Age of the 3-D Printed Gun Magazine

Well Here Ya Go! A way around large magazines...make them yourself!

Tech-savvy gun enthusiasts could easily find a way around any new curbs on firearms: If they want something, print it. A Texas law student who used a 3-D printer to fashion a plastic magazine and then posted his ensuing trip to the firing range online got more than 280,000 views on YouTube - but then his leased 3-D printer was confiscated by a jittery manufacturer. 3-D printers are often used to make consumer items like jewelry and hearing aids, and also help reduce waste in manufacturing, according to Alyssa Reichental of 3D Systems Corporation, which manufactures 3-D printers for sale worldwide.

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You can print all the plastic parts you want, but you'll still need a metal spring for a magazine.

Originally posted by MystikMushroom
You can print all the plastic parts you want, but you'll still need a metal spring for a magazine.

How about a plastic spring? Don´t think it willl work?

Also, there are 3d printers able to print metal already, just FYI. Will become more mainstream in a few years i bet.

reply to post by MystikMushroom


But springs are easy to make and are used in 1000's of items so all you need is a similar item with enough push to be able to push the round up and job done, the more they try and make something illegal the more people will try and fight it, so if i was obama and wanted to make "assault" weapons out of fashion i'd make anything under 2000 round clips illegal as well as making 50 cal the default caliber for all weapons as i'd love to see people trying to fit a 2000 round clip to an AR 15

Clearly I'm not too tech savy, as I don't really understand how this is supposed to work.
Can someone simplify this please ?
So you can get gun parts using a 3-d printer? My brain hurts

For the foreseeable future, 3D printing guns is a non-story.

Guns are hot. Go watch some youtube videos of guns on fire.

Even printing a high capacity magazine from a 3D printer is pointless because it won't last enough shots to even get you to the 'extended' part of the magazine.

3d printing is useless for anything more than something like the John Malkovich 2-shot derringer from "In the Line of Fire." Also, you will note that Malkovich's character did not need 3D printing to make that plastic gun. He made it in his garage with hobby store stuff. It was also a lot cheaper and quicker for him to do it that way in a single afternoon than it would have been for him to buy a 3d printer and get comfortable with using it.

If people are scared of 3D printing, they are going to crap themselves when they find out about the lathe.

reply to post by RooskiZombi


Anything not requiring to take heat or severe pressure could probably be make out of plastics so a clip is just a storage unit with a spring loaded piece of something to push the next round into the weapon, generally its metal as its quicker to manufacture in bulk and also more resistant to knocks etc

there was an ar 15 that pretty much was plastic other than a few parts IIRC so its doable but the cost of printing the parts and assembling within the small tolerances needed so it doesn;t blow up in your face is probably more than nipping down to the local shop and saying i'll have "one of those please"

Originally posted by nighthawk1954
Well Here Ya Go! A way around large magazines...make them yourself!

Tech-savvy gun enthusiasts could easily find a way around any new curbs on firearms: If they want something, print it. A Texas law student who used a 3-D printer to fashion a plastic magazine and then posted his ensuing trip to the firing range online got more than 280,000 views on YouTube - but then his leased 3-D printer was confiscated by a jittery manufacturer. 3-D printers are often used to make consumer items like jewelry and hearing aids, and also help reduce waste in manufacturing, according to Alyssa Reichental of 3D Systems Corporation, which manufactures 3-D printers for sale worldwide.

news.yahoo.com...

www.youtube.com...

Call me odd, but since when dose a MFG have the authority to confiscate the printer back? Once its paid for its paid for, it is no longer their property. That would be considered stealing no?

I think this hits me more than printing magazines.

reply to post by severdsoul


It said it was leased so perhaps there was something in the lease that allowed them to grab the item back, but without seeing the contract it would be hard to say and if you're a printer company the last thing you want is to get in the middle of a gun debate as you'll have to take sides and that could cost you sales either way

Originally posted by 11andrew34
For the foreseeable future, 3D printing guns is a non-story.

Guns are hot. Go watch some youtube videos of guns on fire.

Even printing a high capacity magazine from a 3D printer is pointless because it won't last enough shots to even get you to the 'extended' part of the magazine.

3d printing is useless for anything more than something like the John Malkovich 2-shot derringer from "In the Line of Fire." Also, you will note that Malkovich's character did not need 3D printing to make that plastic gun. He made it in his garage with hobby store stuff. It was also a lot cheaper and quicker for him to do it that way in a single afternoon than it would have been for him to buy a 3d printer and get comfortable with using it.

If people are scared of 3D printing, they are going to crap themselves when they find out about the lathe.

edit on 20-2-2013 by 11andrew34 because: wording

Really..... And by your logic that is why all gun mags are made of metal. Sometimes posting on ATS is like playing cards with my sisters kids.

Originally posted by SubTruth
Really.....

And by your logic that is why all gun mags are made of metal.

Sometimes posting on ATS is like playing cards with my sisters kids.

edit on 20-2-2013 by SubTruth because: (no reason given)

It sounds like an appropriate way to spend your time. I'm an adult and not a nitwit like you, so I don't pretend that people said things they didn't say just to make myself feel smarter.

3D printed guns don't lat very long before they fall apart. They haven't been able to make them strong enough to last more than a clip or two.

surely 3D printers will soon be able to utilize both heat and shock absorbing materials made from metal and non metal alloy combinations such as titanium, carbon fibre and ceramics (like many pieces and attachments already available) since the hardener material is added as a powder, it is likely that nearly any material could be modified for use in a 3d printer with enough R&D, they could also be lightweight, possibly buoyant, and made full colour all the way through, making it impossible to wear off a camouflage or matte appearance... there is potential here for some serious weaponry.




imagine if a military base could just print its own weapons, tools, vehicle parts and etc on demand whenever needed. or a cell of well funded rebels for that matter..

reply to post by 11andrew34


www.brownells.com...

Strange that this techonoligy is so old but somehow it's new to people. we've been using it over 20 years