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UK Ballistics Scientists: 3D-Printed Guns Are 'of No Use To Anyone'

Posted by Soulskill on from the might-hurt-if-you-throw-them-at-somebody dept.

New submitter graveyardjohn writes: "The BBC has a short video about why the U.K.'s National Ballistics Intelligence Service thinks 3D-printed guns are 'of no use to anyone.' They show a 3D-printed gun being fired in a test chamber. The barrel explodes and the bullet flops forward a few feet. They say, 'without additional expertise and the right type of ammunition, anyone attempting to fire one would probably maim or even kill themselves.'"

15 of 490 comments (clear)

  1. Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm fucking sick of seeing 3D printers associated with guns.

    1. Re:Good by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Interesting

      At this point it's still cheaper to buy a gun than a 3-D printer

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    2. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Apparently, Phillipean barrios are full of people with substantial engineering expertise.

      http://www.everydaynodaysoff.com/2013/04/08/backyard-gun-shops-in-the-philippines/

    3. Re:Good by pla · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And I'm sick of gun people thinking of guns as a great equalizer that anyone can make without substantial engineering expertise. But somehow I suspect neither group is going to respect the results of this research.

      Do you have access to a steel pipe with a reducing coupling, a spring, and a nail? Then yes, you can make something capable of more-or-less safely firing most lower pressure rounds. By "more or less", I mean I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot firing pin, but it would work just fine 99 times out of 100.

      For the 3d printed guns we hear the most about, keep in mind that they have the goal of a "pure" implementation, using just 3d printed parts. Your local street punks probably don't care about the "purity" of their finished product... So, remove that constraint and add a trivial metal part or two (a chamber and at least the throat of the barrel - just a plain ol' dumb metal tube, in essence - would single-handedly solve the "blows up on firing" problem), and even your local wannabe-thugs could manage to print and assemble a fairly effective DIY gun.

  2. Good thing technology never moves forward by BoberFett · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's a good thing technology never moves forward. This issue can now be put to bed.

    1. Re:Good thing technology never moves forward by DarwinSurvivor · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or maybe they intentionally did a bad job so others wouldn't even try?

  3. Others exist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yet others have been fired multiple times, successfully.

    Either the UK-NBIS sucks at 3D printing, or this is disinformation.

  4. polymer AR lower recievers... by gandhi_2 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There are several commercially successful makes of polymer AR lowers.
    In AR-land, the serial is on the lower.
    A 3d printed lower gives you the ability to print a non serial numberd AR. Which is legal (US federal. YMMV) because home-made guns don't have to be serialized.

    --
    THL phish sticks
    1. Re:polymer AR lower recievers... by PseudoCoder · · Score: 5, Informative

      what's the difference between a lower and an upper? which part has the barrel? or the trigger and "chamber"?

      Barrel, chamber and bolt assembly go on the upper receiver. The trigger, magazine, stock and serial number on the lower receiver.

      --
      "Now, I doubt any of you would prefer a rolled up newspaper as a weapon against a dictator or a criminal intruder."
  5. Also, cars are of no use to anyone by Theaetetus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The BBC has a short video about why the U.K.'s National Ballistics Intelligence Service thinks 3D-printed guns are 'of no use to anyone.' They show a 3D-printed gun being fired in a test chamber. The barrel explodes and the bullet flops forward a few feet. They say, 'without additional expertise and the right type of ammunition, anyone attempting to fire one would probably maim or even kill themselves.'

    In a related story, the U.K. Horse and Buggy Registration Service thinks the automobile will be 'of no use to anyone.' They show a vehicle being driven on a test track. It travels a short distance at 10 mph, then the engine blows a rod and one wheel falls off. They say, 'without additional expertise and the right type of petrol, anyone attempting to drive one would probably main or even kill themselves."

  6. Re:Not a very thorough evaluation by Nidi62 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why even bother printing guns when you can just buy a legally unregulated upper, a trigger assembly, and an 80% lower reciever blank then just mill the blank and assemble a fully working, untraceable and unserialed AR-15?

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  7. 3D Printing is Not Just Glorified Glue Guns by LuxuryYacht · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's sad that 3D printing had become synonymous with FDM or glorified glue guns (GGG). There are lots of different technologies that fall under the umbrella of 3D printing.

    Here's a gun that was 3D printed using DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) for the metal parts and SLS for the grips. It's both durable and viable.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
    http://www.engineering.com/3DP...

    Here's a few other 3D printing processes that are not FDM glorified glue guns:

    SLS
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

    DMLS
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D...

    LOM
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...

    SLA
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

    --
    Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur
  8. Re:But... by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Violent crime is violent crime.

    Baloney. Every nation defines it differently, just as your link states, which is what makes it convenient for spinning fanciful narratives like yours.

    Try comparing something more clear-cut: murder rates: it is 4x higher in the US. So you tell me, if you believe your fictional statistic about 8x the violent crime in the UK, but only 1/4 as many people die, that means "violent" crime is 1/32 as lethal in the UK vs the US. I.e., their "violent crime" is 97% less lethal than ours. And then you use that to argue the type of weapon doesn't matter, or that guns reduce suffering. Please.

  9. Re:Can't the Brits get it right? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Cause they want to show them exploding.

  10. Re:But... by locust · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Your guns are going to mean precious little in a few years. Ask any Afghan. Almost everyone has an AK-47. Predator drones don't care. It will be the same here in the good old US of A. Drones will be used in police actions internally in the US because they are cheaper to replace & train than en-vivo police officers.

    Today, arming the population, means teaching them math, science, technical skills, and the civics to know when to put them to use against the government of the day.