3D printing may spell the beginning of the end for gun control

I don't know if i would go that far. 3d printers only print polymer or plastics so unless you are printing a completely polymer gun this isnt yet viable for making complete firearms.

And i'd like to know how his "plastic" AR lower holds up.

I have had a plastic AR type lower for several years now, and it has held up just fine.

It wasn't produced by a 3d printer though, it was made by more conventional methods by the old Cavalry Arms.

The 3d printer sort of reminds me of the replicator technology on the old Star Trek shows.

I don't know if a viable AR can be constructed using one of these printers, but it is indeed a fascinating idea.

When you consider MIM technology, maybe even metal parts could be produced by 3d printers, though you would need more than a toaster oven to heat them to spec.

I can't print $20 bills nor can I legally reproduce them. One man's loophole is another man's regulation-in-waiting.

If it becomes common, the Feds will just change the rules to make the barrel the regulated part, like Russia does. That's the one thing we can't easily reproduce.

I can't print $20 bills nor can I legally reproduce them.

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And yet people do...

The POINT appears that despite all sorts of gun control regulation attempts, the technology may one day exist for someone to hit 'print' and have a gun CNC'd...

the technology may one day exist for someone to hit 'print' and have a gun CNC'd

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The technology to hit "enter" (instead of "print") and have a gun CNC'd has been common for over 20 years. Why do you believe it makes any difference whether you hit "print" and have a gun produced out of plastic on a printer versus hitting "enter" and having one produced on a CNC mill? The same 3D model is required for either one.

45_auto- I think the point may be that the tech is advancing AND becoming readily available. I know that "printing" parts is common (I have done it myself) but maybe someday your average person can easily purchase one. Nowadays they are cheaper but still outside the price range of your average person.

Personally, I would love to be able to "print out" my own nails, screws, bolts, etc. It would save me the trouble of keeping 10,000 screws, nails, etc organized and somehow still not having the right one when I need it.

i think that no matter how the part is made, it would still be an unregistered firearm, which will make it illegal to own. it would be no different than working in a plant that makes good solid AR lowers, and slipping one into your lunchbox before it had a serial number punched into it. the end result would be a firearm, that if you were caught with, would land you behind steel bars. personally, i cherish my freedom more that i would an illegal firearm. it is way to easy to acquire legal untraceable long guns. i do not need to go to jail for one. and even if it was possible to "print" a good viable working gun, how expensive would the printer and matireials to make it be. i am thinking that it would be much cheaper, and wiser to go to a gun show, or buy a "used" meaning registered lower that has never been assembled (with no traceable paperwork) from an individual. anyone can buy the rest of the parts and put it together and have a rifle that WILL function, and the govt will have no idea who owns it. just because something CAN be done, does not mean it SHOULD be done.

^^@PP: BONK. It's perfectly legal to make your own firearm, AS LONG AS you're only doing it for PERSONAL use.

You CAN sell one you had originally made for personal use, but you do have to add the standard "manufacturer" info and a C/N is suggested, but...

Do check out HomeGunsmith.com sometime, all the chapter-and-verse legalese is spelled out there. And, oh by the way, in most states FTF private sales are "unregistered", so if what you said were true a buttload of us on this very board would be felons. See also this thread: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=671586

Barring State laws to the contrary, it's only illegal to own unregistered Title II firearms (machine guns, short-barrel rifles/shotguns, suppressors and a buncha other things not in common use).

I think maybe what he is trying to say is that if everyone has access to the technology to print firearms, then gun control is a moot point because someone would go buy a printer and make their own which the government would have no control over because who is to say you aren't using it for other things. The criminals that are a problem are smart enough to realize the potential of such technology and to utilize it.

Things like TOR ( https://tails.boum.org/ ) are gonna be your friend!

Already under discussion:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=669936

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=603275

i think that no matter how the part is made, it would still be an unregistered firearm, which will make it illegal to own.

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And, no. Not only is there no "registration" of firearms in almost any of the states, it is 100% legal to make your own gun/receiver for your own use as well in all but a very few places.