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3D-Printed Gun May Be Unveiled Soon

Posted by samzenpus on from the print-and-shoot dept.

colinneagle writes "A 3D-printed gun capable of firing multiple rounds may be unveiled soon. Cody Wilson, the 25-year-old founder and director of nonprofit organization Defense Distributed, recently told Mashable that the end product of Wiki Weapon, the initiative to create an operational 3D-printed gun, may soon be ready to unveil to the public. In a March interview with CNN, Wilson said he hoped to have a printable gun ready by the end of April, so his most recent comments suggest that he may fulfill that promise. While Wilson was sparse with details, he did tell Mashable that the prototype would be a handgun consisting of 12 parts made out of ABS+ thermoplastic, which is known for its durability and is commonly used in industrial settings. The firing pin would be the only steel component of the 3D-printed gun, which will be able to withstand a few shots before melting or breaking. Wilson reportedly anticipates making an official announcement soon."

8 of 625 comments (clear)

  1. Barrel and slide/bolt too? by maz2331 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the barrel and/or the slide is made of even the best plastic, I wouldn't trust it to take the 35ksi of a normal 9mm round even once. That application requires properly heat treated 4130 or 4140 steel (or 316 stainless).

    1. Re:Barrel and slide/bolt too? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The people working on 3d printing guns are mostly interested in the idea because it'd be very difficult to regulate - they believe that access to firearms is a fundamental constitutional right, even a human right, that no government should be permitted to take from the people. The manufacture of guns by conventional means requires large factories and an organised distribution chain that make it fairly easy for any government to regulate, keeping the guns in the hands of only the police, army, and the criminals well-connected enough to access a shadowy underworld of illegal imports and stolen guns. Guns made with 3d printing would be accessible to anyone able to buy some perfectly legal hardware and download a model file.

    2. Re:Barrel and slide/bolt too? by SharpFang · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They require only generic parts that are obtainable off-the-shelf and needed in hundreds of applications - impossible to regulate (and also available as parts of generic appliances one can dismantle).

      It's not about "do it without use of any factory products", it's about "do it with products the government is unable to restrict."

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    3. Re:Barrel and slide/bolt too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Right. The same army that gets bogged down for a decade doing reconstruction after decimating another state about which we care not at all is definitely going to be willing to massacre its own population.

      I've said it before and i'll say it again. The point of an armed populace isn't to fight an army at full strength. It's to be able to escalate domestic oppression to levels which make the government think twice, rather than sitting around and letting the secret police disappear people one at a time.

      And it doesn't take that much. The world economy is extremely sensitive. What do you think will happen to a nation's sovereign debt rating once it starts openly bombing its own citizens and industrial plants?

    4. Re:Barrel and slide/bolt too? by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nice bullshit story. My gunsafe unlocks with a 4 digit code. I can release the gun in under a second and it drops open to a 45 degree angle grip out so you're ready to fire. It's loaded and ready to go.

      Guns require a commitment by the owner. My kid doesn't touch guns. Period. If he sees one, anywhere, he tells an adult immediately. If you don't take your kids to swimming lessons and they fall in a lake (a much more likely scenario than them finding a gun) they are likely going to die. Gun safety should be a part of any kids upbringing just like swimming. And just like swimming, just because you don't own beach front property doesn't mean you should skip the training. If your kid hasn't had proper gun safety training, YOU are putting your child in danger, not the gun owners of the world.

  2. Re:Supply and demand. by zbobet2012 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In crimes of passion almost any weapon will do. A gun being present generally only changes the cause of death. This is evidenced by the fact that in Britain and Australia gun bans have had no effect on either suicide or homicide rates when isolated against already prevailing national crime rates and trends. You are also incorrect about the nature of homicide in the US. 70-85% of those murdered the US every year have a criminal record. Most major cities track close to 80% of there homicides resulting from gang violence.
    I should be clear, I am not a "gun rights" advocate, but from an economics perspective it is rather obvious that murder is price inelastic. The vast majority of murders are infact crime related. The remander are largely crimes of passion for which any serviceable weapon can and will do (suicide falls under this as well).

  3. Re:Cody Wilson can go fuck himself by Pseudonym+Authority · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If this gets 3D printing banned then it proves him right, and the government is tyrannical and does need to go.

  4. I know what I'm thinking. by WinstonWolfIT · · Score: 5, Funny

    I know what I'm thinking. "Did I fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is plastic gun, and if it backfires it will likely blow my head clean off, I've got to ask myself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do I, moron?