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Wiki Weapon Project Test-Fires a (Partly) 3D-Printed Rifle
MrSeb writes "In its continuing mission to build a 'Wiki Weapon,' Defense Distributed has 3D printed the lower receiver of an AR-15 and tested it to failure. The printed part only survives the firing of six shots, but for a first attempt that's quite impressive. And hey, it's a plastic gun. Slashdot first covered 3D-printed guns back in July. The Defense Distributed group sprung up soon after, with the purpose of creating an open-source gun — a Wiki Weapon — that can be downloaded from the internet and printed out. The Defense Distributed manifesto mainly quotes a bunch of historical figures who supported the right to bear arms. DefDist (its nickname) is seeking a gun manufacturing license from the ATF, but so far the feds haven't responded. Unperturbed, DefDist started down the road by renting an advanced 3D printing machine from Stratasys — but when the company found out what its machine was being used for, it was repossessed. DefDist has now obtained a 3D printer from Objet, which seemingly has a more libertarian mindset. The group then downloaded HaveBlue's original AR-15 lower receiver from Thingiverse, printed it out on the Objet printer using ABS-like Digital Material, screwed it into an AR-57 upper receiver, loaded up some FN 5.7x28mm ammo, and headed to the range. The DefDist team will now make various modifications to HaveBlue's design, such as making it more rugged and improving the trigger guard, and then upload the new design to Thingiverse." Sensible ammo choice; 5.7x28mm produces less recoil than the AR-15's conventional 5.56mm. I wonder how many of the upper's components, too, can one day be readily replaced with home-printable parts — for AR-15 style rifles, the upper assembly is where the gun's barrel lives, while the lower assembly (the part printed and tested here) is the legally controlled part of the firearm.
And hey, it's a plastic gun.
No, it's not. It's not even close to that. It's a plastic lower receiver with the rest of the gun being not plastic.
As someone who's taken gun safety, I'm shocked he put himself at risk to test this. Making a shooting bench is fairly trivial. Automating a trigger pulling mechanism is a little more difficult but would require very basic knowledge. I'm surprised someone with access to a 3D printer would be stupid enough to pull a plastic lower receiver up to his face, put his hand on it and pull the trigger until it failed. In gun safety they show you what even an obstructed barrel can result in when firing a gun. That action mechanism would basically become shrapnel for your right hand, left forearm and face.
If these guys want to be taken seriously, they probably should 3D print something that will prevent them from winning a Darwin award.
My work here is dung.
Well, hell, if this qualfies as a plastic gun, then so is my Sig SP2022, and it survives a lot more than 6 rounds. A plastic lower is just a frame; just like my Sig, or Glocks, or numerous other firearms, the actual firing mechanisms(trigger assembly for lower; barrel, firing pin, chamber, and numerous other parts for the upper) are still made of metal.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
Object and Stratasys have completed their merger yesterday, so we'll see about that "libertarian mindset"...
Since the lower receiver is the "regulated" part of the AR-15 (the part that the ATF considers to be the actual gun), isn't think rather illegal?
Home-made rifles are completely legal, you just can't sell or otherwise distribute them. The plans for them, on the other hand, you can distribute, hence the project.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
My IT industry friends are the most well armed guys I know.
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Because of the weapon's design, the receiver on an AR-15 is a notoriously easy part to produce, and has been possible to produce on low-end CNC mills for years. It's not in any way the most difficult part of the weapon to produce; it's just the outer housing within which the actual functional parts are located. Sort of like printing a computer case but not printing what goes inside the case.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Not sure if you're joking or European.
The stories and info posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood.
Only fools would take it as fact.
Sounds like you should be posting in the 3D printed tinfoil hat thread.
Bow before me, for I am root.
Area man uses CNC machine and metalsmithing lathe to build a gun! Complete with Barrel, upper and lower receiver!
"A 'person' is smart. 'People' are dumb, panicky animals and you know that."
The government should have a monopoly on violence
Had that been true in the mid- to late 1700s, the United States would still be a set of British colonies. Within American political theory, at least, possession of arms by the common citizen is of critical importance to political freedom, since it provides the ultimate recourse should the political process be subverted so that it no longer recognizes the will of the people. This is the reason why the ability to manufacture arms at home is of value, because such self-manufactured arms cannot be regulated.
I realize many people have such deep faith in the inevitability of democratic processes that this seems silly. Personally, I hope they're right, because armed rebellions are very messy, nasty affairs, and there's no guarantee that what comes out the other end will be an improvement. But I see great value in preserving the option.
(To head off a common objection: Yes, 50 million people armed with rifles can successfully defeat a few hundred thousand armed with tanks and military aircraft. The first step is to use the rifles to acquire tanks and military aircraft. Even a few thousand people armed with rifles and improvised explosives can pose a serious challenge to a much larger modern military force, though not defeat it. In practice, merely having sufficient arms to force an open conflict would probably be enough to get a large portion of the military to refuse to fire on their fellow citizens, if not outright join them.)
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A busted beer bottle can be a weapon, or just a busted bottle. It all depends on the responsibility of the person holding it.
It makes no sense to me to panic about printing a firearm, or pieces of it, when I know any dumbass could just as likely run me over with his/her car while texting on their phone. Point is, address the problem of bad decision making instead. Running around making prohibitions just causes people to be more sneaky about obtaining said item anyway.
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Citation required.
I occasionally see vehicles with no hood whatsoever (or having an obviously fiberglass part, pinned down). I have yet to see any of them surrounded by angry tin stars, with the owner on the ground, trussed up like a chicken.
Because the Americans pretty much see it as human right to defend oneself from possible government tyranny. You know, just in case the government wants to run roughshod over its people.
FTFY
And before you say, "that will never happen", think of all the other times in history it has happened and how history repeats itself.
And before you say, "the government has bombs", do you think bombs will win the "war on terror"?
Some poor bastard in a village blacksmith shop who can't read or write can produce AK47 clones day in, day out, that work!
Unless somebody "prints" a REAL rifle (one that can fire thousands of rounds of a useful cartridge (7.62x51) without a major failure I call this just more kids indulging in mental masturbation, trying to entertain themselves.
I killed da wabbit -Elmer Fudd
Not sure if you're joking or British.
Here, FTFY. We continentals have no problems with handguns.
Ezekiel 23:20
Dude, have you SEEN what a Blendtech blender can do? Guns have nothing on that.
I hate printers.
Fantastic way to invest time and passion. The world, especially the US, needs MORE GUNS.
Idiots.