Man Prints Gun

[C. Langana]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012...?utm_hp_ref=uk

The implcations of this fascinate me. While whatever comes out of a 3d printer is going to be essentially plastic, the ability to do something like this mildly worries the lawyer in me.

[amijp]

Now I know next to nothing about ammunition or how bullets work etc, but theoretically could one print out bullets to shoot from a gun such as this?

If so, this is especially worrying, considering the end of the article which says about the miniture 3d printers able to fit in suitcases/stow away aeroplane compartments.

[theunwantedbeing]

If it is lethal, then this is a big deal.
If it is non-lethal then so what? (aside from the whole law issues that may well be present as a result of it)

[Lord Inquisitor]

If it is lethal, then this is a big deal.
If it is non-lethal then so what? (aside from the whole law issues that may well be present as a result of it)

It seems to be firing .22 ammunition, so yes, real bullets, really lethal.

[Badbones777]

Good grief!

Fascinating but rather terrifying!

[blackcherry]

It sort of worries me that with such amazing technology, one of the first uses is to make something that can kill people.

[Lord Inquisitor]

I think that's true of virtually every technology man has ever created.

[blackcherry]

Still, it irks the lefty pinko commie in me . I expect more of people, unless of course its a part their job to think of things that way.

[C. Langana]

Admittedly you can't print the bullets yet, but even so, the idea of, for example, printing the bits for a .22 smg is worrying enough.

*The .22 being the most readily* available cartridge in the UK.

*readily as in you can sort of buy it with, I believe some permits.

[simonr1978]

AFAIK, and I admit I haven't looked into this for quite a while so take with a pinch of salt, you do not legally require a firearms licence to buy ammunition in the UK although most gun shops will ask to see one before they sell you ammunition. As for .22LR being readily available in that sense, no more so than most of the common calibers. .22LR is popular though since it can be used on most ranges (Unlike full power rifle cartridges), it's small, light and cheap.

It's worth pointing out though that the guy did print out only part of the gun, it's not like he just clicked print and there was a fully working firearm. You'd still need a lot of additional, mainly metal, parts before you could actually load and shoot with this, including barrel, trigger mechanism and firing pin, and of course the technical expertise to put it all together in a way that'd actually work. And no, until such a time that 3D printers can also "print" separate chemicals such as for the explosive propellant and the primer at the base of the cartridge (And that's assuming that you're printing caseless catridges which AFAIK even Heckler and Koch struggled with for the abandoned G11, and using some sort of plastic for the bullet itself, otherwise you'll have to "Print" in metal as well) there's no realistic way of printing ammunition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stag2wi.jpg

The lower reciever (The bit the guy did print) is the little almost pistol shaped bit at the bottom on this picture.

So let's not start panicking too much about the prospect of terrorists taking laptops onto planes and printing out guns midflight or street gangs printing machine guns to order. It's not going to happen just yet.

Edit: Despite appearances it's not an SMG either, the article describes it as a pistol. The same feed and extraction issues that apparently prevented the guy from making a rifle version would, I imagine, apply to an SMG too. From what the article described it may not even be semi-automatic and may require recocking between shots.

[Burnthem]

^ What he said, the feat isn't as impressive at the title of the article makes out. Anyone with a shed, a lathe, and a bit of practice could make a gun. Dodgy people have been making guns out of almost nothing since, well, since guns were invented. So, unfortunately, this isn't too impressive.

[Hellebore]

^ What he said, the feat isn't as impressive at the title of the article makes out. Anyone with a shed, a lathe, and a bit of practice could make a gun. Dodgy people have been making guns out of almost nothing since, well, since guns were invented. So, unfortunately, this isn't too impressive.

True, but it lowers the bar quite substantially. Having access to desktop 3D printers at my work, they are very easy to use if you're just printing off a preproduced model.

There's a bit of a difference between having the skills necessary to lathe a gun from scratch and buying a machine and loading a free model. Most 10 year olds could do the latter.

Hellebore

[simonr1978]

...and most ten year olds would be sorely disappointed if they thought they were printing out a working gun and they actually ended up with just the lower reciever. What you'd be printing wouldn't even look like an actual gun and very, very few 10 year olds (And not a great number of adults either) would have the first clue about how to actually turn that into a functioning gun.

There are easier ways to get a working firearm than this and which don't involve an expensive 3D printer, a lathe or as many spare parts as you'd require to get this actually shooting bullets. A crude breach loading smoothbore .22LR pistol could be put together pretty easily using nothing more than hand tools assuming you could find a steel tube of sufficient diameter and thickness to act as a barrel, it wouldn't win any target shooting competitions but it'd still be plenty lethal at close enough range.

It's a kneejerk paranoid over-reaction to assume that this means anyone with a 3D printer is going to be able to launch some kind of cottage arms-industry, it really, really does need more expertise and equipment than just a computer and expensive printer to make a working firearm this way. I really cannot stress that enough. In spite of a (IMO) highly misleading title this is a long way short of actually printing a working weapon.

Edit: I don't know what the pocket money rates are like where you are but I can assure you that "...buying a machine and loading a free model" is well beyond the capability of any 10/11 year old I know!

[Burnthem]

'Zip' guns are nothing more than a metal tube, a spring and a firing pin. Plenty lethal and can be put together easily, far more easily than, as simonr said, getting hold of a 3D printer and associated gubbins. It's just media rubbish to get people to read the story.

[Flikre213]

You can make projectile weapons out of anything and quicker than using a 3d printer, (the turkey mortar springs to mind) if anything its the printing of knives to be worried about.

[Col. Frost]

Making a effective firearm is surprisingly simple as Burnthem pointed out. Basic equipment and a live round is all someone needs (i've seen it done with a piece of metal, a spring and a nail acting as a firing pin to fire a shotgun round).

Making a Lower receiver is not 'making a gun', someone with enough knowledge could make one out of items far more accessible to a kid that a 3D printer (Lego for example).

[Sniffles23]

I was going to say, he only made the lower receiver. All the important parts are still metal... as is necessary.

[AndrewGPaul]

You can make projectile weapons out of anything and quicker than using a 3d printer, (the turkey mortar springs to mind) if anything its the printing of knives to be worried about.

Even then, printing a knife is the long and complicated way of doing it. Why not just buy a screwdriver?

[x-esiv-4c]

All the important parts are still metal... as is necessary.

It's amazing what we can do with ceramics isn't it?

[Badbones777]

I think that's true of virtually every technology man has ever created.

Too true-sadly all too true.