World's First 3D Printer Rifle Goes Bang, Barrel Breaks

[UNHchabo]

Considering that you still need ammo, the simple solution to this (assuming that a printable gun is feasible) is to require licences for ammo and gunpowder/primer.

This is how gun control is really going to work, no facetiousness here. I've been saying it for years, take away the bullets, the gun is nothing more than a club with which to beat people senseless. Were I in politics, I'd probably jump at this opportunity to outlaw the bullets, or at least require a license, background check, criminal records check, etc. to buy them. Yes, I know this is a harsh stance to take, but people are stupid.Stupid enough to run around killing one another for no reason.

I know that sounded preachy, but considering the source (me, I'll get to that shortly) it wasn't intended.

Source: Estranged180, son of a NYC cop.

It's very easy to make your own ammo; you can make cast-lead bullets very easily, gunpowder is fairly simple to make from scratch (we've had black powder for over a thousand years, and smokeless powder for over a hundred), and casings can be reused many times.

How do you propose that ammo be banned or regulated if it can be made easily?

 

[Estranged180]

How do you propose that ammo be banned or regulated if it can be made easily?

Simple. Black powder has been made illegal already, and possession of said powder is a felony punishable by 5 years in prison. Casings aren't hard to come by, I'll give you that. But it takes specialized equipment to properly manufacture your own cartridges. The smokeless powder falls under the black powder laws. Casting lead also requires some specialized equipment that is quite frankly too expensive to even bother with (at least to cast the lead into the perfect form every time, to either cut down or eliminate misfires, which can turn deadly if the lead has even one iota of a flaw.)

 

[Childe]

Where ever there is progress, there can also be misuse and abuse.

Misuse and abuse are both massive understatements. Americans have proven time and time again that they are too immature to be allowed to own weapons. And as this tech will used by the american military to bring harm to millions of innocents the good that comes from this is outweighed by the bad. It would be great if i'm proven wrong but i highly doubt it

 

[already in use]

Eventually the technology will improve to the point where people could feed in high-end composite materials- like ceramic, metal, and high strength plastics- and be able to just print a Glock right in their living room.

Actually those technologies exist for some time now, i remember a university where i was shown some
metal keychains that were made to test a new machine (a laser briefly melts metal powder, layer by layer),
the thing is just that resin based 3d printers are way more inexpensive.

If you wanted a somewhat deadly weapon without a licence you can of course buy a 3d printer for the price of a nice
vacation and try your luck with some torrent, or you could just buy a gun from a shady figure for 500 bucks without papers,
or just buy the biggest kitchen knife you can find at walmart, or a chainsaw, or a pitchfork,
or a nailgun, or a frying pan, or a big rock in front of walmart. You could also get creative and spend a weekend making
a crossbow out of wood or a Pipegun out of a ... well a pipe, both of which are more deadly then an unreliable plastic gun.
I dont see 3d printed guns becoming much of a real threat, more likely a useless novelty item for some people who like the idea.
If crimes comitted with printed guns would become an issue you could always just add an marker to the different batches of resin and keep sales records or make purchasing ammo require a license, which it should anyways.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

The ability to cheaply and quickly produce untraceable disposable firearms using an item for which there are thousands of legitimate uses.

Yeah, this is exactly what humanity needs.

... So, it's kind of like Alfred Nobel and Dynamite then, right? Maybe the guy who made the 3D Printer will then create his own Prize for peace!

OT: Meh, I just don't see the point. I'd rather get a real gun then a fake, "Shoot once then breaks" gun (If I were to get a gun).

 

[nathan-dts]

3D printers shouldn't be commercially available when people can print guns. Hospitals should have them and cities should have a public buildings that you can use 3D printers in.

 

[Machine Man 1992]

Eventually the technology will improve to the point where people could feed in high-end composite materials- like ceramic, metal, and high strength plastics- and be able to just print a Glock right in their living room.

Actually those technologies exist for some time now, i remember a university where i was shown some
metal keychains that were made to test a new machine (a laser briefly melts metal powder, layer by layer),
the thing is just that resin based 3d printers are way more inexpensive.

If you wanted a somewhat deadly weapon without a licence you can of course buy a 3d printer for the price of a nice
vacation and try your luck with some torrent, or you could just buy a gun from a shady figure for 500 bucks without papers,
or just buy the biggest kitchen knife you can find at walmart, or a chainsaw, or a pitchfork,
or a nailgun, or a frying pan, or a big rock in front of walmart. You could also get creative and spend a weekend making
a crossbow out of wood or a Pipegun out of a ... well a pipe, both of which are more deadly then an unreliable plastic gun.
I dont see 3d printed guns becoming much of a real threat, more likely a useless novelty item for some people who like the idea.
If crimes comitted with printed guns would become an issue you could always just add an marker to the different batches of resin and keep sales records or make purchasing ammo require a license, which it should anyways.

I just had a thought: fuck the guns, lets 3d print out swords and crossbows!

 

[SLasher797]

you guys do know that someone in america is already printing nearly fully function assault rifles?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DconsfGsXyA

that is a real thing, and it's pretty terrifying to think that if 3D printers become commonplace, anyone and everyone will be able to make their own guns for free.

also, i know that the above is the primary concern for most people, but something no one seems to be considering is the intense rise in suicides that this kind of access to guns would create.

 

[Cpu46]

Now if this works, does that mean they could eventually make uzis or whatever later? Is this going to be another technology being invented before anyone realizes all the negatives that go along with it. Could we be witness to the start of a future of illigal guns sweeping the world? After all, if this does work, all you need is a printer and money to make what you need. Sure a few criminals would enjoy this, all the fun of getting guns without the danger of importing them.

Short answer: Not in the foreseeable future simply due to the strength of materials.

Long answer: While plastics are able to be printed and can even handle the pressure and shock of a bullet being fired, the main issue with a fully automatic weapon is the heat buildup. Even if you get all the moving parts required for a fully or even semi auto weapon perfected it won't take long for those parts to be melted or otherwise deformed by it's use. There are printer prototypes that can utilize mixtures of metal powder and various binding agents but they require a great deal of processing after being printed in order to gain the strength one would commonly expect from metal parts, and even then they trade strength for brittleness and would not be able to withstand much repeated use if they don't shatter after the first shot.

Also to keep in mind is accuracy. A 3d printer is great for making certain shapes, however the helix is not one of them, not by a long shot. The rifling that would be needed to impart the necessary rotation into the bullet to maintain even a meager amount of accuracy would need to be a secondary process, requiring both tools and skills that not everyone possesses. Even if one could do that the aforementioned issues with melting or brittleness would make such efforts short lived at best.

As it stands from now into the foreseeable future this technology will be used to make single shot guns that are only reliable at ranges where you could just as easily threaten or kill with another weapon, it also had the potential to either not work at all or catastrophically self destruct in your hands. Anyone intending to use a 3D printer to threaten someone is better off making a non functional model gun while anyone intending to make a weapon with the intent to kill is better off making a shiv.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Now if this works, does that mean they could eventually make uzis or whatever later? Is this going to be another technology being invented before anyone realizes all the negatives that go along with it. Could we be witness to the start of a future of illigal guns sweeping the world? After all, if this does work, all you need is a printer and money to make what you need. Sure a few criminals would enjoy this, all the fun of getting guns without the danger of importing them.

Short answer: Not in the foreseeable future simply due to the strength of materials.

Long answer: While plastics are able to be printed and can even handle the pressure and shock of a bullet being fired, the main issue with a fully automatic weapon is the heat buildup. Even if you get all the moving parts required for a fully or even semi auto weapon perfected it won't take long for those parts to be melted or otherwise deformed by it's use. There are printer prototypes that can utilize mixtures of metal powder and various binding agents but they require a great deal of processing after being printed in order to gain the strength one would commonly expect from metal parts, and even then they trade strength for brittleness and would not be able to withstand much repeated use if they don't shatter after the first shot.

Also to keep in mind is accuracy. A 3d printer is great for making certain shapes, however the helix is not one of them, not by a long shot. The rifling that would be needed to impart the necessary rotation into the bullet to maintain even a meager amount of accuracy would need to be a secondary process, requiring both tools and skills that not everyone possesses. Even if one could do that the aforementioned issues with melting or brittleness would make such efforts short lived at best.

As it stands from now into the foreseeable future this technology will be used to make single shot guns that are only reliable at ranges where you could just as easily threaten or kill with another weapon, it also had the potential to either not work at all or catastrophically self destruct in your hands. Anyone intending to use a 3D printer to threaten someone is better off making a non functional model gun while anyone intending to make a weapon with the intent to kill is better off making a shiv.

Excellent comment. Thanks. I guess, for now, its better to use the 3d printer itself as a weapon and throw it at people than use it to make a gun.

 

[barbzilla]

The ability to cheaply and quickly produce untraceable disposable firearms using an item for which there are thousands of legitimate uses.

Yeah, this is exactly what humanity needs.

Never fear, you need a 3d printer first. These things are not cheap or easy to find (outside of commercial application) so it isn't something we are likely to have to worry about. To top that off, with the lack of reliability and the chance it will blow up in your face, most people would rather spend the $100 on a saturday night special.

 

[Alexander Competitor]

you can get a 3d printer that prints this stuff well for $500-$1000. Also people saying "Ban teh 3d printers" calm your tits, there are easier ways to make better guns. Following your line of logic, we must ban hand tools, tubing and the internet because they can be used to make guns. This technology really comes into it's own for small, replacement parts, it's not ideal for guns. I you make guns, your better off using other manufacturing methods and materials to get a serviceable firearm. Not to mention having a 3d printer is very convenient, you can make things you never could otherwise, it represents a huge leap forward in decentralised manufacturing, we shouldn't stunt progress just to appease the rabidly anti-gun.

 

[FFHAuthor]

Wow, so an expert used an extremely expensive and rare piece of equipment to make a low quality and ineffective device that failed completely?

My GOD! THE HORROR!

Anybody here ever heard of a Zip gun? You can make the thing out of about two pieces of pipe and a shotgun shell. Something that actually works and won't blow off your hands. We've been able to build those things with a minimum of effort and a bare minimum of understanding of firearms. But of course, 'bare minimum' is lightyears beyond the normal level of education most people have on firearms.

But then the gist of it all is that 'a criminal could do something illegal' with it.

Hmm...we need to ban everything then.

 

[TotalerKrieger]

I don't understand the hysteria over these 3d printer firearms. I can guarantee you that someone could create a far more reliable and deadly firearm with metal scrap, springs and some basic machining tools, all of which are far cheaper/readily available than these 3d printers and associated materials. Perfectly useable copies of the Sten sub-machinegun were built by anti-Nazi partisans in basements all over occupied Europe. The Sten was designed using parts commonly found in hardware stores and scrap yards.

Get over your irrational fear of firearms and stop bitching about a rather interesting project.

-Fellow CanadianGunNut

 

[BarbaricGoose]

I don't understand why people are freaking about a plastic gun...its just the thought or the look is scary I guess. Its not like people aren't already building their own guns at home from left over scraps. For example..

Yes but it's a lot easier to print a plastic gun off the internet.

I don't know what you're talkin' about, Shan. There is literally no difference between printing a functional gun and building your own.

That.... gun... doesn't look confusing at all to build. I see some wood, and uh... I'm gonna say bullets... and some other stuff. See? I cracked it. Didn't even need schematics. I think I'll head down Sam's Club and buy some.... is that tape?

 

[Johann610]

Not that y'all asked, but 3-D printing of any quality--that doesn't look like congealed vermicelli --is very expensive. The machines have to be RENTED, and at considerable cost, from companies that have real live liability and lawyers watching their backs. If a plastic rifle made it into a crime, the traceability would be through the roof. And no, it isn't likely to get any cheaper--the chemical process is so complex that it probably won't drop anytime soon.
I'd also like to point out, as an advocate of gun safety, that this is the antithesis of a safe gun: likely to misfire over twelve tries, a splitting barrel, and so on speak of something just as likely to burst in the owner's hands. Nor is it likely to hit its mark--thermoset plastic like this is immune to conventional machining techniques, so "rifling" of any sort is prohibitively difficult.
We're more likely to see any other kind of Saturday Night Special do the dirty deeds, than some epoxy-glued, thermo-set "prototype".

 

[Bruenin]

Clearly the world needs more guns that are easier to access. Goddamn, this type of thing pissed me off. Arrest this bastard, he's a psycho.

off topic: I like your avatar : D

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On topic: whether it be this guy or someone else, given power people abuse them. Knowledge is power and as intelligent as people are there will be someone who comes up with these designs and no matter what as technology progress these will become more readily available. Aside from censorship or something else drastic I don't think there is anything you can stop this. It's kind of scary to think of how available these things could be and how devastating they could be with fully polished designs, but hopefully our ability to solve problems also progress to the point where we can find a solution to any problems that might arise from this.

It's also really late so I have no clue if anything i'm saying makes sense :3

 

[Brian Tams]

Clearly the world needs more guns that are easier to access. Goddamn, this type of thing pissed me off. Arrest this bastard, he's a psycho.

No, this is important. We needed to see the full capabilities of one of these 3D printers before deciding what to do about them. Simply arresting him because he took the step nobody else would is laughable at best, tyrannical at worst.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Surprised that nobody has mentioned this, but by definition this gun isn't a rifle -- it even says in the body of the text, it's smoothbore, which means there's no rifling. That means that even if the guy making this can iron out the problems with the thing falling apart on him, as it stands it's not going to be accurate at any kind of range. Granted, we're talking about what's basically version 0.5 of the Star Trek replicators here, it'll get better and have more potential abuses with time.