# First Metal 3D Printed Gun



## cupper (8 Nov 2013)

*Uh-oh, this 3D-printed metal handgun actually works*

While firing a round with earlier plastic models of 3D-printed guns has proven difficult, this metal model has already shot 50 rounds successfully.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57611433-76/uh-oh-this-3d-printed-metal-handgun-actually-works/



> While the first known 3D-printed gun has been more-or-less dismissed because it can't reliably shoot, a new 3D-printed firearm has now been invented -- and it has no problems firing a round. In fact, it appears this handgun can fire dozens of rounds without a hitch.
> What's the difference between the two? Instead of plastic, the new gun is made of metal.
> 
> The 3D-printed metal gun is made by the Texas-based 3D-printing services company Solid Concepts. The company used a laser sintering process to create the gun and powdered metals for the firearm's material. The weapon's design is based on a classic 1911 handgun and is made up of 33 different stainless steel and Inconel components, along with a carbon fiber filled nylon handgrip.
> ...



Link to the video on Youtube: http://youtu.be/u7ZYKMBDm4M

Interesting.

It does beg the question that if you can produce objects to the tolerances required for a firearm, that can withstand the stresses associated, how soon before the US Government puts a trade restriction overseas sale of the printing equipment in question?


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## Nemo888 (8 Nov 2013)

Many 3d printers can print the parts to make a 3d printer so good luck with that. I've already downloaded blueprints of many AR parts to print sometime in the future. This cat is out of the bag. You can download AR parts with the latest Hollywood movie at the Pirate Bay.


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## jollyjacktar (8 Nov 2013)

Wow.  I wasn't expecting to see a 1911 but something hokey like that first pistol.  I do wonder however how much did it cost to make?  The cat's out of the bag?  More like Pandora's box.


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## chrisf (8 Nov 2013)

The cat continues to sleep peacefully in the bag despite the medias insistence on violently shaking the bag in an attempt to get it out of said bag...

Anyone with access to basic hand tools and a hardware store can make up something as or more dangerous than the liberator, and any millwright with blue prints and a workshop could turn out working and effective guns in quantity. 

I'm absolutely terrible as a machinist, can't drill a straight hole, but as long as you don't mind the fact it would shoot around corners, I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem to start pumping out sten guns in the garage... The only thing that prevents it is those of us who are law abiding are just that, law abiding, and criminals have far easier and cheaper routes to acquire firearms than building them in the shed or printing them in the basement.

Look at what's being turned out in backyard workshops by hand in the khyber region of Pakistan, or by rebels in the Philippines... 3d printing of guns really doesn't seem like a real issue, a side show at most... 

Or if you're into conspiracies it wouldn't surprise me if much of the controversy is generated by manufacturers who stand to loose serious business with development of 3d printing... Not gun manufacturers either... Would anyone be completely shocked if it turned out a company like "games Workshop" who's business is entirely based on selling over priced pieces of plastic was actively trying to encourage an emotional opposition to 3d printers?


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## Shrek1985 (8 Nov 2013)

Alright! Power to the people!


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## a_majoor (9 Nov 2013)

Sig is quite right. There are places in Pakistan where there is a thriving industry of small shops dedicated to hand manufacturing of firearms, and they have the ability to make virtually any firearm you care to order, given sufficient time and the blueprints, or an example to disassemble and reverse engineer.

In fact, the cat was well and truly out of the bag in the 1940's, as Germany moved to designs which could be quickly manufactured and assembled with minimal time and effort. Compare an MG 42 to the previous generation MG 34 (or a Browning M-1919 .30 cal, for that matter). If you can stamp and spot weld sheet metal, you are about 90% of the way to making one of the most effective automatic weapons ever designed. The AK-47 and its offspring are lineal descendants of the StG 44 assault rifle, which also make use of stamping and welding technologies to make crude, rugged and effective firearms.

So if people are not building pistols, machine guns and assault rifles in their basements, it is probably because there are so many cheaper and more effective ways to get that sort of firepower if you want it. For that matter two guys in Boston and two copycats in Victoria thought of even easier and cheaper ways to get that sort of effect without 3D printers or any special tool using skills at all...


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## chrisf (10 Nov 2013)

I'm guessing the only "hard" part in a home-made gun is the barrel... but I really doubt the 3d printed barrels are all that great.


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## a_majoor (10 Nov 2013)

A home made gun barrel for more than a few rounds, or automatic fire would be far more difficult to make than a barrel for the functional equivalent of a bolt action rifle. Not saying a skilled artisan won't be able to make it (they do in Pakistan, after all), but such a barrel on your home made AK or MG 42 probably would not last anywhere as long as a factory made barrel.

The issue, as I understand it, is the treatment of the metal to get the right hardness, toughness and ability to absorb heat and pressure. This would involve a lot more than simply using a 3D printer to lay down the metal powder in the correct dimensions. Hammer forging, heat treatment and electroplating a chrome layer on the inside of the barrel are just some of the things that are done today to get a decent barrel that will last for thousands of rounds.


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## Nemo888 (10 Nov 2013)

a Sig Op said:
			
		

> The cat continues to sleep peacefully in the bag despite the medias insistence on violently shaking the bag in an attempt to get it out of said bag...
> 
> Anyone with access to basic hand tools and a hardware store can make up something as or more dangerous than the liberator, and any millwright with blue prints and a workshop could turn out working and effective guns in quantity.
> 
> ...



Great point Sig Op. Here is a backyard gun smith in the Philippines. I would love to download car parts as well. The mark up on those burns me.
http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/image-files/roof-screws.jpg


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## Nemo888 (10 Nov 2013)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fna9WEO6BjE


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## chrisf (10 Nov 2013)

Ron Swanson says it best... "People who buy things are suckers"

Car companies are another excellent example of companies that stand to loose with the advancement of 3d printing...

Part of planned obsolescence means they have to keep changing the image of vehicles... which in turn means they stop making small cosmetic plastic parts... or charge a excessive premium for them, because it only fits one or two models... imagine if you could just print out new parts???


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## cupper (1 Oct 2014)

Seems that the guy that developed the first 3D printed gun has now developed a workaround for people who want to make untraceable homemade guns.

*'Ghost Gunner' lets people make untraceable, homemade guns*
Defense Distributed's newest project is a PC-connected milling machine that aims to streamline the process of self-assembling AR-15 semi-automatic rifles.

http://www.cnet.com/news/ghost-gunner-lets-people-make-untraceable-home-made-guns/



> What is a "ghost gun?" It's any type of firearm that is self-assembled and untraceable. It's one of gun control advocates and lawmakers biggest fears.
> 
> A few years ago, putting together such guns took insider knowledge and expertise. But with the growth of 3D printing, making gun parts has become easier. Now, with the release of a low-cost home milling machine, anonymously making firearm parts is even simpler.
> 
> ...


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## CougarKing (21 Oct 2014)

Shouldn't there be a master thread on 3D printed weapons? There's at least 2 threads on this topic.



> *Japan man jailed for making guns with 3D printer*
> 
> A Japanese court on Monday jailed a man for two years for making guns with a 3D printer in what is believed to be a first in a nation with strict gun controls.
> 
> ...


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## Colin Parkinson (21 Oct 2014)

Japan should worry more about it's suicide rate than people making 3D guns.


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## a_majoor (21 Oct 2014)

More fear mongering. 

People have been making "ghost guns" for many years. At the high end of the process are Pakistani gunsmiths who can create virtually any semi and automatic weapon they can get their hands on to reverse engineer. the bottom of the scale is represented by teenagers and criminals who make "zip guns" out of little more than a bit of pipe. Any reasonably competent machinist can make a firearm with little fuss (indeed, if he or she spreads the process out over time, they could probably create the entire weapon "in plain sight" in a regular machine shop).

People with less technical skill could also look up various weapons in the history books; the German Army had a slew of very simple weapons developed in 1945 which could be assembled out of stampings and little else (StG 45, for example and various "Volks" rifles).for that matter, a British "Sten" submachine gun is also possible for the would be gunsmith using ordinary tooling (as it was designed to be built).

Given the vast quantity of weapons already "out there", it is probably more cost effective to buy or rent one from your local criminal gang, or just steal one rather than build your own.

The other thing the article overlooks is most criminals don't _want_ long guns like AR-15's or AK-47's. What is desired is a concealable _handgun_, which have been tightly restricted in Canada and the US since the 1930's.


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