3 ms·

You don't need to assemble all the parts, just the receiver since that is what is legally considered the firearm. Parts kits (minus receivers) are plentiful, c

by jboggan 14y ago

You don't need to assemble all the parts, just the receiver since that is what is legally considered the firearm. Parts kits (minus receivers) are plentiful, cheap, and unregulated. Your local and state laws may vary, but it is generally legal to make your own receiver without any sort of license or taxation, provided it is for personal use. I would consider another make of firearm though; AR-15 type rifles have been successfully constructed with carbon fiber, polymer, and composite receivers. I've never heard of anyone doing that with AK series weapons, and considering the stress the AK receiver is under during recoil (find a slow motion video, it's jiggling everywhere!) I wouldn't really want to. Mandatory I Am Not A Lawyer Statement

pbhjpbhj 14y ago
Would aluminium do? Could you use the 3D printer to make a mould and cast some alu from drinks cans?
sneak 14y ago
Manufacturing a firearm with a 3D printer would be a federal crime in the USA. That's not why I asked. I'm more interested in actual costs of the democratization of force for places that don't already have weapons (unlike the USA). Stop assuming that this.country == "US" when you talk to people on the internet, please.
- jboggan 14y ago
  Not a federal crime for some values of "manufacturing": http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/firearms-technology.html#commercial-parts-assembly http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/firearms-technology.html#com... "Individuals manufacturing sporting-type firearms for their own use need not hold Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs)." So you could manufacture an AK receiver but you would have to outfit with a Saiga parts set to avoid falling afoul of 922(r) restrictions on "assault weapons". I was only speaking to the U.S. as that is the only system I begin to understand the legalities of (and that would remotely allow this). The reality of an insurgency using 3D-printing to manufacture whole firearms isn't possible yet due to the stresses involved. I've had multiple mechanical failures due to MIM parts (metal injection molding) shattering in handguns. I can't imagine the current or near future 3D printing materials being able to surpass MIM in strength. It would be more likely to be used to make difficult to manufacture components for weapons, such as molds for shaped charges.

by jboggan 14y ago

pbhjpbhj 14y ago

Would aluminium do? Could you use the 3D printer to make a mould and cast some alu from drinks cans?

sneak 14y ago

Manufacturing a firearm with a 3D printer would be a federal crime in the USA. That's not why I asked. I'm more interested in actual costs of the democratization of force for places that don't already have weapons (unlike the USA). Stop assuming that this.country == "US" when you talk to people on the internet, please.

jboggan 14y ago
Not a federal crime for some values of "manufacturing": http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/firearms-technology.html#commercial-parts-assembly http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/firearms-technology.html#com... "Individuals manufacturing sporting-type firearms for their own use need not hold Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs)." So you could manufacture an AK receiver but you would have to outfit with a Saiga parts set to avoid falling afoul of 922(r) restrictions on "assault weapons". I was only speaking to the U.S. as that is the only system I begin to understand the legalities of (and that would remotely allow this). The reality of an insurgency using 3D-printing to manufacture whole firearms isn't possible yet due to the stresses involved. I've had multiple mechanical failures due to MIM parts (metal injection molding) shattering in handguns. I can't imagine the current or near future 3D printing materials being able to surpass MIM in strength. It would be more likely to be used to make difficult to manufacture components for weapons, such as molds for shaped charges.