Printable AR-15 Mag Gets More Reliable; YouTube Pulls Video of Demo

Wired reports that the 3-D printed AR-15 magazine from Defense Distributed we mentioned a few weeks back has been improved through design, and is now robust enough to last through firing (at least) several hundred rounds, rather than fewer than a hundred as in the previous iteration. CNET says the video demonstration on YouTube was first yanked, then restored, but as of now seems to have been yanked again.

Comments

Good one Youtube

[Dan East]

Streisand effect for the win.

Re:Good one Youtube

[GameboyRMH]

I care because these guys are going to get 3D printing criminalized and encourage government support of curated computing.

Re:Good one Youtube

[Frosty Piss]

Now this is a very good point. Will people have to register 3D printes with Homeland Security now?

Re:Good one Youtube

[mpoulton]

You are wrong. Steel and stainless steel parts can also be 3D printed.

Not directly. You can 3D print patterns which are used to make molds for casting the parts in steel. I certainly don't know of any home 3D printers which actually print in steel.

No, he meant what he said. Laser sintering makes high strength metal parts directly. The resulting product is very strong and a variety of materials are available. This is already being used to make implantable joint replacements. I have had a few one-off parts made this way, and the results are impressive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88BPmL8cGAo

Re:Good one Youtube

[funwithBSD]

My problem is that you can't follow your own logic. You said that:

Since most events as the shooting range aren't political, that really ain't much of a surprise.. Go to a tea party rally and see what happens to that count of paranoids.

So, by your logic, shooting range is not political, but those same people are at Tea Party rallies, and they are as paranoid as OWS.

Me: OWS != Shooting range
You: Shooting Range + Politics == Tea Party
You: Tea Party == OWS

and I pointed out that no, you won't find the behavior of the OWS at Tea Party rallies, you are full of shit.

With all due respect, of course.

NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

[ColdWetDog]

Why is this at all important? You can make a magazine 'the old way" with a spring, some sheet metal, a spot welder and a metal brake (something that bends sheet metal). Yes, it takes some skill, but you're saying that a 3D printer is at the level of an iPhone?

The canonical 'assault rife', the AK-47, is pounded out in factories that look more like garbage dumps than anything else. If you look at pictures of the magazines you see a bunch that look, well, rather primitive. But they work.

This is not rocket science, folks. It's machine shop 101.

Re:NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

[Grimbleton]

An AK47 made from a shovel. http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/179192-DIY-Shovel-AK-photo-tsunami-warning!?p=2695046&viewfull=1#post2695046

Re:NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

[johnny cashed]

Yeah, and I can make an AR lower receiver in a Bridgeport style mill. Tough to get the forgings at the moment, would have to make it from solid.

WireEDM the magwell and the rest is pretty much doable in a drill press.

Barrels are the really hard part. Luckily there are oodles of barrel makers and plenty of supply. AR uppers can be mail ordered (they are not classified as firearms themselves, unlike the lower receiver)

Metalsmiths have been making guns forever. Most of them buy magazines, because they are too cheap to make yourself. Same with barrels.

The problem with the 3d printing is that they are not using clean slate designs that are appropriate for the materials used in the 3d printer. Copying something made from metal out of plastic isn't usually a good way to make a successful item. (I realize there are 3d printers that make metal objects, they are even more out of reach of the masses)

Re:On the subject of guns

[msauve]

"We've seen a number of these "I've got nothing to lose, I'm going out with a bang!" cases recently. What's with that? Has there always been spree killings, but weren't reported widely until recently? Has something changed in society?"

The media, especially CNN, which is now driving an anti-civil rights agenda. You may notice the lack of "used a weapon for self defense" reporting. It doesn't fit with the agenda. You're right about the copycat events. Pretty much everyone, including the media, seems to accept that current restrictions on 2nd Amendment civil rights are "reasonable, common sense" ones.

Obviously, without the widespread media reporting on these violent episodes, copycat crimes would be reduced. Time for some matching "reasonable, common sense" restrictions on 1st Amendment rights. <sarcasm>No one needs a high speed printing press, or electronic media. These should be restricted to government and military use. Journalists should have to undergo background checks before being allowed to publish. Small, portable copy machines should be subject to registration. Reporting of violence should be pre-approved by the government.</sarcasm>

These suggestions are analogous to restrictions to 2nd Amendment rights which are already in place and considered acceptable. Think of the children.