3D Printed Liberator Pistol: Video, more angles, loading detail

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I think this all just goes to show that try as they might, there is no way to keep firearms from anyone. Something like this just about nullifies gun control.
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Even the gunnies who want him to stop can't do a thing about it :D

Honestly, this tech couldn't come at a better time. Yes, you can machine your own gun, but the number of privately-owned Bridgeport Mills-per-capita is probably as low as it's ever been in this country. Economics and short-sightedness have moved heavy industry--and the expertise to wield it--overseas, and we have orders of magnitude more guys who know how to program a spreadsheet than work a manual lathe. Since CNC shows no prospect of ever coming down in price (it's climbing in capability, but the capital investment on these rigs is still enormous) we're left with the prototypers, if we are going to have robots make our stuff (since we no longer know how).

I's nearly as simple as sending a Word file to your inkjet
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Anyone who remembers (I barely do) early tape and inkjet printers knows they jammed constantly, required maintenance and tweaking, and were generally a pain to deal with. Prototypers are no exception, and unless you get a model from someone who's already set theirs up and calibrated/debugged everything, it's not anywhere close to simple plug and play (especially if you are building your own). The parts still have to be finish sanded and fitted to eachother if FDM plastic extrusion is used. The closest thing to what most folks envision is SLA printing which is pricier (the Formlabs Form 1 printer coming out is 5000$) but comes out looking injection-moulded and is much stronger than FDM extrusion-forms.

And all that is assuming a person knows how to use CAD software or design things in the first place. It's more akin to programming, than playing a video.

TCB
 
The technology is far from perfected, but it represents a threat to those within the government that dream of having all-powerful control over "the people."

Most of them have little knowledge (or maybe none) of how firearms are made, or how they work. They presume that they can't be produced with anything short of a completely equiped factory. Tell them that both guns and ammunition can be home made, and they either sputter in disbelife or blow up and go through the roof.

This being the case they are now floored by this report that anyone with a computer and printer can make anything from a banned 30-round rifle magazine to a complete gun. This of course is not quite true, :evil: but it has ripped the ground out from under them. Given their limited insights the only thing they can think to do is push the panic button and then call for additional legislation.

What happens next will be interesting... :D
 
While in the car this afternoon, the subject was brought up on WZZR, a popular 24 hour a day, "talk radio show", here in Florida. They have been talking about it all week, you can call in and discuss anything you choose to "within limits" like sports dating , etc. This topic has gotten a lot of attention on air lately as I have heard it several times in the last few weeks. Today they said that the 3d printer was used to make an "ear", for a patient in a hospital, and a finger for another. If true it's a phenomenal achievement. I would think that they could make prosthetic devices identical, "in looks" to the original body part in reconstructive surgeries. I am going to research it further, but it would be great for our troops who have been severally injured fighting for us, along with everyone else who needs this kind of surgery.
It also shows how useful these machines are starting to be, not just for guns. Which also works out well to stop any actions such as banning them for their use in areas that the government doesn't care for.
I found it to be fact and they are starting to use the technology right now,
http://www.singularityweblog.com/be...rds-can-grow-tails-humans-should-print-limbs/
 
And all that is assuming a person knows how to use CAD software or design things in the first place.
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That's not even particularly necessary. I'm sure there are more than a few gunnies out there who know how to use CAD software and would be more than happy to make publicly available gun designs. Then all u do is download and print.
You don't need to know how to crack a videogame in order to get yourself an extra copy. You go to a torrent site and just download it. There are plenty of people out there who know how, and are willing to do all the technical stuff for you. You just reap the benefits.
 
I recall reading recently about a man who had had a large portion of his skull replaced with a printed part derived from the intact opposite portion. Was said to be about as tough as a helmet that would have been needed to protect the soft spot, but obviously less obtrusive.

I hadn't heard about the ear; I still think that ear they grew on the mouse was the coolest/freakiest medical experiment ever, though :D

I'm sure there are more than a few gunnies out there who know how to use CAD software and would be more than happy to make publicly available gun designs. Then all u do is download and print.
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The printers aren't (and never will be, by physical limitations) as consistent unit-to-unit as the internals of a video game system. The stepper motors, limit switches, fusers, and other bits have too many degrees of freedom for a one size fits all solution. Just like how no one would ever do something foolish like blindly run a downloaded AR-lower toolpath on their CNC machine. What works for one, may not work for some, so you have to verify. I will say that printing is easier than CNC simply because you're less likely to break something while tuning it, and because it's so much cheaper to mess around with :D.

I can't believe no one with a printer has chimed in on any of these threads so far. I guess they aren't as common as the media would like us to believe ;)

You don't need to know how to crack a videogame in order to get yourself an extra copy.
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Not that I have (in case any FBI are listening) but a great many of those cracks are either buggy, junk, viruses, or perfect. On a computer I can always re-image, that's not a huge risk. On something containing high pressure inches from my face, well...:eek:. Talk about a case study in how laws have been ineffective at stopping the distribution of easily copied material, though. The game developers eventually figure out ways to make it more difficult to crack the game; I'm not sure how a firearms designer could do something similar to prevent duplication of a physical object, especially since 3D laser scanners are coming out :D. I guess they'll start incorporating pieces that can only be made by fancy trade-secret processes like MIM or drop-forging :rolleyes:

TCB
 
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ANYTHING that makes Schumer, Bloomberg, Feinstein and Dear Leader pee their pants at the implication is fine by me. They are going to regulate anything and everything they can ram through in the next few years anyway so I take this as a nice PR/propaganda salvo in our present cultural war for our civil rights.
 
I can't believe no one with a printer has chimed in on any of these threads so far. I guess they aren't as common as the media would like us to believe
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My brother-in-law has one he built himself and it's certainly an impressive machine. I get the point you guys are trying to make but I really think the whole story gets more publicity than it deserves. It's really not that much different than making blueprints for other homemade firearms available online (which has already happened). While the technology is pretty revolutionary (3D printing itself), this project really doesn't strike me that way...more of a continuation of things that have happened for a long time already.
 
Right

I think some people missed the point of my previous post. I understand that this is revolutionary technology. However, the technology to build guns is and always has been around. This is just the latest version of it. I fully realize that you have to know what you are doing to make a gun on machine tools, but that isn't all that rare that someone does. Again, I grant you that you also have to own some expensive equipment to duplicate a really fine quality firearm, but even this could be gotten around.

I don't know about today's school system, but when I was in high school, pretty much every high school had a machine shop. And taught you at least the basics of how to make simple things on them. My senior year, we were told we could make anything we wanted as long as we submitted drawings of what we were going to make prior to starting the project (he later ammended that to prohibit any kind of dope smoking devices, ice picks, or brass knuckles). At that time, if I said I was going to machine a gun, nobody could have cared less. And if it turned out nice, the school administration probably would have congratulated me and had pictures of it in the paper.

I would think that any heavy industry would have a machine shop along with the people to run the machines. I can't tell you how many of my dad's things I tore up when I was a teenager that required my dad to have new parts made in the machine shop where he worked. I was actually amazed when I ruined the rear end in the lawn tractor trying to do burnouts and wheelies: the next night my dad came home from work with all the parts required to fix it; that were machined at his job.

The point of all this is that we always could make guns, and 99% of the people who could, didn't. It has never been a problem and probably never will be a problem. I also believe that the people capable of printing a gun arn't going to commit crimes with them. This guy is making a statement. That's all.
 
...possible export violations...
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Obviously a reinterpretation on their part.

Reminds me of the way the ATF was trying to interpret the income of Kyle Myers as being subject to the code that defines being engaged in the firearms/explosives business, and doing so without a license.
 
The point of all this is that we always could make guns, and 99% of the people who could, didn't. It has never been a problem and probably never will be a problem. I also believe that the people capable of printing a gun arn't going to commit crimes with them. This guy is making a statement. That's all.
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The thing is not to commit crimes with them but to show the government that regardless of what laws or regulations they impose, we WILL have guns. (So OK, I guess that will involve committing "crimes")
The reason people by and large haven't made firearms despite many of them having the means and ability to do so is just because factory made guns have always been readily available in this country. So most don't bother when it's cheaper and easier to just got to the store and buy a gun that will in all likelyhood be considerably better than whatever you manage to make.
However if laws make commercially buying firearms impractical. Then I can see DIY weapons becoming popular if there is technology in place that allows it to be easily done.
People used to always got to the Kodak shop to have their photos developed and printed...until technology made it convenient and easy enough to just do yourself at home with a printer and Photoshop. Now when was the last time you went to a professional photo shop?
 
3D Guns Advocate Cody Wilson is About More Than Weapons and That's What Most Frightens People About Him
Like the rest of the world (see J.D. Tuccille's copious coverage), the New Yorker is pretty alarmed by the possibilities of 3D weapon printing, but writer Jacob Silverman in expressing his confusion and fear is at least more perspicacious than most about the ideas and goals of leading 3D weapon printing spokes-gadfly, Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed....

Silverman gets it: Wilson is a full service provocateur for what liberty really means, even if that means being initially a snake-oil salesman of sorts, hyping possibilities beyond their apparent reality at the moment. It's not what a 3D gun can do right now that matters. It's the idea that anyone can make anything they want at home, beyond most of the obvious points where they are interacting publicly with others where they can be most easily obstructed, licensed, regulated, taxed--that's the important part.

Silverman's alarm continues:

Wilson...and his collaborators hope that new technologies like bitcoin and 3-D printing will do nothing less than abrogate government, returning power to individuals and small sovereign communities. To him, 3-D printing presents “a world where you can have a firearm if you want. This is a world of equality.”
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Emphasis mine. This is what scares them shtlss.
 
Obviously a reinterpretation on their part.
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It must be so nice to run the ATF, where you can both write and enforce the laws as you see fit :rolleyes:. I'm surprised Congress has never gotten jealous (though they actually seem to relish relinquishing their job duties to other branches, these days)

Among their creations of whole-cloth:
"Readily Convertible" (an open-bolt is a MG, but a hack-saw isn't a SBS?)
"Constructive Possession" (even if you aren't in possession, if we can make the charges stick we'll nail you)
"Engaged in the Business of" (one would think the IRS would make this determination :scrutiny:)

The reason people by and large haven't made firearms despite many of them having the means and ability to do so is just because factory made guns have always been readily available in this country
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X A billion. People who've never built guns have no idea how difficult and expensive in time and equipment it is, and people who say it's cheap and easy are full of it. Easy--for an expert machinist who's made 15 rifles after screwing up the first 5.

I think Cody's dream is to represent someone who printed one of his pistols in NYC before the Supreme Court ;) --good luck with that

TCB
 
jerkface11 How many would you have to turn in at gun buybacks to pay for the printer and supplies?
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Now THAT's what I'm talking about. $12 of material for a $50 gift card to the grocery store? Baby- you had better get a big truck, because I jus brought a U-Haul full of "no-questions-asked" firearms. Suddenly gun buybacks would be a Hee-UGE money pit for police departments. :D

And there's no way they can regulate material. It's like now- do we need a background check to buy aluminum? Steel? Wood for 2X4's with a nail in it?
 
History is full of people who thought a lot of technology was useless or "just a stunt". Trust me - 3D printing is revolutionary. Not just for guns (that's just a the on-topic part of the tech for this board), but just in general. Being able to replicate plastic objects (and other materials as the tech matures) at home with the click of the mouse is HUGE.

I'd wager that within the next 10-15 years, you'll find a 3D printer in almost every household, and the ones that you'll be buying for your home in 15 years will make today's uberexpensive ones look like toys.
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Its not the 3D technology we're not impressed with. its the product and the guy who is doing it.

Now if 3D printers can make me a reliable metal/polymer gun that is repeatable and holds more than one round, then that would be much better.

Before we can get on board or even spend hundreds or thousands of $$ on a 3D equipment and materials, we need to know it can produce a good solid product that will not break easily. So does that mean we need to wait another 10-15yrs to be able to produce a reliable gun and afford a good 3d printer? That doesn't really help our problems now

It seems DD is still in its infancy with the 3D gun. When he comes out with a real pistol like a Glock then that would be enormous. Right now you can probably make a shotgun with basic metals and some tools you can buy at Home Depot and build it in your garage...

Not crapping on the guy, but he's attitude and presentation is way off. Put this in the hands of a reputable person or manufacturer and it will be a different story.
 
IMO: He should be flying under the radar until he comes up with something worthwhile that really works.
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This gun has been tested and functioned just fine.

We shouldn't be disparaging someone who is trying to further firearms technology and metaphorically 'flip the bird' to the feds at the same time.
 
Before we can get on board or even spend hundreds or thousands of $$ on a 3D equipment and materials, we need to know it can produce a good solid product that will not break easily. So does that mean we need to wait another 10-15yrs to be able to produce a reliable gun and afford a good 3d printer? That doesn't really help our problems now
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You do realize that technology is incremental right? Without people tinkering with the inbetween stages, you never just magically arrive at the "Hey, it works now" stage.

Your sentiment would be akin to saying we shouldn't bother with smoothbore flintlocks because they aren't that accurate and can only fire once. While those limitations are true, without them as a step along the way, we don't just magically invent repeating cartridge-fed firearms one day.

I get the idea - sit back and wait for someone else to do the legwork - that's fine (we're not all engineers, and the very idea of this project is that we shouldn't have to be), but don't demean those who are actually doing that work.
 
The Old Fuff would point out that the history of firearms development is one where baby steps were taken that altimately supported a major development such as the percussion cap, metallic cartridges and smokeless powder Then came a big leap.

And to help push the gun control advocate's panic even more, consider that all of this discussion going on will likely inspire alternative methods of making home-built guns. :evil:

What if I could put an AR15 rifle or .45 1911 pistol together in my basement?? Impossible of course, but what if..... :eek: :uhoh: :rolleyes:
 
I think many of you are missing a fundamental point here.

Governments around the world aren't going to try to ban 3D printers. They're going to try to ban distribution of the design files used to make weapons with 3D printers.

They are going to try to ban information -- 1's and 0's.

And they will fail, just like they failed to stop music from being pirated on the internet.

Governments can't successfully ban weapons without also banning the knowledge needed to make those weapons. At the end of the day, the only way for governments to take away our right to keep and bear arms is to take away our freedom of speech, too.
 
Just read an article about how 3D printers will be impractical because of everyone needing to know CAD to design anything. Stupid author overlooks the fact that designs will be made and distributed......I don't know iPhone programming, but I've bought lots of apps!
 
They won't "ban" 3D printers, but the will regulate them... there will at least be some sort of "printer steganography" (A technology already implemented in consumer color printers to track copyright infringement and counterfeiters) incorporated into 3D printers so the federales can track a printed object back to a specific 3D printer.
 
That's a fine plan, except for the open-source printers (no way to hide steganography in open-source code) and the coming-soon printers that can manufacture more printers.
 
They won't "ban" 3D printers, but the will regulate them... there will at least be some sort of "printer steganography" (A technology already implemented in consumer color printers to track copyright infringement and counterfeiters) incorporated into 3D printers so the federales can track a printed object back to a specific 3D printer.
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That's easy to do with money because money has a known and specific look to it.......

......what does a gun look like?
 
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