Posted on 05/06/2013 7:25:28 AM PDT by marktwain
Defense Distributed has released a video of the successful test firing by hand of their first complete 3D printed pistol, the "Liberator". The Liberator has only one metal part, the firing pin, made from a common nail.
In the video, Cody Wilson is shown firing the pistol by hand, to dramatically illustrate his faith in the design. The Liberator is a single shot pistol in .380 (9X17) caliber.
While firearms have been made in home workshops ever since they have been in existence, the ability to download computer files and have a computer controlled machine print all the parts to a functioning firearm has caught the public attention.
Video link of "Liberator - Dawn of the Wiki Weapons"
Dean Weingarten, Defense Distributed Distributor
Link to Gun Watch article and Video:
http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/05/defense-distributed-successful-test.html
They will pass a law to put the genie back in the bottle.
They may try. We will oppose them.
I understand that one legislature once repealed the law of gravity.
[ They will pass a law to put the genie back in the bottle. ]
You can’t rebottle a Genie, not without burning all the surrounding villages and villagers...
But, in order to produce one of this quality takes a machine that costs anywhere from 180,000 to 350,000.
So how many do you want? How much are you willing to pay for one coming off this machine when it would take more than a day of printing just to make 1.
I have all sorts of parts and pieces printed in PC-ABS to test designs. The cost of a relatively small part (a curved object about 1/4” thick, 1-1/2 wide and 3” long) is $35.00 per piece. This is .01 accuracy just for test fit. Higher accuracy takes far more time, especially with the new metal printing machines.
It probably wouldn't work, at least not without voluntary compliance.
As an instructive parallel, take the case of printers, scanners, copiers, etc. The government leaned on the manufacturers to include intelligence so that the devices could determine if you were trying to print currency, and the manufacturers cooperated. If you try to copy a bill, the copier will give you an error message (and probably call the cops these days).
The situation is somewhat different with 3D printers. The government might be able to repeat the same persuasion they did with the printer and copier makers (though recognizing a gun part must be orders of magnitude harder than recognizing currency). In contrast with printers and copiers, though, 3D printers have become popular in the "maker" culture (cross a nerd and a gearhead and you get a maker). Not just using them, but building them, and there are numerous open source designs for DIY 3D printers. In fact the name for one of them "Reprap", is based on the fact that it can print the critical parts to spawn a copy of itself. This is going to be a hard genie to contain. How are they going to force nanny-code into a DIY printer?
With laws as they stand today, there's another obstacle for the rights controllers. Unlike the anti-counterfeiting provisions, they'd be outlawing specific technology out of fear that it would be used to engage in a LEGAL activity. While I'd be hard pressed to think of a legitimate reason to copy a sawbuck, building your own firearms by traditional methods is perfectly legal, so how do you justify criminalizing using a new tech to do something that's already legal?
Nobody buys a prototype.
The technology will drive the process into efficiency eventually. The idea is what is scaring liberals.
I’m trying to think of any historical case where a politician feared for his life because he had too little power.
These machines are not prototypes, I have been having parts made for over 15 years now. They cannot produce parts and pieces to make then economically competitive on any market. I understand the situation in what Schmuckie is trying to do buy making a law against these 3D printed, but it is really much to do about nothing when it comes to the economic reality production manufacturing.
I can go out and buy a used CNC machine for far less that what it takes to buy a 3D printer with the capability to print a gun that can be fired more than a handful of times. As I have the 3D parametric files, I can mass produce them far faster and capable of firing far more rounds than any 3D printer on the market.
I think it would be more useful if it could create bullets.
Bullets are easy to make at home. I have made 10s of thousands of bullets by casting lead. It is the way that bullets were made for thousands of years.
Gunpowder and primers are more difficult, but they have been made at home as well.
Even in the old Soviet Union, people made gunpowder and primers from matches.
There have been articles published on how to do these things.
However, it is far easier to buy 10 thousand rounds of .22 ammunition, than to make it for yourself, if you are not an enthusiast.
At least, it used to be......
I think we agree. My reference to the prototype was about the product the 3D machine produced (parts that were assembled to produce a functioning gun).
The technology is not yet there for Johnny Homeowner to just download a file, print and assemble his own personal protection hand gun for the cost of a printer and some plastic resin. I expect that is a very long way off.
I do not know much about the 3D printing technology except that it has been around for a while. I thought it was mostly used to produce prototypes and one off components. If history is any indication of the future of technologies, 3D printers may be a house hold appliance in 50 to 100 years. Need a new shovel head, print it out. Spatula for the grill? Some plates and cups? A lug nut?
The sci-fi geeks imagined “replicators”. Are we that far off?
I’m sorry, but this thing looks like a hi-tek zip gun to me.
I would question that very highly. Maybe it made a few parts on the gun, but I still take that as questionable.
I’m sorry, but this thing looks like a hi-tek zip gun to me.
Yes. No one claimed any different. It is for those who do not know about drills, files, and hacksaws, not to mention welders, grinders, and hammers.
It brings the entire idea of home produced guns into focus. This is a very good thing(k).
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