At-home 3D printing is on the rise, and what was once just a lofty promise is now a reality. More and more hobbyists are acquiring affordable printers, such as the Makerbot Replicator 2 and the RapMan Universal 3D (single/dual head) printer, to manufacture just about everything from toys to working clocks.
Some hobbyists have used these printers for fast-prototyping items that are controversial -- or even deadly. It comes as no surprise that some would attempt to replicate weapons systems (or at least parts of them) in an effort to create a fully functional gun. It's not exactly clear who was the first to fabricate a firearm using a 3D printer, but one example that has garnered global attention is "Have Blue," who designed an AR-15 lower receiver (converted to fire .22 ammunition), using a CAD file in the SolidWorks file format that is openly available from CNC Gunsmithing.
Have Blue's 3D-printed converted AR-15. (Source: Defense Distributed)
After a few modifications to the original file, he set to work fabricating the receiver using around $30 of ABS filament fed through his Stratasys printer. After prototyping a small-scale model, he fabricated the full-size receiver and used it to fire 200 rounds without catastrophic failure. The proof of concept of manufacturing a 3D-printed weapon was a complete success. Now the door is open for others to try their hand at the home weapons manufacturing business.
A group of hobbyists (most of them college students) have banded together to form a company known as Defense Distributed to expand on the 3D-printed weapons systems and provide open-source software to anyone who wants it. Defense Distributed began its quest with the Wiki Weapon Project, which aims to provide all the necessary CAD software for manufacturing plastic firearms using any 3D printer. The group expanded on Have Blue's AR-15 to prove the concept of building weapons with a printer. However, instead of testing Have Blue's .22 conversion build, the group went ahead with an AR-15 conversion in 5.7x28FN, which has more firepower than a .22 but provides less pressure than the standard .223 round.
The group printed the lower receiver using Objet ABS-like filament piped through a Connex 3D printer. The printed rifle fired six shots before breaking. Apparently, the receiver's threads couldn't handle the pressure and snapped at the buffer-tube connection. The group is now looking for funding and a federal firearms license to get its project off the ground.
The problems with 3D-printed firearms aren't limited to catastrophic failure. (It takes only one bullet to kill.) There is also the issue of legality. No federal laws address manufacturing weapons with 3D printers, so anyone owning a printer could make a weapon -- even if they're not allowed to own one. The ATF considers the rifle's lower receiver as the firearm; anyone can purchase the upper receiver, barrel, etc.
The 1988 Undetectable Firearms Act prohibits the manufacturing or possession of guns that can't be picked up by airport metal detectors. This creates a loophole for hobbyists. Firearms typically require metal parts (barrel, springs, bolt, etc.) to function, and those parts can be detected. However, some companies don't want to take any chances. Defense Distributed's first attempt at funding in September through Indiegogo ended in disaster; Indiegogo froze DD's account and sent the $20,000 it raised back to the backers. In October, Stratasys terminated the group's 3D printer lease and seized the equipment from a member's home.
Like it or not, the seed of printing weapons has been planted, and the idea is sure to gain momentum through hobbyists in the near future -- until federal laws are enacted to gain control over the issue. It's only a matter of time before a printed weapon is used in a crime. Then all hell will break loose.
Quacker, I'll grant that your concerns may be completely warranted. So, what could be proposed to stuff this genie back in to the bottle? I mean, short of forming a complete police state, what could possibly stop this?
Shall we license the use of servo and stepper motors? Shall we license the use of heated nozzles for plastic? How would we control or track these 3D printers? Worse, how would we know what the parts it makes are for?
The reality is that people have always had the ability to build offensive weapons in their basements and garages. The only thing that keeps us civil is a belief in the value of civilization. Regardless of whether one is religious or not, it is very important to teach civility.
Yes, the veneer of civilization really is that thin. It is indeed very easy to forget this fact. But the existence of a 3D printer is no more a threat than a hardware store. I'm not trivilizing the possibility. There will be attacks like Oklahoma City. And yet, we can't ban the use of ammonium nitrate or fuel oil either.
look up King Gusavus Adolphus of Sweden and his cannons made of leather dating from the 1600's. It says something that a cheap leather cannon that lasts for about 20 rounds lasted longer than an expensive 3d part that lasts for 3. Sure Iron tubes replaced them but it was still an interesting technical achievement.
I can make any part I need right now with a desktop mill and lathe. There is nothing new here.
As a smart reply says:
"The "news" about printing guns is simply that additive manufacturing can be applied to a field that is completely dominated by other manufacturing methods."
Additive manufacturing is the wave of the future, and has been understood for decades now.
The ability of people to make whatever they can, when they want, is the perfect expression of human ability and natural law.
To mistake *methods* for dangers is significant, I think.
The fundimental right to project force in defense is fundimental. What tools you use are irrelevant.
About tools: The 3D Printer is a tool, and the gun is a tool. The HOLE you make is the final product.
How regressive do we want to be? The tools to make the 3d printer to make the gun to make the hole?
There is no problem with a society where everyone (of modest mental/physical capacity) is armed. In other words, if you understand the tool, and can use it, then we're good.
Will people die? Sure. Did that start with guns? No.
I'll tell you this, such a population won't simply be led to the gas chambers.
I agree, it's not like anything new is happening from a legal standpoint. The use of a 3-D printer will not require any laws to be changed or added.
Reading the source article is highly recommended, folks! This plastic lower broke during initial assembly, many holes were intentionally under-sized & needed to be drilled, reamed, threaded & tapped. This project was not a 'print & go' gun but is just a hobbiests venture to push into new frontiers.
The source article has a series of comments worth reading, as well. Looks like a very serious community is referenced there, who will continue this kind of development individually no matter what anyone here might think of it.
The file which was downloaded from thingiverse to make this receiver lower resulted in the thingiverse site owners to issue a ban on any future weapon files from being uploaded. I expect this kind of reaction will become a standard for any widespread public forum which I think is a fair reaction. The only people who really are pioneering this kind of technology will continue to share their files on specialty forums, which will limit the public impact.
The printing of a firearm will not be the first thing a common criminal will choose as a way to arm themselves, but I'm sure they will be reading about it! The fact that a printed firearm has no registered serial number, might be interesting to a higher class of criminal. Just take a look at the rapidly booming specialty of 3-D printing ATM scanners, which are designed to fit perfectly on top of an ATM's keypad and allow a 'man in the middle' attack to steal your login details. These scanners are being developed by organized groups who obtain 3-D printers any which way they can. These groups are using these printers specifically to break the law, and for no further use. I would bet they will be thinking about printing weapons.
There's a huge market south of the border looking for any kind of firearm. I can see how the fact that a weapon might break after a couple shots will not matter to someone who will mix 5 pounds of baking soda with a couple ounces of crack cocaine just to increase their profit margins. So I expect to see some kind of funny business in the near future. Maybe a hostage situation where the guy holding the hostage cant take it any longer, pulls his trigger and the gun falls apart. He'll be thinking about how he got ripped-off for a bogus weapon while getting a free trip to the state holiday inn!
I agree. As always, it isn't the gun, it is the nut behind it.
But, I have purchased several ceramic knives in ny Japan visits over the last several years that are so sharp and deadly I would place them in the same catagory as a gun. I could probably get these thru the metal detector easily. So I won't worry about synthetic guns. Remember, knives don't kill. People and governments do...
I'm sorry, but your summary is terribly misleading, and irresponsible. A gun with 3d printed parts has been fired (some time ago, mind you, this story is old news). There will probably be an issue when some dork tries to print an entire weapon, and the thing shatters into a million pieces when fired.
I think that you are right that the seed has been planted, and there may be some impetus to pursue it. But I think this particular story is over-hyped.
The 3D printing revolution seems to have a knack for quickly moving technology ahead by way of collaborative effort and even a little friendly competition -- all of course in the name of scientific advancement.
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