World's First 3D-printed Gun Fired for First Time on Video

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koga73

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This is awesome!
"This means anyone with a 3D printer can technically print their own gun at home, regardless of whether or not they have a license to own one."
Technically yes it's possible I wonder what the laws are surrounding this? If you print a gun yourself are you then a gun manufacturer? Is it legal to make your own gun regardless of process?
 

sundragon

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This is a game changer, being able to construct a weapon with little control or regulation can be both good and horribly bad.
 

warezme

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This doesn't work. I have Makerbot Replicator 2. Whether it is PLA or ABS the pressure of the bullet expanding will cause your fake gun to eventually and unexpectedly blow up in your face. It is plastic after all. All these fools will accomplish is to bring federal scrutiny of the 3D printing industry and these devices that are otherwise great tools for design and prototyping.
 

CarolKarine

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this has been done before. not the entire gun, but the receiver on an AR-15 was printed and shot 6 times before the melted plastic fell apart. so six shots guys. I don't know if this really is a security threat, because who's going to take the time to make a gun that can shoot six times.
 

CarolKarine

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this has been done before. not the entire gun, but the receiver on an AR-15 was printed and shot 6 times before the melted plastic fell apart. so six shots guys. I don't know if this really is a security threat, because who's going to take the time to make a gun that can shoot six times.
 

rwpritchett

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"...who's going to take the time to make a gun that can shoot six times."
@CarolKarine
Homemade weapon that doesn't set off metal detectors... think about it. Just sayin'...
Check out "In the Line of Fire" (1993).
 

DarkSable

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rwprichett, one could get all sorts of weapons made from plastic or acrylic through a metal detector / security screening. Heck, people could get metal weapons through too; just read the reports of airport security testers. Having them now be guns just makes it more convenient, and more likely that 'security' restrictions will increase. So what's your point?
 

Chris Grassia

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Aptly named after the Liberator pistol dropped behind enemy lines to French Resistance fighters in WW2, though those were only single shot and their purpose was to be used ton kill a German soldier so you could take his weapon.
 

Vorador2

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It is completely useless, since the plastic for 3D printers is too brittle. It's as risky as a homemade weapon, both are equally likely to blown up in your face.
3D printer weapons have been tried before, and i saw on youtube an automatic rifle break apart after firing a couple shots, with the chamber broken.
Also, the plastic barrel is likely to be unrifled. An unrifled barrel has a extremely bad precision, meaning that is a crapshoot at more than 10 meters.
Oh, and for those who are worried about smuggling these by the airport control. Sure being all made of plastic means can pass by the metal detectors.
But THE AMMO is metallic. So at most they could smuggle the empty weapon. A terrorist could try to bluff his way, but very little else.
 

itchyisvegeta

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Glocks are some of the best guns in the world, and they are primarily made of plastics. Also, who is to say 3D printers that print with metals won't be invented some day?
 

UVB076

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lrn2AR15. The lower receiver on an AR-15 is not actually subjected to heat or pressure other than vibration and a user using a magwell hold. It also happens to be the only part of an AR-15 that is considered a firearm.
 

southernshark

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It is legal to make your own gun. You can not sell it though. However, the gun shown here is a 1 shot .22 lr. It is not the sort of thing one would use except to say "hey I built a gun on a printer." Americans have become so far removed from mundane technology that most don't realize that making a gun like the one shown using metal parts around the house would be fairly easy, not much harder than printing one, and a lot cheaper (since you don't need a 3D printer).
 

kenyee

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Wow...Jane actually found the real article this time instead of linking to all the old stuff :)
But no mention of accuracy? No mention of how many times it can fire before blowing up or melting? Jane still needs to do more homework... :p
 

UVB076

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lrn2AR15. The lower receiver on an AR-15 is not actually subjected to heat or pressure other than vibration and a user using a magwell hold. It also happens to be the only part of an AR-15 that is considered a firearm.
 

mman74

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Fantastic! Every airplane, every sporting stadium, every secure facility that screens for weapons with metal detectors is now gapingly exposed. High fives all round if you are affiliated to a terrorist organization.
For every one else (including me) that likes to go on a plane and not worry about the plane being hijacked for use as a ballistic missle, you can start to worry now.
 

guardianangel42

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This is an innovatively horrible idea. Why on earth would anyone consider this a good idea? Circumvent the law by producing a weapon that can pass through a metal detector with ease?
Seriously, there are basically no honest applications to this. Everything you could possibly use this for are horrible atrocities. School shootings? Check. Workplace shootings? Check. Plane hijackings? Check. Airport massacres? Check.
No gun owner would want this thing; it won't be reliable and may even be hazardous. The only people that this thing would appeal to are those who don't care about their own safety and aren't interested in a reliable tool.
For god's sake people do you not understand the meaning of the phrase "unintended consequences"? Why on earth did you make this? What possessed you to make this available to the public?
 
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