Posted on 02/26/2013 6:54:41 AM PST by marktwain
3D printed AR15 3rd Generation Ready for Download (600 rds, no wear)
Defense distributed announced that their 3rd generation of 3D printed lowers is ready for distribution. No one knows what the expected life of this lower will be, as it has been used to fire 600 rounds in rapid succession without discernible damage.
In the video, right and left handed shooters switch places while firing the test rounds in rapid semi-action mode. It is clear that the shooters are starting to suffer from hand fatigue from so much trigger action.
The lower receiver design has been reinforced. The upper used is a direct gas impingement type. I would expect that a piston driven design would also work, and might create less potential problems as there would be no hot gases ejected into contact with the lower receiver.
No one knows what the service life of this receiver will be, but 600 rounds without detectable problems is a good start.
Link to Announcement at KeepAndBearArms
Link to video
©2013 by Dean Weingarten Permission to share granted as long as this notice is included.
“Plasticized and extruded” is not “3D printed”.
perhaps never, however I am starting to see proof of concept railguns being built at home ala youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shw4lLI45U0
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTgx56W-KYI
and
a host of others.
DC is just torys who think taking muskets will give them job secuirty.
you have just triggered the thought crime alert system.
thought of any kind will not be tollerated unless sanctioned by “the deciders”.
(/sarcasm)
you have just triggered the thought crime alert system.
thought of any kind will not be tollerated unless sanctioned by “the deciders”.
(/sarcasm)
What's your point? Do you know the most common varieties of 3D printer work by softening plastic and extruding it with pinpoint precision (literally pinpoint)?
That makes as much sense as 3D-printing snowflakes and then compressing them, rather than just making ice-cubes in your freezer.
Where are you going to get the nitrocellulose goo to extrude the powder granules from?
Back when color printers got good enough to print realistic counterfeit money, the feds made the printer manufacturers embed a yellow dot pattern into color images which would identify the printer used.
Expect them to cover their bases with this new technology by (A) making the printer put in identifying features in the things made, and (B) pressuring the printer manufacturers to have the software reject anything that looks like a gun.
Where are you going to get the nitrocellulose goo to extrude the powder granules from?
That's really a good analogy. OTOH I really like shaved ice and dippin' dots. And where do glaciers come from?
Jeez, how do they make powder in the first place? It's got multiple goo stages in it. Nitrocellulose is a resin. I suspect propellant can be incorporated into filament. I'm not willing to go into too much detail in public, but solid propellant grains can be made to burn pretty quick without detonating. Also some things are more efficient and also have a higher regression rate than double-based powder. Look to hobby rocketry for some ideas. The sky is the limit. so to speak. Think outside the brass.
That being said, the overall effectiveness of modern ammunition is pretty hard to beat, and bench loading technology is readily available. Today there may be no point to 3-d printing ammo other than for bragging rights...computerized 3d printing can be easily be tremendously slower than traditional human-actuated machining. Speaking from bitter personal experience. 3d printing works best when it replaces multiple steps in the design or production flow, or allows some similar shortcut.
http://defensedistributed.com/
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