[2ndDivisionVet]

The author

[vladimir998]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic&feature=kp

[Hugin]

I’ll take a plasma rifle in the 40 watt range.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

In 2054, rifles will fire laser-beams.

[Future Snake Eater]

I imagine it would have to be caseless ammunition with a railgun-style method of propulsion for this concept to make any sense.

[Vinylly]

So when you shoot somebody the bullet will be paper and the bullet hole would also be just paper. NEAT.

[umgud]

2054? Must be for military and police. By then, there will be no RKBA. Unless, of course, the nation collapses under democrat rule and right minded folks retake the country.

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

It seems like they’re making things unnecessarily complicated. The advantage does not seem worth the likely system failure in a rough/battle field environment.

[Vaquero]

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid

[Lurker]

“In today’s society, one thing that provides a little peace of mind, is the fact that bullets can not yet be printed.”

What an idiot.......

[Pontiac]

Cool; finally you will be able to really be killed by a bullet with your name on it.

[Oratam]

...and Skynet becomes conscious when?

[The Working Man]

What I personally think is more likely as an advance in military weaponry on the personal level will be Liquid propellant that will be metered out as to the level needed for a round to do it’s job and the rounds/bullets will be in a separate magazine or ‘magazines’ depending on their intended usage. I could see a rifle with two or more magazines with solid, explosive and ‘less than lethal’ rounds for use as needed.

[Organic Panic]

Doubtful.

It’s one thing to sinter metal powder in to a structural component. It’s another to assemble chemical mixes that can create a cartridge.

[ModelBreaker]

Not sure it would be much of an advance. 3d printing would still require mass that the soldier would have to carry around. 3d printers don’t make new mass. So the “stuff”/mass would weigh at least as much as the ammo printed from it. If that’s the case, how is carrying four magazines of ammunition any different than carrying four magazines of “stuff” that can be synthesized into ammunition? Not only that, you would have the weight of the printer. And, no physical process is perfect. So the “stuff” would have to weigh more than the ammunition made from it. You would save the weight of the empty magazines—not much.