3D Printing of Guns

[mikemyers]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191388-1200-the-price-of-legally-3d-printing-your-own-metal-ar-15-rifle-at-homeThere was a 17 year old kid who got a $50,000 grant to develop a smart gun. From reading a lot more, I found out he has built his prototype, and may be making a complete gun, using a 3D printer.

My question here has nothing to do with "smart", but everything to do with "3D". I learned a lot about 3D printing while trying to help an eye hospital buy such a device for making prosthetic eyes. The more I read, the more plausible it seems for someone to create a gun using such a device. Or, to copy existing parts by using a 3D scanner to create the required program so the existing parts can be replicated.

What are the legalities of such a device? If a hobbyist wanted to create his own handgun, via the use of such a 3D printer, would he legally be able to do so?

(Keep in mind that if he were to publish his plans, others could download them, and create an identical device.)

Reference:
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/140084-nasa-3d-prints-rocket-parts-with-steel-not-plastic

 

[mikemyers]

(To admins - if it is wrong to post this thread on THR, feel free to delete it.)

 

[4thPointOfContact]

Federal law (the ATF) does not prohibit the making of a firearm for personal use. It need not even be serial numbered, so long as it is not intended to be sold once manufactured.

Best example is an "80% lower" for an AR or the 'flat' for making an AK series weapon.

Plans are already in the public sector for 3d printing a handgun.

Early, very primitive 'all plastic' pistol.


3D printed 1911-pattern made from sintered metal (first firing 2013)


3D printed Glock, (of course only the frame itself need be printed to have a personalized, non-serial numbered firearm assuming all other parts are available on the market.)

 

[M-Cameron]

The problem is not in the legalities.....its in the technology.

Your average, affordable,3d printer is not capable of realistically producing a use able firearm.

People have produced ar15 lowers with varying levels of success. ...however long term multistage durability is still their weak point.

 

[OneWound]

You can 3D print any gun, as long as it contains a metal part. This is to trip metal sensors at airports. (Federal law). Ie, the liberator had a nail for a firing pin to meet this federal law.

On note of the article, I get the feeling that the article is telling people that having CNC machines make AR lowers at home is kind of new. It's not.

 

[50cal]

The problem is not in the legalities.....its in the technology.

Agree!

 

[alexander45]

Man are you a day late and a dollar short.
But to brass tacks yes it can be done and yes its perfectly legal just like busting out the drill press and file set and making one. It does have to have o so much metal in it by law so the all plastic guns tend to have a metal block glued in them some place (the nail firing pin in the liberator by itself isn't enough)
As for being done there is a guy currently making a ar10 receiver yes a full printed 308 receiver out of pla on a $500 printer you can buy online ,
heck if you wanted to get really diy with enough work you can get much better print quality out of a well set up rep-rap printer and you can get a head that will print nylon (much stronger)

 

[Bigdog57]

This technology is giving the antigun squad the heebee jeebees again, When I worked airport security back in the heady late 80's/early 90's, they were all over the Glock, being a 'plastic gun' that would supposedly pass through scanners undetected. I had our moonlighting cop help train the co-workers that this was a fallacy. We put his Glock through the metal detector and the X-ray scanners. It showed up quite nicely. Plenty of steel parts.
Then, I proceeded to walk through the metal detector with our 'training object', basically a steel .38 snubby frame encased in black plastic. Normally this thing sets off the alarm. BUT...... there is a method in which I could step through with it and NOT set off the alarm. THAT worried them more than the Glock! But I am sure the new devices have fixed that little hiccup.......

An 'all plastic gun' is a reality, and can work..... for maybe a shot or two. The KGB fielded a working ceramic gun way back in the 60's that would pass through detectors. So this idea isn't new by any means. Technology has simply caught up and made it cheap and available to the common man.

 

[HankB]

The major problem today is the strength of the materials used in the common 3D printers - or rather, the lack of strength. I expect this will change as the technology continues to mature. It wouldn't surprise me if future 3D printers have hard coded firmware which attempts to prevent them from making gun parts, in much the same way that many high resolution scanners are programmed to recognize US currency and are prevented from generating high res scans to impede counterfeiting.

I expect much less success with nerfing the printers than they've had with scanners.

 

[M-Cameron]

The major problem today is the strength of the materials used in the common 3D printers - or rather, the lack of strength. I expect this will change as the technology continues to mature. It wouldn't surprise me if future 3D printers have hard coded firmware which attempts to prevent them from making gun parts, in much the same way that many high resolution scanners are programmed to recognize US currency and are prevented from generating high res scans to impede counterfeiting.

eh, im doubtfull that will ever happen.

1) manufacturing your own money is illegal....manufacturing firearms isnt.

2) what does a gun part look like? how is a computer supposed to differentiate between a sear and a gear spur? a trigger for a gun and a trigger for a paint sprayer? a firing pin and a tooth pick?

money has a rather distinct look which make them easy to block, gun parts dont.

3) i suspect the firearms industry is going to be a significant market for 3D printer technology, i dont think any manufacturer is going to segregrate a large market share like that......at the end of the day, they are in business to make money.

4) DIY hobby printers are getting better every day, so if by some chance they do install some firmware on production printers, its still possible to make your own printer and carry on.

This technology is giving the antigun squad the heebee jeebees again, When I worked airort security back in the heady late 80's/early 90's, they were all over the Glock, being a 'plastic gun' that would supposedly pass through scanners undetected. I had our moonlighting cop help train the co-workers that this was a fallacy. We put his Glock through the metal detector and the X-ray scanners. It showed up quite nicely. Plenty of steel parts.

obviously that cop wasnt carrying a Glock 7....understandable since they are so expensive...probably cost more than he made in a month.....

 

[Cee Zee]

This subject was discussed in great length on this board a while back. I'm sure a search would reveal those threads. It would be educational and it would keep us from having to cover the same ground again. Just know that it is possible to build a gun with a 3D printer. Plans for them have been circulating around the net for years. Then realize it's much easier to build your own gun out of stuff you can buy at any hardware store. My son built a gun when he was 10. I guarantee it can kill too. And it doesn't have a single metal part on it. It's not exactly practical to carry around. It's big and it has a fat air tank on it. Yes it works using compressed air. I know it isn't the same level of power as that .45 in your holster but it is powerful enough to do the job. It could have been designed to be even more powerful but I thought enough was enough. I limited his testing to low pressure levels too. You'd be surprised how hard you can shoot a marble with compressed air. My son stuck with his designing ways I guess. He does research for the Air Force now on projects that are essential to national security for the future. Yeah I know that has nothing to do with the point here but hey, who can turn down a chance to talk about their kids.

Just for the record air rifles have been built that killed deer at over 100 yards using 500 PSI. You can buy PVC rated at 800 PSI but you're crazy if you go above half the rated pressure. Still that gives you 400 PSI to work with and you don't need to fire a 50 caliber ball 100 yards to kill someone (which is how they killed that deer I mentioned with an air rifle). There are tricks to making those guns fire harder like longer barrels so the air continues to push the projectile longer and larger air tanks that push more air even though the pressure is still in the safe range. Trust me I saw my 10 year old son build a deadly PVC guns for about $20. He used my compressor to charge the tank. One shot was all he got but it was a heck of a shot.

Home made guns are nothing new to the world. All guns made in the USA were pretty much made by individuals 200 years ago. Yes they used metal but what most people don't realize is that plastic can be made stronger than steel. It usually isn't of course but the stuff can be very strong.

But the stuff the comes out of a 3D printer is nowhere near the kind of strength that can be achieved with other plastic parts.

BTW don't try this at home. My son is a very gifted individual with a string of awards and degrees to back it up. Such things can be very dangerous if not done right. And again all the testing of his gun was done with fairly low pressure. It wasn't anywhere near the pressure that gun could have taken. And I watched every step of his construction. But he knew more about it than I did anyway. He is one smart person. I know I'm his dad but seriously, be glad he works for our side. This is the web page for the company he works for.

 

[H&R Glock]

You won't catch me firing a plastic 1911

I can imagine the forces at work on the barrel link when firing a plastic 1911 .45 caliber, but the forces at work on the chamber are scary. I'd like to see a video of someone shooting a .45 made of plastic. They probably end up in the emergency room unless the ammunition was also printed on a printer!
How can a lightweight slide be practicable as the original design accounts for the mass of the slide? If the barrel does not explode, the user might get a mouthful of slide.
There are 5 springs in a .45 that would have to be printed too. Go figure how a plastic spring would work

 

[Cee Zee]

There are 5 springs in a .45 that would have to be printed too. Go figure how a plastic spring would work

It's true that making an all plastic semi-auto just isn't going to happen with today's technology but again plastic can be "stronger" than steel. So firing a .45 round in a plastic gun is not out of the realm of possibility.

 

[alexander45]

Total that 1911 pictured above is metal it's just printed MIM they printed it out of metal powder mixed with plastic, the plastic holding the powder together until it's cooked, then the plastic melts away as the metal melts together filling the voids left by the plastic and shrinking to its final

 

[M-Cameron]

There are 5 springs in a .45 that would have to be printed too. Go figure how a plastic spring would work

it is acutally pretty easy to 3D print springs that actually work....a little modification to some designs is needed but its not impossible.

i believe the "liberator" 3d printed pistol uses a plastic coil spring.