Liberator - the 3D printed gun

[rollo]

A 25-year old student called Cody Wilson has just designed and fired the world's first home-made gun built on a 3D printer. More here and here.

I can't help but wonder if Cody is about to become the household name of the next decade or so. There's a good chance that his little innovation changes the rules on pretty much everything.

Firstly, guns no longer need to be shipped from the US to Mexico. Admittedly that probably only means that the US gun industry suffers, but it is still a tangible impact. Similarly the likes of Mark Thatcher are left twiddling their thumbs. Probably a good thing.

Does it matter to the latest Bin Laden that they can just print their own guns now? I guess it depends on the price.

But perhaps most concerning of all, these things are made out of plastic. Airport security - already largely ineffective - is now rendered almost entirely pointless.

What do you guys reckon? I can't help but feel a little bit worried about this...

[Your Funny Uncle]

So you can make 3D printed ammo? Thought not.

[rollo]

Right now, no. Are you saying it's theoretically impossible?

I suspect you're suggesting I'm seeing shadows where there is no sun - I hope so too!

[Deschanel]

I can't help but wonder if Cody is about to become the household name of the next decade or so.

Lol, I highly doubt it. Yes, this story has gotten a lot of media play recently, but they leave out the fact that these plastic 3D-printed guns are pieces of shit that shatter, splinter and burn after five shots, they're useless. In a country that is absolutely awash in actual guns, easily available and every attempt at restricting them quashed politically, it's easier to obtain a real gun than afford and maintain a 3D printer to pump out pieces of crap that are likely to blow up in your face, because they are pieces of plastic shit.

The only reason this is a story is because rightwingers are convinced Obama and the gummint are comin' to take their guns.
Which is absolutely untrue, but that's what pervasive right-wing media are telling paranoid idiots every day around the clock.

I can barely maintain my stupid 2d paper-printer without running out of ink etc. I don't see how the sorts who would want a 3D printer to make plastic guns could afford such a machine or know how to maintain it, when they can just go to a gun show and get the real thing.

If this is about invisibility to scanners and metal detectors etc., well as I said, they are unreliable pieces of shit, these homemade guns. Will someone be killed by one someday soon? Quite possible. But no need to panic about them. The media attention is all about catering to right-wing paranoia.

[rollo]

Interesting - the actual reason I thought about this and posted was the total lack of media attention in my part of the world!

I'm not keen on the insinuation that a crappy plastic gun isn't worth considering a deadly weapon - this was basically only a proof of concept.

Otherwise all good points and well made...

[Your Funny Uncle]

I'm pretty sure that bullets and their casings need to be made from metal or at least something much stronger than the plastics you get in 3D printers (which are actually getting cheaper over time as tech usually does). You'd also need the gunpowder or other explosive. These are not trivial problems to overcome.

[rollo]

Oh, I'm with you now. You can actually 3D print metal too, although admittedly not with the "low-end" printers. Gunpowder may be trickier...

I suppose time will tell where this goes next.