A real nice DIY project.
Posted on 08/06/2012 7:03:09 PM PDT by JohnPierce
--IMAGE HERE--
The lower receiver of the gun pictured at the top of this article was not purchased from a licensed dealer, nor was it purchased from an individual.
This lower was ‘printed’ using a 3D printer and it may spell the beginning of the end for the gun control movement.
3D ‘printing’ is an emerging technology that has been commercially available for some time but is only now achieving inroads into the consumer market. 3D ‘printers’ are in fact computer controlled material handling systems that lay down successive layers of polymer or other material based upon a computer model to make a 3D object; in this case, a lower for an AR.
--VIDEO HERE--
Once costing tens of thousands of dollars, advanced 3D printers such as the MakerBot Replicator are available today for under $2,000 and the price is expected to keep dropping as consumer damage increases.
And thanks to engineer Michael Guslick, who ‘printed’ the lower pictured above from a design of his own creation, 3D printing of functional firearms has moved beyond the realm of the possible into the actual; and things will never be the same again.
Michael first posted details of his creation on AR15.com but the story quickly spread across the internet where numerous commentators, myself included, have discussed the legal and public policy ramifications of this inevitable step forward.
One of the comments on the AR15.com thread summed up my feelings quite nicely; ‘‘If we can spread this core technology to every kitchen tabletop, there will no longer be a meaningful way to restrict and infringe on the private civilian ownership of modern firearms.’’
Even Mark Gibbs of Forbes magazine couldn’t help himself from noting that, from this day forward ‘‘if guns are outlawed, outlaws will have 3D printers.’’
Well, let’s back up a bit further.
No SWAT team needs a .338 Lapua. They simply don’t take shots at the distance which would indicate a .338 LM. Period. Any desire by any bunch of donut-nibblers for a .338 LM is mental masturbation on the cops’ part.
As for the other deals... I have to stop now. There’s only so much ranting I can do in one day, and I’ve already met my quota.
Oh, I forgot to put suppressors on my list of things that could be printed...or at least the key components, which could then be assembled.
Yep, the possibilities are intriguing, and must be causing the prescribing of many more sleeping pills among TPTB.
FYI, THIS: http://store.makerbot.com/replicator-404.html is the handy-dandy device that made the lower in the subject article.
Lots of interesting information on http://www.thingiverse.com/
http://www.thingiverse.com/tag:weapon/page:1 Here are all things related to weapons on the site.
Interesting article: http://www.3dprinter.net/3d-printers-obsolete-firearm-controls-and-the-law
Interesting video (5 minutes) on metal printing: http://www.3dprinter.net/3d-metal-printing-i-materialise-goes-bronze
These guys were from Avon, CO, a town of about 5,500 west of Vail. Why would they need one, let alone the "several" future orders? Well, besides that they were spending tax money for the toys.
Cartridge cases are pretty simple. Do you think they could print sturdy enough cartridge cases? Or even complete cartridges?
One of the replies on the previous page included these links about ‘printing’ with metals.
http://www.shapeways.com/themes/stainless_steel_3dprinting_gallery
http://www.ponoko.com/make-and-sell/show-material/239-3d-printed-stainless-steel
http://3dprinting.com/materials/metal/3d-printing-metal/
The magic number is the lower must be less than 80% finished from the seller and then it is not a firearm. There are people over at AR15.com who rent out jigs that allow you to easily convert that 80% hunk of aluminum into a fully functional lower.
Cases? Yes, they could definitely be sturdy enough for a single use, perhaps even for limited reloading (don’t know if I’d trust them much). As for the entire cartridge, you have 4 parts: the case, the primer (which contains a minute amount of explosive), the powder and the bullet. Case and bullet are easy for printing. The explosive and the powder are not, in my view, possible to print. But you could probably print the equipment needed to make them on a small scale.
Y’know, single use plastic cases... Just need to figure out how to get the fulminate and propellent into them in the printing process.
And find a plastic that doesn’t melt in a hot chamber.
I want a12 pounder parrot gun.....
Minus the feathers an noise of course .....:o)
Mac 10’s are the perfect room broom.
Stay safe !
Gotta store a LOT of powder to run that baby!
{:0)
Sadly....:o)
Yep and then the gub'ment bans sales of ammo and or primers and powder to individuals.
(can't print ammo)
Found a 49$ version....
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2012/07/new-polymer-ar15-lower-receiver-from-ati/
these any good ?
Ya know if we put one of these together we don’t get in trouble because we didn’t build this ourselves according to Precedent Erkel Mugabe ...
Why does the lower receiver need to be steel? It's the upper that has the barrel and bolt. What they're talking about is making a polymer lower, adding a purchased trigger group assembly and an upper, and away you go.
For $49 that might be cool for a .22 upper
You can get a $99 dollar injection molded receiver on the interwebs.
I would not fool with this.
They work fine.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
