3D-printed gun blueprints can be downloaded starting next month, ending lengthy legal battle

[Rucker61]

How many? Give me a number

Impossible - no one knows that number.

 

[vegas giants]

Impossible - no one knows that number.

So zero for all you know. Thanks

 

[Rucker61]

So zero for all you know. Thanks

No, I've seen more than one, so more than zero. The capability is there. AR lowers are quite easy to make.

 

[vegas giants]

No, I've seen more than one, so more than zero. The capability is there. AR lowers are quite easy to make.

So more than zero and less than two. My god this is out of control. Lol

 

[dogboy49]

How many are made by a 3 d printer? Lol

None. Why would you ask?

To restate the conversation chain:

The concepts of 3D printed guns, or digitally controlled milling machines, or 80% receivers, or any other of the multiple methods which allow the hoi-polloi to create their own guns anonymously, will continue to be of low significance.

In truth they dont seem all that popular anywhere in the world despite bans

Except here in the US.

Nope not here

If you don't think 80% receivers are popular, I must conclude you haven't been to a gun show.

Of course I should have realized you would not be familiar with 80% receivers, and their popularity. I also should have realized that you know little about gun shows. FYI Every gun show I have been to in the past 5 years has had at least one booth selling 80% receivers, to say nothing of the thriving online business (last time I looked, the higher quality vendors were backlogged, quoting 6-8 week lead times for selected parts and jigs).

It was not my intention to embarass you by exposing your lack of expertise. You should actually try going to a gun show some time. They are amazing.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I suppose we can cross that bridge when we get there. I'm sure you would agree they are not a factor now.
Is gun powder and ammo 3D printed?

Gun POWDER is a chemical mixture usually composed of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate, although there are other exotic formulations.
You don't "print" it, you mix it up. It's a recipe.
The ammo question doesn't really make sense.
If you can make your own gun, obviously it is possible to manufacture your own custom ammo, and a great many gun enthusiasts do exactly that.

Long before 3D printing existed, I watched a documentary about the FARC rebels in South America, circa 1990.
A KID, maybe twelve years old, made a very accurate and very capable rifle out of scrap metal parts using simple crude machine tools, in the middle of the jungle, by hand, completely from scratch. It gave excellent results.

Gunsmithing is a fine art and a science both.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Currently. Remember though, paper printers once cost thousands of dollars to.

The very first computer DVD burner cost $4,600.00. A year later that price was 900 bucks. Two years later it was $350 and five years later they were almost giving them away if you bought enough blanks, which by the way started at 25 bucks apiece before cratering at 25 CENTS apiece.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Again can they make gun powder and primers. To make that requires specialized training. Hell we control the raw materials to make meth NOW. I am not worried in the slightest. If this is a problem it is 50 years away at best.

We have children that need saving today. Gun control works

Excuse me, there's something like 20 or 30 different recipes for methamphetamine. Some of the raw ingredients might be the same but the precursors can vary widely. Some require more skill, some require more time and patience, some are much more unstable, some do not produce a pure product and some do not put out a large yield, but in the end you still wind up with meth.

It is extremely difficult to keep eyes on all the different chemical combinations and methodologies.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

The concepts of 3D printed guns, or digitally controlled milling machines, or 80% receivers, or any other of the multiple methods which allow the hoi-polloi to create their own guns anonymously, will continue to be of low significance. Such techniques only become important when guns are banned outright. Since that will never happen, it will be a nice niche hobby for a few people who have a few extra bucks to spend.

In a few localities where specific firearms have been "banned", there is some growing interest in these methods. Since those bans are very likely to eventually be overturned by the courts, this marketplace is not apt to grow much.

Anti-gunners will always be inventing yet another scheme to magically make some firearms difficult/impossible to own or operate. Here in the US, these schemes are just not able to get widespread traction; they only are popular amongst a very small number of organizations, and those organizations have extremely limited political power.

As long as we, the law-abiding adult gun owners of the United States, remain vigilant against erosion of our gun rights, outright gun bans will remain a dream of a very small fringe.

Well, even barring all that, the fact is, confiscating the current existing 320 million guns is a logistical, mathematical and fiscal impossibility, end of story.

 

[Oborosen]

Actually, if the machine were set to patrician out the necessary chemicals and house it correctly. That could be done with relative ease, however the logistical start for that would be a nightmare.

I've heard of people printing the cartridges, but not the whole round.

 

[vegas giants]

Gun POWDER is a chemical mixture usually composed of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate, although there are other exotic formulations.
You don't "print" it, you mix it up. It's a recipe.
The ammo question doesn't really make sense.
If you can make your own gun, obviously it is possible to manufacture your own custom ammo, and a great many gun enthusiasts do exactly that.

Long before 3D printing existed, I watched a documentary about the FARC rebels in South America, circa 1990.
A KID, maybe twelve years old, made a very accurate and very capable rifle out of scrap metal parts using simple crude machine tools, in the middle of the jungle, by hand, completely from scratch. It gave excellent results.

Gunsmithing is a fine art and a science both.

3 d printing does not change any of that

 

[vegas giants]

None. Why would you ask?

To restate the conversation chain:










Of course I should have realized you would not be familiar with 80% receivers, and their popularity. I also should have realized that you know little about gun shows. FYI Every gun show I have been to in the past 5 years has had at least one booth selling 80% receivers, to say nothing of the thriving online business (last time I looked, the higher quality vendors were backlogged, quoting 6-8 week lead times for selected parts and jigs).

It was not my intention to embarass you by exposing your lack of expertise. You should actually try going to a gun show some time. They are amazing.

Answer: None

 

[dogboy49]

Answer: None

Wow! You agree with me! Never thought I would see the day!

 

[vegas giants]

Wow! You agree with me! Never thought I would see the day!

Yep. 3 D priniting of guns changes nothing

 

[ecofarm]

In 2120...

Hey, man, I got these black market blueprints for a Gatling gun.
How do I know they're real?
*Youtube video of a conflict in the developing world*
How much?

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

3 d printing does not change any of that

I'm not saying that it does.
3D printing however does introduce a democratization of the craft, which is indeed very disruptive to the current manufacturing and regulatory infrastructure.

Have you ever tried to build your own car from scratch, literally from the ground up?
There are plenty of people who are capable of doing so, even manufacturing their own engines, even the engine blocks themselves.
There isn't a single square inch of this 1956 Chevy that is original, all of it was made by hand.
My brother built it and owns it.

The hurdle comes when they attempt to register them as roadworthy so that they can be driven on public roads.

Fortunately most states do indeed have a means of testing and approving such vehicles but if you ask a vehicle builder about the process, you will get an earful, because it's a bit of a nightmare.

Now do guns. Get the picture?

 

[TurtleDude]

I'm not saying that it does.
3D printing however does introduce a democratization of the craft, which is indeed very disruptive to the current manufacturing and regulatory infrastructure.

Have you ever tried to build your own car from scratch, literally from the ground up?
There are plenty of people who are capable of doing so, even manufacturing their own engines, even the engine blocks themselves.
There isn't a single square inch of this 1956 Chevy that is original, all of it was made by hand.
My brother built it and owns it.

The hurdle comes when they attempt to register them as roadworthy so that they can be driven on public roads.

Fortunately most states do indeed have a means of testing and approving such vehicles but if you ask a vehicle builder about the process, you will get an earful, because it's a bit of a nightmare.

Now do guns. Get the picture?

there is no movement I am aware of trying to ban cars.

 

[haymarket]

I'm not saying that it does.
3D printing however does introduce a democratization of the craft, which is indeed very disruptive to the current manufacturing and regulatory infrastructure.

Have you ever tried to build your own car from scratch, literally from the ground up?
There are plenty of people who are capable of doing so, even manufacturing their own engines, even the engine blocks themselves.
There isn't a single square inch of this 1956 Chevy that is original, all of it was made by hand.
My brother built it and owns it.

The hurdle comes when they attempt to register them as roadworthy so that they can be driven on public roads.

Fortunately most states do indeed have a means of testing and approving such vehicles but if you ask a vehicle builder about the process, you will get an earful, because it's a bit of a nightmare.

Now do guns. Get the picture?

Your brother built that!?!?!?!? WOW!!!!! Amazing!!!

My first car was a 56 Chevy which looked just like that except the paint was gold and yellow.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

there is no movement I am aware of trying to ban cars.

I wasn't talking about gun bans, I was talking about how 3D printing democratizes the manufacturing process, which throws a monkey wrench into the regulatory process that's in charge of "type acceptance" issues.
You no doubt are much more knowledgeable about type acceptance WRT guns than I am.

Type acceptance pops up in a lot of areas. The FCC requires that all transmitters over one tenth of a watt be "type accepted" in order to be sold and used. Medical equipment must be type accepted for use in clinics and hospitals.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Your brother built that!?!?!?!? WOW!!!!! Amazing!!!

My first car was a 56 Chevy which looked just like that except the paint was gold and yellow.

He bought the glass, the bumpers, headlights, tail lights, things like that.
But the engine block was custom made at a speed shop, he personally designed and made the intake and cylinder heads, the 4-speed auto transmission is a frankenstein combo of two disparate manufacturers, one of which is ZF out of Germany, he personally made most of the suspension parts and he and his son fabricated most of the body panels using original jigs.
I think they purchased the chrome trim, of course.
The entire interior is all custom fabricated and hand made and the wiring is all custom.

765 HP - 780 ft lbs torque, so it's almost "square" in terms of power output.
Yep, it's one fast mofo.

I like it but my favorite car of his was a 1969 Cuda S 340.
The S model did NOT have the giant "aquarium" rear window.

Like this, only his was copper color.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

there is no movement I am aware of trying to ban cars.

Not BAN car per se, but if you custom build your own car from the ground up, a lot of states are going to put you through the wringer trying to get it certified as both roadworthy and environmentally sound.

Even CALIFORNIA, which is a hotbed of custom car nuts, makes life awfully difficult for custom car builders.
In fact, so much so that car enthusiasts are locked in a never ending battle over it.

And strangely enough, it was during California's REPUBLICAN heyday that the move was afoot to destroy hundreds of thousands of old cars in this state. I remember Obama's junk buy back program but at least his program made exceptions for classic cars, they just wanted to scrap a lot of the crummier inefficient polluter mobiles that did not have a great deal of collector or intrinsic value.
California went WAY over that line, they wanted to try to scrap almost anything prior to the 1990's at one point, with no regard for the kind of cars they were.
They didn't succeed but it was quite a fight.

 

[vegas giants]

I wasn't talking about gun bans, I was talking about how 3D printing democratizes the manufacturing process, which throws a monkey wrench into the regulatory process that's in charge of "type acceptance" issues.
You no doubt are much more knowledgeable about type acceptance WRT guns than I am.

Type acceptance pops up in a lot of areas. The FCC requires that all transmitters over one tenth of a watt be "type accepted" in order to be sold and used. Medical equipment must be type accepted for use in clinics and hospitals.

Its a non issue at this point

 

[dogboy49]

Yep. 3 D priniting of guns changes nothing

Again we agree. The only time/place that 3D printing will become more significant than now is when guns are widely banned within the US, which will never happen. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the existing bans rescinded in the next few years, which will make 3D printing even less relevant.

That said, there will always be a few hobbyists who enjoy making "dangerous" toys to play with.

 

[vegas giants]

Again we agree. The only time/place that 3D printing will become more significant than now is when guns are widely banned within the US, which will never happen. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the existing bans rescinded in the next few years, which will make 3D printing even less relevant.

That said, there will always be a few hobbyists who enjoy making "dangerous" toys to play with.

Gun bans exist in other countries. This is a non issue everywhere

 

[dogboy49]

Gun bans exist in other countries. This is a non issue everywhere

You say that as if the gun owning culture in these "other countries" is similar to the gun owning culture here in the US. 3D printing of guns is already more popular here than just about anywhere. It is a moot point. As you and I amicably agreed earlier, the popularity of 3D gun printing will not flourish here, since widespread gun bans will never happen here.