3 ms·

So he machines a "barrel" into the round (presumably with a lathe or mill) and it takes an hour for each round. So why not just machine a little metal barrel fo

So he machines a "barrel" into the round (presumably with a lathe or mill) and it takes an hour for each round. So why not just machine a little metal barrel for your plastic gun? Or just take your same machine tool and make a metal gun? That would be because people have been doing that for 200 years. You have to say the magic words "3d printed gun!!!!" to get a magazine article about yourself.

jrometty 12y ago
I can't source this atm, but I believe the forces exerted by firing a bullet badly damage the structural integrity of the plastic without any absorbing "barrel." Current 3d printed plastic can't hold that caliber of explosion, hence the need for a swappable -padding- that absorbs the damage to protect the gun. This solution is obviously better than destroying your gun with every bullet, but it doesn't really solve the practicality problem.
Crito 12y ago
His "thing" is using emerging technology (3d printing) to get people to realize the current state of things (it being trivial to manufacture your own firearm). Many people believe that it is currently difficult to make a gun, and will not believe you when told otherwise. However when you give them an excuse to be wrong without being ignorant (emerging technology), then they listen. 3d printers allow people to acknowledge that it is easy to make a gun, without forcing them to admit that it always been for the past century.
- noonespecial 12y ago
  This I consider to be a Bad Thing. The reason being that by allowing them this comfortable linus-blanket of ignorance, we give them an opportunity to vilify and regulate 3d printers despite the 3d printer being no more important to the construction of the workings of the firearm than hammers, screwdrivers or bits of wood. The 3d printer is part of this deadly firearm the same way "Lucky Charms" are part of this nutritious breakfast. I do NOT want to be anywhere near the "war on 3d printing", "permits" and inspections for 3d printer owners, county "stickers" for my stepper motors or anything even remotely along those lines.
  - Crito 12y ago
    I just realized that the guy the article is about does not seem to actually be affiliated with Defense Distributed. What I said applies to Cody Wilson/Defense Distrubuted, not necessarily the guy the article is actually about. Anyway, Cody Wilson is first and foremost a gun guy, not a 3d printing guy. 3d printing may very well be a casualty of his political activism, but his priorities are such that this possibility likely seems worth it to him.
Wogef 12y ago
>Or just take your same machine tool and make a metal gun? Even in the infancy of the technology home 3D printers are already far more common than home mill/lathe setups and require far less skill to use. With the growing success of Dark-markets (even with the recent raids) there will be a growing move to design illicit goods specifically for mailing (even now this is done for drugs). It’s far easier to get a bullet with integrated barrel through UK customs than it is to get an entire gun. All of this is being discussed with a heavy US bias. In some parts of the world homemade guns are a serious problem- http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/06/16/australian-police-10-firearms-seized-homemade/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/06/16/australian-pol... http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2013/11/21/revolving-shotguns-seized-taiwan/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2013/11/21/revolving-shot... http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/08/25/homemade-semi-automatic-pistols-illegally-produced-china/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/08/25/homemade-semi-... http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/09/16/south-american-homemade-submachine-guns/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/09/16/south-american... http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/441342/northern-pen-gun-maker-arrested http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/441342/northern-pen-gu... 3D printing has the potential to significantly lower the level of skill required to make them. I’m saying this as someone who knows the level of skill required- I learned metal work hand-scraping surface plates and using a shaper to cut cams, moved onto CNC and now use 3D printers. I give classes on 3D printing, am active in the community and a huge fan of the technology. No, we should not be hysterical about it but we also should not blindly say decreasing the level of skill required to build firearms is something we can safely ignore.

jrometty 12y ago

I can't source this atm, but I believe the forces exerted by firing a bullet badly damage the structural integrity of the plastic without any absorbing "barrel." Current 3d printed plastic can't hold that caliber of explosion, hence the need for a swappable -padding- that absorbs the damage to protect the gun. This solution is obviously better than destroying your gun with every bullet, but it doesn't really solve the practicality problem.

Crito 12y ago

His "thing" is using emerging technology (3d printing) to get people to realize the current state of things (it being trivial to manufacture your own firearm). Many people believe that it is currently difficult to make a gun, and will not believe you when told otherwise. However when you give them an excuse to be wrong without being ignorant (emerging technology), then they listen. 3d printers allow people to acknowledge that it is easy to make a gun, without forcing them to admit that it always been for the past century.

noonespecial 12y ago
This I consider to be a Bad Thing. The reason being that by allowing them this comfortable linus-blanket of ignorance, we give them an opportunity to vilify and regulate 3d printers despite the 3d printer being no more important to the construction of the workings of the firearm than hammers, screwdrivers or bits of wood. The 3d printer is part of this deadly firearm the same way "Lucky Charms" are part of this nutritious breakfast. I do NOT want to be anywhere near the "war on 3d printing", "permits" and inspections for 3d printer owners, county "stickers" for my stepper motors or anything even remotely along those lines.
- Crito 12y ago
  I just realized that the guy the article is about does not seem to actually be affiliated with Defense Distributed. What I said applies to Cody Wilson/Defense Distrubuted, not necessarily the guy the article is actually about. Anyway, Cody Wilson is first and foremost a gun guy, not a 3d printing guy. 3d printing may very well be a casualty of his political activism, but his priorities are such that this possibility likely seems worth it to him.

Wogef 12y ago

>Or just take your same machine tool and make a metal gun? Even in the infancy of the technology home 3D printers are already far more common than home mill/lathe setups and require far less skill to use. With the growing success of Dark-markets (even with the recent raids) there will be a growing move to design illicit goods specifically for mailing (even now this is done for drugs). It’s far easier to get a bullet with integrated barrel through UK customs than it is to get an entire gun. All of this is being discussed with a heavy US bias. In some parts of the world homemade guns are a serious problem- http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/06/16/australian-police-10-firearms-seized-homemade/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/06/16/australian-pol... http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2013/11/21/revolving-shotguns-seized-taiwan/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2013/11/21/revolving-shot... http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/08/25/homemade-semi-automatic-pistols-illegally-produced-china/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/08/25/homemade-semi-... http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/09/16/south-american-homemade-submachine-guns/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/09/16/south-american... http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/441342/northern-pen-gun-maker-arrested http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/441342/northern-pen-gu... 3D printing has the potential to significantly lower the level of skill required to make them. I’m saying this as someone who knows the level of skill required- I learned metal work hand-scraping surface plates and using a shaper to cut cams, moved onto CNC and now use 3D printers. I give classes on 3D printing, am active in the community and a huge fan of the technology. No, we should not be hysterical about it but we also should not blindly say decreasing the level of skill required to build firearms is something we can safely ignore.