3 ms·

Printing small arms on the fly would be a sure fire way to lose a campaign. You can't 3D print your ammo. There's also a lot of stuff like springs you can't 3D

Printing small arms on the fly would be a sure fire way to lose a campaign. You can't 3D print your ammo. There's also a lot of stuff like springs you can't 3D print. So any disruption in any supplies you can't print, including electricity, leaves you with no weapons. It's a far inferior model to taking completed weapons with you. You can build a million units in a factory on another continent and hand them out in safety. They can be built to whatever tolerances are appropriate using whatever exotic materials you want. They won't be limited to materials that can be 3D printed. Your ammo used also won't be limited to ammo that can be safely used in 3D printed parts.

Ancapistani 4y ago
> Printing small arms on the fly would be a sure fire way to lose a campaign. Mostly, yes - but I could see a place for it in an insurgency, where having a weapon is a liability an individual wouldn’t want, unless it’s in active use at the time. Things are changing quickly, though: > You can't 3D print your ammo. True - but there are active projects out there to address this, and they’re getting better all the time. I think you’ll see viable 3D-printed cartridges soon, with chemical components made from accessible ingredients. > There's also a lot of stuff like springs you can't 3D print. You can print forms and jigs that make creating springs of the correct dimensions much easier, though. Spring steel wire isn’t in short supply anywhere.
- jacquesm 4y ago
  In a pinch: raid a piano.
- giantrobot 4y ago
  Maybe several generations of 3D printers down the road they would be decent weapon printers. Right now and in the near term they're unsuitable for printing weapons. If you're an insurgent you're better off making a zip gun out of office scraps to get yourself a better recently owned gun. Good insurgencies don't keep weapons at home. They stash them at drop points and pick them up when they need to use them. 3D printers have the same problems as weapons. If an occupying force finds out you've got a 3D printer they're going to confiscate it if you're lucky and jail/kill you if you're not. I'd also suggest that anymore insurgencies are more interested in IEDs than small arms. An insurgent doesn't need to be around when an IED goes off. An IED can do a lot more damage to even moderately armored vehicles than 3D printed or scratch built small arms.

Ancapistani 4y ago

> Printing small arms on the fly would be a sure fire way to lose a campaign. Mostly, yes - but I could see a place for it in an insurgency, where having a weapon is a liability an individual wouldn’t want, unless it’s in active use at the time. Things are changing quickly, though: > You can't 3D print your ammo. True - but there are active projects out there to address this, and they’re getting better all the time. I think you’ll see viable 3D-printed cartridges soon, with chemical components made from accessible ingredients. > There's also a lot of stuff like springs you can't 3D print. You can print forms and jigs that make creating springs of the correct dimensions much easier, though. Spring steel wire isn’t in short supply anywhere.

jacquesm 4y ago
In a pinch: raid a piano.
giantrobot 4y ago
Maybe several generations of 3D printers down the road they would be decent weapon printers. Right now and in the near term they're unsuitable for printing weapons. If you're an insurgent you're better off making a zip gun out of office scraps to get yourself a better recently owned gun. Good insurgencies don't keep weapons at home. They stash them at drop points and pick them up when they need to use them. 3D printers have the same problems as weapons. If an occupying force finds out you've got a 3D printer they're going to confiscate it if you're lucky and jail/kill you if you're not. I'd also suggest that anymore insurgencies are more interested in IEDs than small arms. An insurgent doesn't need to be around when an IED goes off. An IED can do a lot more damage to even moderately armored vehicles than 3D printed or scratch built small arms.