Printing in 3D

finnbear270

Well-Known Member
Wonder what the restrictions will be like on the 3D printers, now that the first firing of a plastic gun has taken place on camera?, remember the fuss over colour printers & the worries about banknotes.
 
Wonder what the restrictions will be like on the 3D printers, now that the first firing of a plastic gun has taken place on camera?, remember the fuss over colour printers & the worries about banknotes.

Its all clever stuff but you know every teenage pseudo-anarchist will want one and will probably be able to get one which could be a bit worrying!
I would say though that getting hold of firearms has never been impossible but I would imagine ammunition is more difficult to obtain?

EDIT: scrap that, anyone can buy reloading gear and it isn't exactly difficult! :doh:
 
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Perhaps they will start to license 3D printers and the sale of plastic. Said with tongue in cheek.
 
Perhaps they will start to license 3D printers and the sale of plastic. Said with tongue in cheek.

A lot of people would like that. Just imagine needing a new bit for the car? Pop down to the dealer and pay £100, if he has it in stock, or stay at home and make one on the printer? The future is here!
 
Is anyone suggesting that barrels and chambers can actually be made on a 3D printer using polymer plastic? I ask because I can see how a lower receiver can be formed, but has a rifled barrel been managed?
 
Is anyone suggesting that barrels and chambers can actually be made on a 3D printer using polymer plastic? I ask because I can see how a lower receiver can be formed, but has a rifled barrel been managed?

Way too late for any format of licensing or legislation. There are now builder groups where folks join, receive drawing for a nominal fee and build their own printer. All the building instructions and advice are there for free.

Its a valid teaching tool when instructing Engineering, CAD and manufacturing processes.

Whats really exciting is that the next stages in development is the construction materials. RollsRoyce are developing one which prints blades from a single crystal and another company are developing one where the medium consists of an alloy substrate.
 
Is anyone suggesting that barrels and chambers can actually be made on a 3D printer using polymer plastic? I ask because I can see how a lower receiver can be formed, but has a rifled barrel been managed?

Couldn't ascertain if any metal parts, such as barrel liner, etc were visible.

Ceramic engine parts are in use now, so hey- ho!
 
Ceramic engine parts are in use now, so hey- ho!

Can 3d printers form ceramic parts? For that matter, I have heard of carbon fibre barrels, but I've no idea how they're formed.

Still, you can buy low powered airguns with rifled barrels in the same calibre as some popular ammunition, so, who knows.....
 
Wonder what the restrictions will be like on the 3D printers, now that the first firing of a plastic gun has taken place on camera?, remember the fuss over colour printers & the worries about banknotes.

Heard this on radio 4 this morning. Mountain and mole hills come to mind. For a very long time it has been perfectly feasible to make a firearm using most farm workshops or a school metal work facility. During WW2 the SOE flooded Europe with manuals on who to built gins, including machine guns on every day machine tools - there were copies of these manuals in our school library in the 1980's. ok they won't be particularly accurate but at close range, deadly. CNC milling / 3D printing etc are just latest iterations of technology.

But at the end of the day there are quite rightly strict rules about possession and use of illegally acquired firearms, whether it be a beautiful purday, an AK47, a flint lock pistol or a plastic 3d printed one.
 
This was highlighted in the New Scientist magazine maybe 2 years ago; you don’t need a rifled barrel for a handgun used to shoot at a target 10 yards away. A chamber is just a piece of 25mm steel bar with a hole drilled in with a black and decker.

McLaren F1 team use sintered steel in a 3D printer to make steel parts, how long before you can have your parts made in China via the internet to your own design by 3D printer?

That said you could build a basic AK47 type weapon with hand tools so long as you go for a smooth bore barrel.

ATB

Tahr
 
The teck you are talking about has been around for quite a while. ceramic guns are far from new! But your standard pursa or Mendel would not be able to print any where nere the resolution you would need to make gun parts. Plus the whole thing is very costly!
 
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As regards resolution the latest Stratasys Dimension Elite has a layer thickness of 0.254mm, yet the standard RepRap layer thickness is 0.25mm and now goes down to 0.1mm.

About Dimension Elite 3D Printer | Stratasys


RepRap: Blog: A Tipping Point of Print Quality (Open Source for the win)

​Technology moves on all the time, indeed, someone has used standard RepRap Kit and printed in 23 micron layers here

http://groups.google.com/group/ultimaker/browse_thread/thread/385a9e3be422025d
Link is duff!
What did they use ABS or PLA
I am not saying that it could not be done with a pursa eventuly! Laser projection has better prospects IMNHO. But the cost is way to high.
 
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