World's first plastic gun, made with 3D printer, successfully fired in the United States

reply to post by PhoenixOD

Oh, so they haven't been making weapons before this?????

Epic Failure.

reply to post by PhoenixOD


Again, polymer guns have been around for a while.

They already have laws against making 'firearms' at home already covered by gun control laws.

Read an article about this last nite, and there is some congressman already wanting to expand the law to cover 3 printers.

Hear Maker's bot is really popular, and does represent the future the technology is cool as hell.

3d printers have the potential to be a billion dollar industry.

reply to post by macman


I think I know what you are saying. But put the big manufacturing of lethal weapons aside and look closer at the section in hand. Instead of doing something productive and using this 3d printer for the greater good and for the benefit of mankind. This 'gun' has probably started the reduction of uses and who can use 3d printers overall.

The notion is...a gun was made from a 3d printer. That's just pants. And so is your reasoning g.

Originally posted by RobbieK
What a surprise. These printers were hailed as a medical advance etc. What do the Americans do? Print a gun. Yay! :/

To quote a certain Meatloaf choon...

You took the words right out of my keyboard.

Originally posted by Krakatoa
I am not that knowledgeable on the existing laws regarding manufacturing of firearms, so I look to the ATS community here to chime on on my following questions.

- Wouldn't this already be covered under existing firearm manufacturing laws?
One of the worries is no serial number is printed on it.

- So, if you are a firearms manufacturer, are you required by law to add a serial number (and record them) on every item?
So, if these CAD plans include adding a serial number, it would now be the obligation of the person printing it to follow the existing laws to record them, etc..., right?

(I also wonder why the serial number could not be printed internally in the ABS plastic, to void the ability to "scratch it off" as can be done on existing metal firearms)

This is all true. I believe the guys behind the YouTube vids, and the efforts at Wiki Gun Project, did not attempt this fully until they had the proper licensing to make their efforts legal.

(Correct me if Im wrong).

The person spearheading the project is a former law student. So he is doing things as best as he can to fit within the confines of the law.

The part that is controversial, is that he gives his plans away for free, in download format for anyone to take. Once that's done, essentially anyone with access to a 3D printer (a good one) can now print a weapon, if they are so inclined. (Perhaps even if they don't have a license for such things *gasp*)

Now, mind you, not any ABS 3D printer will suffice. I have one that's used for making promotional products or advertising blanks, prototypes as you might call them... SO, let's say we want to make a little doll for a company we do advertising for, we can print their logo or doll, toy car, whatever it might be as a prototype or blank, then send it to a mass producer who uses that as a basis for mass production.

The reason for this is prototyping services can be in the thousands... Many and many of thousands. I must say though, my 3D printer has no chance of printing whats in the OP. For one, it's small, it doesn't do pieces as big as the ones in the video, and 2) it would fall apart long before you attempted to pull the trigger.

The thousand dollar desktop printers do not print with any kind of tensile strength. Most of the stuff I print because it doesn't get hot enough when printing, is barely holding together. It is great for what I use it for, but a number of my prints break apart with any small or barely noticeable force being applied to it.

I believe DD is using a $15-20k machine to do their printing. And while not everyone is going to have access to such a printer, some companies (a lot of them) let people rent time on them.

Also, as I said the desktop models do not print objects with enough tensile strength, to print something like this. AND THINK ABOUT THIS PLEASE - because not only are pieces printed from these machines weak, they also are printed with ridges and deformities. Trying to print a firearm from these can be dangerous, and most definitely put the operator as risk for injury. So if you are thinking about going out and buying the cheapest 3d Printer for yourself cause you wanna be Samuel Colt, don't do it. The cheap models out there will not be able to print a working firearm, and it's a good way to injure yourself pretty bad. Instead of cursing your missing eye while you are in a detention centre... Just don't do it. Give your head a shake. If you are that interested in these things take a gunsmithing course. And file for the necessary licenses.

This story is interesting to say the least.

I find the guy has a pretty cool personality.

He see this whole project as a fight for the 2nd amendment.

What is going to happen in the long run is the question I ask?

Is it going to make things worse or better for people? Maybe it's good his actions bring up this necessary dialogue as soon as possible...

Maybe this is going to completely screw it up for everyone.

Time will tell I suppose.

Originally posted by PhoenixOD

Originally posted by GMan420

Originally posted by PhoenixOD
reply to post by boncho

 

Yes where as before you would need a work shop and specialist tools , materials and knowledge and skill to make something like this now all you need is a 3d printer.

Why even bother? I cant see any good coming of designing something like this.

Part of the "good" in this is that it shows what a farce it is to create new laws banning more weapons.

Great , 3d printers had so much potential to help mankind in so many ways and now they are probably going to be banned or so highly regulated they practically become unavailable just because someone wanted to use it as a pawn in the American gun debate.

Way to go America.

3D printers can still help mankind. Banning something that has many many good uses just because it can be used in a bad way is a stupid stupid thing to do.

If 3D printers are banned because of this, that's the fault of knee-jerk reactionaries scared of their own shadow, not the fault of a certain set of plans on the internet.

reply to post by caladonea


Aside from any other technology out there?

Geez, the whole anti gun crowd is really getting down to nothing in valid arguments.

Technology is what you, the individual make of it. There are just as many ways to kill people with a computer as there are with a physical weapon.

I do love those that are against it, where they believe creating new laws will stop people from doing something evil.

I guess just ban and outlaw murder. Easy enough right?

reply to post by RobbieK


Same can be said for the internet.

It is a lame arguing point. Anything can be used for good or bad.

Laws have yet to stop any criminal from committing crime.

reply to post by boncho


You do not need any special licensing to manufacture your own firearm for personal use, as long as you do not intend to sell it. You could rent time on a 3D printer all day long and do noting but print guns, and you would be in the clear as long as they are for personal use and not for resale.

Also the model that this guy is using costs $34,900.00 and leases for $590/month on a 24 month lease.

Originally posted by macman
reply to post by RobbieK

 

Same can be said for the internet.

It is a lame arguing point. Anything can be used for good or bad.

Laws have yet to stop any criminal from committing crime.

Let me guess, you think that complete martial law is an absolute certainty and you're going to take them all on in your Die Hard vest....

I always wanted to live in 'merica.

Not any more.

Originally posted by macman
reply to post by RobbieK

 

Same can be said for the internet.

It is a lame arguing point. Anything can be used for good or bad.

Laws have yet to stop any criminal from committing crime.

Fair enough. But for me to make a gun from the internet would take a good few steps and I probably wouldn't receive most of it because Royal Mail would have knicked it or something. Even if I did gain all the parts I'd have a knock at the door from the men in blue and arrested on some terrorism act.

My plan to wait for 3d printers to become cheap enough so I can buy one to make my kids Stickle Bricks has now gone straight out the window as now I have to buy them.

Of all the things that could be printed. A gun. That's the issue.

Originally posted by SpaDe_
reply to post by boncho

 

You do not need any special licensing to manufacture your own firearm for personal use, as long as you do not intend to sell it. You could rent time on a 3D printer all day long and do noting but print guns, and you would be in the clear as long as they are for personal use and not for resale.

Also the model that this guy is using costs $34,900.00 and leases for $590/month on a 24 month lease.

Okay, thanks for clearing that up for me. And yeah, I figured it had to be an expensive model... The cheaper printers Im used to cant print guns, they can print, "hand-exploder-look-like-guns-kinda" contraptions

-

Update, I reread the article and noticed this:

The weapon was made with a 3D printer bought on eBay for just $8,000, and constructed by assembling 15 printed components made from ABS plastic. According to the BBC, which witnessed the weapon’s first test, only the 16th piece, the firing pin, is made from metal.

reply to post by fairguy


I wouldn't even want one of these guns because they are completely useless. They are one time use zip guns. If I was going to go Die Hard style I would want more than one shot, and I would also want the ability to reload and continue shooting.

Originally posted by fairguy


Let me guess, you think that complete martial law is an absolute certainty and you're going to take them all on in your Die Hard vest....

Yeah, sure sure. Okay then.
When have I stated any of that?

Originally posted by fairguy
I always wanted to live in 'merica.

Not any more.

Good, stay where you are. I am sure you are SO much safer there.

I don't know, I can buy quite a few guns for eight grand. They can be shot over and over and they have a nice feel to them. Maybe we can use a 3d printer to create a hot dog someday, just change the inks and print the food.

This must be a marketing campaign created by the sales department of the 3D printer companies.

Originally posted by SpaDe_
reply to post by fairguy

 

If I was going to go Die Hard style I would want more than one shot, and I would also want the ability to reload and continue shooting.

Exactly... Just remember that when things go wrong for John McClane in the middle of a shootout the director shouts CUT!

When things go wrong for SpaDe_ in the middle of a shootout, SpaDe_ better pray that trained officer aiming at him is a poor shot...

For those who say gun control wont work maybe they should look at Australia. They used to have regular mass shootings until they introduced strict gun control 17 years ago..since then there hasnt been a single mass shooting...



Im not that anti-gun but the hypothetical arguments the pro gun people are coming out with are just incorrect based on the real life Australian evidence.

Woopty doo..

reply to post by PhoenixOD


Oh....so violent crime has gone down?

Originally posted by rickymouse
I don't know, I can buy quite a few guns for eight grand. They can be shot over and over and they have a nice feel to them. Maybe we can use a 3d printer to create a hot dog someday, just change the inks and print the food.

This must be a marketing campaign created by the sales department of the 3D printer companies.

edit on 6-5-2013 by rickymouse because: (no reason given)

While I know this post is entirely satire, the 3D printing community has been working on molecular printers that can one day print medications.

And they have also been working on food printers as well.

Eventually, we may be able to print a hot dog. (Think of the food replicator on Star Trek.)