It certainly seems that it is an idea whose time has come; The printable gun.
Here is a news release I received:
Defense Distributed
codywilson@utexas.eduIs Information Firepower? The Wiki Weapon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Student Outfit Proposes to Release Open Source Printable Gun File to the World.LITTLE ROCK, AR—August 21, 2012: A new technology is ushering a fundamental shift in how material goods are manufactured and distributed. 3D printing continues to become more sophisticated and accessible to the average consumer.
3D plastic printers like the RepRap are approaching the ability to print 100% of their own parts, and as they are, this multiplies both the means and mode of a new method of production. This technology raises many controversial possibilities, as demonstrated by AR-15 forum user HaveBlue’s recent announcement that he had successfully printed and fired rounds with a plastic AR receiver.
Now, a group called Defense Distributed, a grassroots research and development collective whose volunteer engineers and designers span Arkansas and Texas, are utilizing 3D printing for something they say is unprecedented. Defense Distributed is entering phase two of their development of a digital file to print a plastic civilian defense system, the WikiWeapon. “The WikiWeapon will be capable of firing one .22 round. It is both functional and symbolic”.
This breakthrough begs the question, has gun control obsolesced? Defense Distributed will not be producing any physical objects or digital files for sale. The group intends to freely share the files they create for online sharing once fully developed and tested. “When we’re done, seed and hack this file—improve it if you can” they added.
The mission of Defense Distributed is not armament they say, but the liberation of information. “Information wants to be free” a designer tells me, “with the coming prevalence of 3D printers we hope to contribute to collapsing the distinction between digital information and physical objects”. The group hopes to catalyze our society’s conversation about the distribution of all printable commodities.
Two prototypes are entering the second stage of development but the group of students and weekend warriors requires outside funding for a printer upgrade and more materials. Defense Distributed has begun a crowd-funding campaign at http://indiegogo.com/wikiwep.
Learn more about this project at http://Printablegun.com and participate in the conversation on twitter, @DXliberty
It’s game over for gun control. There’s nothing left but the whimpering and the crying.
So the first printable handgun will be a single shot 22LR?
I predict the software for a clone resembling the Taurus Judge will be online within a week.
Marketing. It works.
What this means is that the anti-rights bigots will now target ammo control more aggressively. And 3D printer regulation. And require 3D printer supplies be tracked and accounted for.
Just because they are stupid doesn’t mean they are not determined.
Time to find a nice used multi axis cnc machine… the plans for all kinds of firearms old and new are available online. Below is one example, they make a nice AR-45, and AR15 that is chambered for 45ACP… have fun.
http://www.cncguns.com/downloads.html
I work in the rapid prototyping industry. I’m sick of hearing about 3D printer guns. Do you have any idea what a piece of crap it will be? A plastic striker? A plastic hammer? A plastic barrel? A plastic sear? Have any of you ever seen a FDM part? It makes the finish on the internal parts of an SKS look smooth. SLA’s? Put a spring load on an SLA part and come back to your pretzel in a week.
MD Willington has it right: CNC. If guns are banned, existing machine shops and new underground machine shops will be making firearms on the sly. They won’t have the quality or durability of what you can buy today for 5 Benjamins today, but they will be reasonably functional and last long enough to do what needs to be done. Also, you’ll have guns imported from rogue states and failed nations. It will be prohibition and the war on drugs all over again.
Knowledge is power, and thanks to knowledge, it is firepower, too.
Talking about cnc machines and underground machine shops, and how crappy a 3d printer -printed gun would be,
How many parts of the Liberator would need to be actually made of steel?
I work in the rapid prototyping industry. I’m sick of hearing about 3D printer guns. Do you have any idea what a piece of crap it will be?
It only has to work *ONCE*. That’s the point: A single shot disposable weapon.
When I was in college about 7 years ago, I shared lab space with a professor who researched rapid prototyping (as well as robot evolution – scary stuff if the results weren’t so utterly useless). While I agree that most rapid prototyping methods result in pretty crappy parts, the technology is expanding. When most people think of rapid prototyping, they think of 3D printers churning out plastic parts. But there are also methods that make metal parts. This professor I knew had methods of making plastic robots with moving joints, actuators, internal wiring and internal batteries – all made with the same rapid prototyping machine.
That said, at this point I’d still prefer a mill and a lathe if I were to make my own gun. Perhaps the best setup would be a standard mill and lathe to make the components that will undergo stress, with a 3D printer to make some of the switches, grips and other non-load bearing parts.