Then when your kitchen knives get dull and nicked you just toss them into the hopper for full remanufacturing ~ and your pistols? Grip gets worn, rebuild!
This sounded pretty unrealistic to me. So I read the comments. It turns out that the article is extremely misleading. The guy did not make a whole gun.
They'll just start operation "Gun Printer"
It’s a plastics printer, not metal.
Sintering can “print” metals and ceramics, but I believe you still need a source of heat for tempering purposes, and even then I don’t know how strong the results are.
But still. Imagine the day when a high percentage of daily tools and objects can be made at home, just by running the right printer file.
Along with local power (solar or Mr. Fusion), preppers would only need a garden - and who knows how fast we’ll develop portable biolabs!
How many coke cans do I have to feed it in order to print out a B 29?
My predictions.
In 5 years you will be able to print an entire gun.
In 10 years you will be able to get a body part constructed with a biological 3D printer...need a new bladder? A new finger? Let me take a scan and a tissue sample and I’ll have it for you in a few weeks.
In 15 years China exports will drop to nil since people can just print most desired small objects..even ones with integrated electronics.
In 25-40 years mobile systems that control small armies of nano bot assemblers will build large objects like homes and bridges...sometimes by using the materials at the site (sand for instance) Homes will become so cheap people will simply move away and abandon them when they want to relocate.
In 100 years it will be possible to 3D print an entire human body.
Probably by 2050 the technology for self-replicating nano bots will exist. It is uncertain if this will be legal or not as it could be a dangerous technology.
My predictions are actually quite restrained considering the exponential way this tech is beginning to expand.
Many here on FR today will live to see the age where almost everything is created by 3D assemblers. Even the precision machining of metal objects will pass into history.
Any person who can legally own a firearm can construct one for his/her own use and the ATF can’t do a thing about it.
So when can I print me a Ferrari?
We’re not there yet, but this technology promised to open some serious door soon. I have been amazed at the commercial applications for it so far.