Printing gun parts in your home

[ballistic1]

Found this link, seems to be amazing technology.

Using a 3D printer to produce working ar15 mags & other gun parts from
free online files.


http://www.outdoorhub.com/opinions/3d-printers-highlight-gun-bans-irrelevancy/

If this post is redundant of other posts, my apology

 

[diverdon]

Re: Printing gun parts in your home

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ballistic1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Found this link, seems to be amazing technology.

Using a 3D printer to produce working ar15 mags & other gun parts from
free online files.


http://www.outdoorhub.com/opinions/3d-printers-highlight-gun-bans-irrelevancy/

If this post is redundant of other posts, my apology </div></div>

I have followed a lot of 3D printer stuff. As a former Machine shop owner I was a early adopter of 3D printing technology for rapid prototyping. I think that you should be aware that the ability to make firearms similar in quality and dependability to the firearms you might buy in a gun shop is just not there.

You could make most of the components if you had millions of dollars to invest in equipment, and a skilled engineering staff at your disposal. However even then keep in mind that 3D printing works by "building up" material not by taking it away as conventional machining processes. Industrial processes like forging produce favorable microstructures in materials firearms are made from. This is not available with any 3D process even being considered for development. Indeed a 3D printed part that could replace high stress forged part is no closer than a Star Trek warp drive or Phaser gun.

Further more do you know that Photoshop and other image editing programs have embedded in their source code things that prevent you from doing certain things with currency and that the program will automatically notify the Treasury Dept should you try?

I think that similar or even more effective methods could be embedded in future 3D printers.

Now, can you make guns? Of course you can. It seems to ma that it would be fairly easy to make the kind of low quality "zipgun" sometimes found in prisons.

Printing firearms at home that would replace what we have in our safes? I can not see it happening any time soon. Thus for the foreseeable future home 3D printers cannot replace of supplement the second amendment.

 

[HawkDriver]

Re: Printing gun parts in your home

They really notify the treasury? I've never heard that, but I'm not surprised.

 

[stik]

Re: Printing gun parts in your home

3D printers are very good at making prototypes for mold making etc. right? I'm not sure how useful that would be for manufacturing firearms parts at a hobby level though. I would still love to play with a 3d printer at some point.

 

[Masked]

Re: Printing gun parts in your home

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: stik</div><div class="ubbcode-body">3D printers are very good at making prototypes for mold making etc. right? I'm not sure how useful that would be for manufacturing firearms parts at a hobby level though. I would still love to play with a 3d printer at some point. </div></div>

I own a custom computer business and thus, have one for making plastic parts and accessories that I couldn't otherwise, walk to the store and buy.

I also know a couple of guys that printed an AR15 lower...Did it work? Yes, for about 6-7 shots and then it shattered because the stress from the buffer was too much.

Can it be done? With the right plastics and a decent commercial printer, absolutely.

Done in the home? Not just yet.

Could you successfully make magazines? Maybe -- I can see it as a possibility but, you'd need heavier plastic stock which, is expensive and thus, takes longer to print plus doesn't work in most printers.

I think eventually, we'll be at a point of printing both but, we're really just not there yet.

 

[seanh]

Re: Printing gun parts in your home

Back in 06 I went to the EAA show in Oshkosh...the big airshow. One of the companies that had a booth was NASA. There they were demoing a 3D printer they had that would print in metal. This particular printer could take powdered metal and form fully working parts such as a gear in a transmission. Talking with them, I found that the part was just as reliable as any billet machined part. The intent for this particular machine was to go to Mars so they could make parts instead of having to bring an inventory.

Where do you get that 3D printer? I have no idea but the technology is available to make something like a frame/action...a rifled barrel may be a stretch.