3D printers are without a doubt one of the coolest inventions of the past few years. They can be used to create so many neat, useful things! Body parts, bones, uh…Led Zeppelin Fischer Price records! Buuut then people had to start tying to make guns, which on the one hand is kind of cool, but on the other hand, untraceable undetectable plastic guns. Yeah.
Oh, and these 3D printed guns aren’t just theoretical any more. Defense Distributed, a group dedicated to developing and distributing free gun designs, posted a YouTube video of them successfully testing a 3D printed weapon. They managed to get off six shots before the gun fell apart. Hit the jump for the video…
Eeek. A congressman by the name of Steve Israel has called for a ban on 3D printed weapons, which raises the question — how? How do you ban people from printing guns without banning the private use of 3D printers altogether? I have a feeling the latter may be coming the first time somebody shoots a convenience store clerk or ex-spouse with a 3D printed gun. So yeah, enjoy those Fischer Price Led Zep records while you can.
via boing boing
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“They managed to get off six shots before the gun fell apart” Back to the proverbial drawing board. How are those 3D printers with sandwiches?
Testing has shown that you have about 3-4 bites before you realize it’s not a real sandwich and tear it apart in a fit of rage.
6 shots can mean 6 dead or wounded in an armed robbery still. If these things are cheap to produce you could still hand them out to terrorist cells or whatnots. Just sayin’…
*devises business plan to sell Lego firearms to naive, er, freedom fighters* The loans guy at the bank might not appreciate the term “terrorist” He’ll appreciate the 2000% return on the investment though.
Plastic guns: give them a shot
Good thing I have all these 3-D printed bandages.
Yep those need to be regulated. Maybe they could still put them in stores or something so you could still get stuff printed, but untraceable hard to detect firearms are something to be nipped in the bud right now. No one NEEDs to be able to design and print any damn thing they feel like at home. Granted that’s coming from a guy thinks personal GPS devices are bullshit and should also not be available. If you can’t even be bothered read a map(its not hard) then fuck you, you didn’t need to go there anyway.
edit- “to read”
I want so badly to say that this is a inane and dumb comment, but I honestly cannot think of how this could turn out good for the general population. I am all about a person’s right to carry and use firearms, but this seems like it is just going to make it easier for criminals to get weapons. On the other hand I cannot think of one way one might regulate the use of printers. . . .
Yea…you’re right on the money with the gun thing. You’re a bit of a lunatic about the GPS situation, but the gun thing…couldn’t agree more.
Just to be devil’s advocate here: if you are buying a gun, illegally, to do nefarious things, are you really going to put yourself in a position where you will have a 1 in 6 chance of equipment failure? You’d have to be a crack shot and have only one target. Aren’t there high percentage ways to cause chaos that are easier to procure and just as untraceable? Make a gun that doesn’t fall apart and you have a problem. Until then this is bullshit.
Untrue sir/ma’am, most robberies/muggings occur without a weapon ever being fired. So basically, it is your balls vs. the chance a weapon MIGHT misfire. Roll the dice and see what happens, I don’t give a shit. What I do give a shit about is unregistered weapons that can be made on a day to day basis that are completely untraceable, working or not. Devil’s advocate you might be, but this is not something that is simply going to go away.
Unless it does, this is the internet after all, in 4 weeks we might not ever hear about these shenanigans again.
I don’t think most criminal types put that much thought in, or are really that hung up on the quality on their weapons.
you may be correct. but given the choice between a 38 that will, 99.9% of the time, shoot all six shots and a plastic gun that might break with the first shot, all things being equal, what would you pick?
So lets say it doesn’t matter that the gun might break because you don’t actually intend to use it. Why not use a realistic toy? When faced with the potential danger of being shot, as a victim, you probably wouldn’t take a chance that the gun is fake, so as an intimidation tool a fake gun is just as effective as a real gun. If, on the other hand, as the perp, your own safety is not important, that you intend to die, wouldn’t you still pick a weapon with a higher rate of success?
All it takes is a modicum logical though and weighing pros and cons and this “gun” is a total loser on all fronts. The only reason it would be a threat is that it would be super cheap and easy to procure. Not sure how that might play out in the future but right now it’s not a reality so I stand by my first statement: bullshit.
I dont know about hitting the panic button on this and here’s a few reasons why:
The guy was still using a standard metal upper receiver and barrel assembly. I don’t know about these printer plastics being able to withstand the sudden high pressures and heat that the barrel would need in order to function. You might your first cold-bore shot on target but after a couple rounds that bad boy is gonna melt and putting rounds down range aint gonna happen. It would be like trying to shoot a gun and your barrel is made of ice cream.
That lower receiver fell apart after six shots and that part wasn’t even even dealing with the bulk of the pressure and heat that the rest of it is subjected to. Even if they come up with some kind of heat resistant silicone mix, it still has to have the tensile strength to not only maintain it’s integrity but it’s accuracy as well. So anyone with fears of gangs suddenly marauding around with 3D printed assault weapons can take a breath.
Second, the problem here isn’t really one of access. You know what stops a guy from walking into Walmart, buying a shotgun, loading it, and going on a rampage? Nothing. So why isn’t the news full of maniacs doing this everyday? Well it does happen sporadically as we’ve all seen from Gabrielle Gifford to the Dark Knight but access to a 3D Printer isn’t really going to affect that, because these psychos are gonna get what they need do what they’re going to do regardless.
Third, the practical applications outside of making untraceable little two shot derringers for quick hits are kind of limited. And the guys doing that kind of work already get away with it. Take a look at any major metropolitan homicide closure rate.
I agree, I think the interwebs might be making a bigger deal out of this than is really due. Personally if someone handed me a weapon and told me it was only good for 6 rounds, I would just hand it back and tell them I would supply my own. I am not even a criminal, well, for the most part.
I can see the issue as far as traceability goes but again, you have to look at the real world problems with fielding plastic guns. As for airport security, they already have ceramic designs that pass through metal detectors.
Instant Untraceable Firefights are a ways away.
Yes. Quality thinking.
I could give two shits about airport security, if a motherlicker smuggles a AR-15 into an airport and onto a pane, we have bigger things to worry about than untraceable weapons. The important issue here, in my honest opinion, is the cost of these throw-away weapons. If it is cheaper than what criminals are using now (which I highly doubt) then we will see a great influx of them. If not, then it is pretty much a moot point.
plane, rather
@DW
Once upon a time in a former life I used to jump out of planes and blow shit up.
With all this reasoned thought, you will be banned from the internet in no time.
Please break into my house and fire your six rounds, I promise I have more ammo and I am going to be much more accurate than a melting weapon made out of plastic.
so wait… now you are ready to “Roll the dice?”
I am always ready to roll the dice motherlicker, IF, and I emphasize that, these things become common bring it on bitches. I promise my weapons can put out a whole lot more than 6 rounds before misfiring.
I admit I don’t know much about guns, but the quantity and quality of your ammo doesn’t matter so much if somebody shoots you first.
Then you know enough about guns to know why this is more dangerous than people are making it seem.
hmm maybe they can 3D print me some underwear that isn’t full of poop.
3D poop?
This is a conundrum, well not really, unless you shart yourself more than 6 times daily. . . . .
If your poop isn’t 3D it’s time to hit the All-Bran.
no i need new 3d print undies hold the doodoo because i shit my pants from how scary this story is.
For Gods sake people, you cannot actually print a gun. All they did here was print the furniture that the mechanical parts of the gun sit in. You still have to buy an actual reciever, which is as tightly regulated as buying an entire gun.
Actually, not to lend credibility to this non-issue, they printed the lower receiver, which is the only regulated part of the AR platform.
Well, you seriously have no idea that the thing is more scary than that. 3D printers can be bought, but also they can be made and of course modified. Not to mention that it is easy that way, but you can freaking forge a gun, but nobody forges guns, doing a 3D print version of a gun would be pretty much that and I highly doubt someone who wants to commit a crime would actually buy a 3D printer (which is expensive) and make the blue-prints.
I for one, I would make a giant 3D printer and print a tank. And there are some blueprints for making a giant 3D printer around the net. And also, not just plastic can be use, there are different polymers as new guns are being made that can withstand the recoil, which it looks like plastic but is not. Carbon Fiber could be use.
But still, expensive.
I don’t know that regulating 3D printers is possible. Some of them, like the RepRap, are built to be self-replicating: It can print most of its own parts.
That said, I don’t think a ban is necessary, useful or possible. It’s not hard to build your own guns in the first place, the Second Amendment issues would almost certainly force SCOTUS to side with the Defense Distributed guys anyway, and if you look at the data with a critical eye, the availability of weapons in America has had absolutely zero effect, up or down, on the crime rate anyway.
Surprised they didn’t make a revolver. They are much easier design and very reliable
I’m not sure the printing technology or materials are up to it.
+1 that the upper half (receiver, barrel, bolt) all still have to be metal – for now. So quit your pants-shitting you big sissies.
And, not for nothing, but I think IF people made the barrel and bolt with this, it would be a blessing in disguise. Praise be to Darwin, Amen.
Most of the comments are like “oh, only 6 shots, this will never be useful”. This was a first attempt, with a technology (3D printing) that is still in its infancy. A few more years, some better printers & materials, and these could be a significant problem.