up with larue. They would have made a killing with the obama craze. Always a scientist in the bunch I was just trying to let the guy know that forging is smashed for strength and doesnt necessarily need to be smashed into any particular shape.

Would you say the same with respect to comparing cast and forged lowers? Why or why not? I guess I should have been more clear. I know the definition of billet. But for this conversation the OP is referring to a billet upper or lower. The seller of billet lowers, uppers, receivers often refers to them as "billet lowers" for marketing purposes.

Same as many manufacturers refer to forged pieces as "forged steel" "forged aluminum" etc. Instead of picking apart everyone's posts maybe you can write up a little piece on billet vs. Not at all. A forged lower is something you want, but a billet milled one is overkill.

Cast is weaker, and more brittle. And is just like the name says. Its "cast" into a mold. Think pot metal on your gun. Very sorry if my wording was wrong Which is why I went all scientist on you. Billets are the product that is forged in no particular direction open die or rolling mill. The parts that you usually see described as "forged" are actually closed-die forgings, meaning that the stock is forged to a near-net shape and avoiding re-entrant flow lines, which means that the directionality of the grains flow with the shape of the part, which in turn minimizes anisotropy in the component.

So a part described as "forged" in ARland is indeed usually smashed into a particular shape. Seems to me I have written lengthy posts on the cast vs. I am not going to do it everytime the topic comes up. I don't quite understand. From my understanding, a billet is a raw materials that is cast - nowadays mostly through continuous casting process from the melt shop. It has not been rolled; the microstructure is still divided into three distinct regions.

After the billets are cast, they can then be "hot charged" directly from the caster's table to the rolling mill or they can be stacked for later use. Maybe the term "billet" is different in the aluminum industry than that used within the steel industry? As with forgings - it is the grain "texture" that flows with the work piece, but the grain structure itself is equi-axed crystalline due to recrystallization process at the elevated temperature.