Of course, we know full well that our Masters in Washington are not going to like being taken out of the control loop, and will seek to regulate this in every way they can imagine. History has already shown how well that works...
Posted on 11/08/2013 7:42:32 AM PST by Joe Brower
First 3-D-Printed Metal Gun Shows Tech Maturity
Jeremy Hsu / Thu, November 07, 2013
The world's first 3-D–printed metal gun aims to prove a point about the reliability of 3-D printing technology. But its makers don't plan on revolutionizing the manufacture of firearms by making the process available in every household.
The metal pistol made by Solid Concepts, a 3-D printing service based in Austin, Texas, represents a working 3-D–printed version of the famed 1911 pistol originally designed by John Browning. Solid Concepts created almost all parts of the classic gun through direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), an industrial 3-D printing process used to make metal parts in aerospace manufacturing and for surgical implants. (The gun's springs were made separately.)
"When we decided to go ahead and make this gun, we weren't trying to figure out a cheaper, easier, better way to make a gun," said Phillip Conner, DMLS project manager, in a video. "That wasn't the point at all. What we were trying to do is dispel the commonly held notion that DMLS parts are not strong enough or accurate enough for real-world applications."
The 3-D–printed pistol proved both sturdy and accurate during mounted and handheld firing tests showcased in a video posted on 6 November. Solid Concepts says it can 3-D print unique gun parts for any "qualifying customer" in five days—a service made legally possible by the fact that the company holds a Federal Firearms License.
But the 3-D–printed weapon that Solid Concepts built can't be replicated by any DIY gunsmith attempting to do so with a 3-D printer costing less than $10,000. That's an important point that Solid Concepts emphasized at the very beginning of its blog post about its achievement.
"The industrial printer we used costs more than my college tuition (and I went to a private university) and the engineers who run our machines are top of the line; they are experts who know what they’re doing and understand 3-D Printing better than anyone in this business," said Alyssa Parkinson, a spokesperson for Solid Concepts, in a blog post.
In other words, the Solid Concepts gun still requires expensive, industrial-grade equipment that most DIY enthusiasts or homeowners can't afford. That makes the metal gun very different from the plastic guns of Defense Distributed, a Texas group that has developed an open-source design for guns intended for manufacture using home 3-D printers.
Defense Distributed's plastic guns haven't proven durable enough to survive more than a few shots. But the group's focus on plastic firearms produced by cheaper varieties of 3-D printers has raised fears that 3-D printers and open-source gun blueprints could theoretically allow anyone to make a gun at home—either legally or illegally.
Such fears have already driven lawmakers to propose laws that would restrict the manufacture of 3-D–printed plastic guns. Police in Manchester, UK went so far as to seize a 3-D printer and what they claimed to be 3-D–printed gun parts from a private home last month. (The police quickly backed off their claim after people pointed out that the parts displayed in police photos appeared to be printer parts.)
Of course, we know full well that our Masters in Washington are not going to like being taken out of the control loop, and will seek to regulate this in every way they can imagine. History has already shown how well that works...
Perhaps of interest.
So, can you build a 3-D printer using a 3-D printer?
$250K machine...
Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is an additive metal fabrication technology developed by EOS of Munich, Germany, It is comparable to selective laser sintering (SLS) that was developed at UT Austin in the 80s and commercialized by DTM. They could have been making gun parts for 20 years, but why, when there are better technologies available?
DTMs core patents expire next year, but consensus is there won’t be any rush to copycat machines at lower prices after the DTM goes off-patent.
It’s funny how overhyped reporting is treated differently when it’s about 3D printing of guns vs, say “EVs” or “climate science”.
Political power grows out of the nozzle of a 3-D Printer.
Isn’t it true that lathe operators have always been able to make guns for very little money? Used lathes are a few grand each. That’s how they’re made in Pakistan, where copies of AK-47’s proliferate.
To put it in perspective, that's about the same cost as a five year old work truck with 150,000 miles on it. For the same money you could also have four bare bones modern sporting rifles.
I have a suspicion that the price tag won't be a barrier to the sufficiently motivated.
And as with all technology, the price tag will drop and quickly.
Not if, but when...
Hopefully, everyone will understand and see that we are ALL more secure with this defensive material being distributed.
To heck with guns. Can one of these things build a president getter-ridder that won’t physically hurt him? It would just put him in a place where he is a lonely man, and constantly reminds him of his botched presidency.
Once classic designs can be “printed” reliably, next will be making one-off & limited runs of exotic designs, going straight from designer to finished product without fiddling with CNC & normal milling issues. Example exotic: http://www.pascaleggert.de/ThorA1.html
Kinda like publishing going from movable type to laser printers. First, the latter has to catch up to the former, then far surpasses it in capability.
That’s one rough-looking gun.
I don’t think that even most people who are aware of the technology are able to wrap their heads around the changes that this will bring to the world. What is on the horizon is truly a new revolution in personal freedom. What is coming is almost a complete reversal of the industrial revolution. Industry is coming right into your own home with this technology and it is moving with breathtaking pace.
The open nature of this technology makes it near impossible for any of the gatekeepers in government or industry to stop. They will try, but they will fail in the end.
Why buy cheap plastic crap imported from China when you can print it at home at a fraction of the cost? Imagine open source car parts that you can make yourself. It’s coming. Imagine people designing open source solutions to circumvent idiotic government mandates. That’s coming too.
Imagine scanning and recreating existing things with a 3d printer and a $400 3d scanner like this one:
http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/08/3d-systems-sense/
This also represents a whole new world of copyright and patent issues. Imagine what it is going to be like when physical objects can be scanned, the 3d models distributed by pirates, and then recreated at home by anyone who so desires. Imagine when the technology reaches the level (and it’s not far off) to open up an electronic device, scan all of it’s internal parts, and upload the plans to share with others.
What’s Apple going to do when you can print your own iPad at home? I don’t know. On the one hand, it sounds like anarchy, but on the other hand, it sounds like an end of a lot of dusty old business models and a new frontier for entrepreneurs to market their products.
Agreed.
Lots of opportunity for lots of people.
I am trying to teach my kids the basics of electronics and programming just so that they can get their brains around what is possible.
UL and IEEE will have to adapt as well.
The regime will use as rationale for door-to-door gun confiscation.
Amazing. I truly thought an actual working metal gun would be a lot farther off. I am impressed.
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