Free Republic

Over the weekend, a group of 3-D printing gunsmiths took a partially printed rifle out to test how long its plastic parts survived spewing bullets. The result? Six rounds until it snapped apart....

St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner recently discussed the "Wiki Weapon" project, organized by University of Texas law student Cody Wilson, to develop a design for a firearm that can be printed on a 3-D printer. This design would be published for free on the Internet, and made available to anyone with Internet access. The project has hit a speed bump for the moment, because the manufacturer of the high-end 3-D printer revoked the lease of the printer when it got wind of the nature of the project. Wilson has vowed to not let this stop him, and is exploring his...

Cody Wilson has a simple dream: To design the world’s first firearm that can be downloaded from the Internet and built from scratch using only a 3D printer–and then to share it with the world. Earlier this month, Wilson and a small group of friends who call themselves “Defense Distributed” launched an initiative they’ve dubbed the “ Wiki Weapon Project.” They’re seeking to raise $20,000 to design and release blueprints for a plastic gun anyone can create with an open-source 3D printer known as the RepRap that can be bought for less than $1,000. If all goes according to plan,...