2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/ Lussumo Vanilla & Feed Publisher http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341086#Comment_341086 2012-09-26T10:13:51-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 glukkake http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1693

So according to this: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/26/group-aims-for-open-source-schematics-of-guns-for-3-d-printing/ there is a group aiming to put open source schematics of a gun for 3D ...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/26/group-aims-for-open-source-schematics-of-guns-for-3-d-printing/ there is a group aiming to put open source schematics of a gun for 3D printing. This is, of course, coming right around the corner of newer printers being released and the price of printers starting to come down from "holy fuck" to "if I eat ramens for a while, this could be a thing I have".

Things like this give me a knee jerk reaction of "what the fuck", because I am a big proponent of gun control (not taking them away, but putting in ridiculous amounts of hoops to obtain them/maintain your license).

On the other hand, freedom to make whatever our little heart desires + freedom of information. After all, there are tons of manuals out there for creating explosives, bullets, poisons, etc and yet our society hasn't devolved into anarchy yet.

So I'm on the fence. Thoughts?]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341088#Comment_341088 2012-09-26T10:36:55-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 nelzbub http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=10569

Reminds me of the "Holocaust Education and Avoidance Protocols" put forward by a character in Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon". I saw an article recently about a chap who had ...

I saw an article recently about a chap who had published plans to print the lower assembly carriage of an AR-15 assault rifle.

I'm guessing some parts would still have to be manufactured from steel, for instance would a rifled barrel made from super hard plastic be capable of withstanding the forces involved?

Having been raised in the U.K., even as part of a responsible gun-owning family, I am always a little on edge around firearms and I must admit that I find the concept of an underground weapons industry to be pretty terrifying.]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341093#Comment_341093 2012-09-26T11:21:52-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 roadscum http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=7712

I am thinking a gun with a barrel and breech made of printed plastic would be great if you wanted something that blew up in your face the first time you fired it, otherwise not so good.

http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341095#Comment_341095 2012-09-26T11:42:40-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 Alberto http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=5128

Wow, that was fast. The first time I heard about the 3D printing of resin guns was in this TED lecture. It took less than a couple months to become a reality. Scary.

this TED lecture. It took less than a couple months to become a reality. Scary.]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341105#Comment_341105 2012-09-26T16:14:14-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 ReverendJoe http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=129

In the U.S. it's legal to make your own firearms (often called a zip gun) as long as you can legally own a firearm, your local government allows it, you're not selling it, and it doesn't violate any ...

Receivers can be made of polymer/plastics, but I can't imagine a breech or barrel holding up to the pressures of multiple rounds going off.

Personally, I don't see this changing things.

(Full disclosure - I am a gun guy.)]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341396#Comment_341396 2012-10-01T16:09:53-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 oldhat http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=75

Looks like the company that leased out the 3D printer took it back.

Looks like the company that leased out the 3D printer took it back.]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341411#Comment_341411 2012-10-01T23:50:16-07:00 2012-10-01T23:50:34-07:00 Magnulus http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=6716

hmmm... I think the whole thing is that while you can print the gun (and it might not even explode in your face) you can't print gunpowder. If they DO manage to easily and cheaply create a gun that ...

However, it DID give me an instant knee-jerk reaction of WHAT THE FUCK?!]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341413#Comment_341413 2012-10-02T00:09:28-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 sneak046 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4574

I'm going to be really disappointed if it is the manufacture of weapons that fires 3D printing into mainstream consciousness.

if it is the manufacture of weapons that fires 3D printing into mainstream consciousness.]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341415#Comment_341415 2012-10-02T01:05:02-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 Magnulus http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=6716

No, it'll be the manufacture of sex toys that does THAT! Haw haw! Actually, that's not entirely unlikely.

Actually, that's not entirely unlikely.]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341417#Comment_341417 2012-10-02T02:19:54-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 Oddcult http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=214

You can make gunpowder from batshit and charcoal and there are plenty of other accelerant/oxidant/fuel sources that would do the job. Whilst homemade assault rifles are problematic, I'm sure that ...

Whilst homemade assault rifles are problematic, I'm sure that it wouldn't be long before a home-brew zipgun pistol or maybe more like a shotgun or blunderbuss type arrangement, complete with ammunition, either with a low temperature burn or multiple barrels would be fairly easy to make. I mean, it's not *that* difficult to make something like that now anyway even without a 3D printer.

I see this all more as a plot device for writers to put genuinely untraceable guns into stories rather than something that'll change the way people actually own and use weapons:

"Hey, Daddy, what's that you're making? Is it a toy raygun?"

"Something like that, Billy, yeah"

"Can I play with it?"

"Nah, not yet, it's not ready."

Daddy makes gun. Goes out, does a hit. Comes home. Renders down gun.

"Hey Daddy, you finished that raygun?"

"Actually Billy, I decided I didn't like the raygun after all, so I squoshed it up again and made you a dinosaur instead. Here ya go! Grawl! Rawr! Lookit the dinosaur!"

"Aw Daddy, I love my dinosaur and our new make-anything-machine! You're the best!"]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341421#Comment_341421 2012-10-02T02:49:29-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 Magnulus http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=6716

Hahah, yeah. I like your thinking and I want to read this story. :D

http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341427#Comment_341427 2012-10-02T07:48:49-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 KeeperofManyNames http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=3394

It's definitely a concept tailor made (or should we say custom fabricated?) for dystopian fiction. I can easily see a plot twist in some action movie where the heroes are risking life and limb not ...

I mean, it's a good idea if you stop reading after the second sentence.]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341446#Comment_341446 2012-10-02T13:56:03-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 G. Foyle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=3863

@KeeperofManyNames (Only way you could've possible improved on that would have been to include an LLTGDBM in there somewhere.)

]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341475#Comment_341475 2012-10-02T19:01:14-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 KeeperofManyNames http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=3394

Believe me, I considered it very seriously.

http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341477#Comment_341477 2012-10-02T19:52:05-07:00 2012-10-02T19:59:28-07:00 oddbill http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4272

More than printing a whole one-off, one-shot-only untraceable pistol, something else the article describes which is perhaps best illustrated in is photo: That piece at the bottom that just ...

That piece at the bottom that just looks like a handle, trigger and the hole for a clip; that's the receiver. That part is the only part of that weapon that has a serial number printed on it, and that you need a gun license to purchase. All the other parts necessary to build either of the two top configurations are all purchasable by anyone without any license or background check, and none of those parts have serial numbers.

So, you don't need to print a whole gun. Just the receiver. You can build the rest on top of that with actual purchased metal gunparts and own a weapon that is unregistered, for which you aren't licensed.

Would 3D printer plastic work as a receiver for a gun like that? Probably not right now, but sooner or later it'll be good enough to withstand a few shots.

EDITED TO ADD: somebody has already done this.]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10847&Focus=341487#Comment_341487 2012-10-03T00:09:10-07:00 2013-05-24T16:26:36-07:00 Magnulus http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=6716

That's worrying. I have to say, I get really uncomfortable when people talk about the "cult of the fire arm" like that dude does in the link you attached at the end. When people talk ...

I have to say, I get really uncomfortable when people talk about the "cult of the fire arm" like that dude does in the link you attached at the end. When people talk about how much they love guns and shooting things, I get worried, even though I have shot some fairly big handguns on firing ranges and quite enjoy the feeling of the power of the gun going off and the skill that goes into hitting a target. I goops me out. Gives me the ick.

Maybe that's because I'm a pacifist, though.]]>