Post by ShivaTD on Nov 13, 2013 15:45:21 GMT
While currently cost prohibitive the advancements in 3D metal printing is going to make any "assault weapons bans" obsolete in the futures. Just like publishing used to be expensive the computer has made desktop publishing inexpensive today the same case is going to be true when it comes to the ability of a person to manufacture virtually and firearm in the convenience of their own home in the future.
www.theverge.com/2013/11/7/5077718/worlds-first-3d-printed-metal-gun-fires-over-50-rounds
3D metal printing has been followed by those of us involved in manufacturing for quite some time. It provides a simple and cost effective means of prototyping of complex parts and that can be more complex than what's obtainable using mechanical machining capabilities. The issue today is the high cost of the equipment but that cost will come down dramatically in the future decades until it will be easily affordable for a private individual to own this technology. When that happens then any laws, such as assault weapons bans that are based upon the appearance of a firearm, will become moot. The government cannot prevent a person from producing even a fully automatic assault rifle (that are legal in the United States) in their own garage. All the person needs is a computer solid model of the parts and Wa-La a 3D metal printer will produce it.
World’s first 3D-printed metal gun successfully fires over 50 rounds
Solid Concepts has successfully produced what it claims to be the world’s first 3D printed metal gun. And unlike the Liberator before it, this one looks a whole lot closer to the traditional firearms you're used to seeing. According to its creators, the metal gun functions without issue and has already fired off over 50 rounds. Building it involved the process of laser sintering — which helped them manufacture over 30 individual components for the gun — and various powdered metals. The point of all of this, Solid Concepts says, is to provide yet more evidence of 3D printing's potential; that the technology of far more than making "trinkets and Yoda heads."
Solid Concepts has successfully produced what it claims to be the world’s first 3D printed metal gun. And unlike the Liberator before it, this one looks a whole lot closer to the traditional firearms you're used to seeing. According to its creators, the metal gun functions without issue and has already fired off over 50 rounds. Building it involved the process of laser sintering — which helped them manufacture over 30 individual components for the gun — and various powdered metals. The point of all of this, Solid Concepts says, is to provide yet more evidence of 3D printing's potential; that the technology of far more than making "trinkets and Yoda heads."
www.theverge.com/2013/11/7/5077718/worlds-first-3d-printed-metal-gun-fires-over-50-rounds
3D metal printing has been followed by those of us involved in manufacturing for quite some time. It provides a simple and cost effective means of prototyping of complex parts and that can be more complex than what's obtainable using mechanical machining capabilities. The issue today is the high cost of the equipment but that cost will come down dramatically in the future decades until it will be easily affordable for a private individual to own this technology. When that happens then any laws, such as assault weapons bans that are based upon the appearance of a firearm, will become moot. The government cannot prevent a person from producing even a fully automatic assault rifle (that are legal in the United States) in their own garage. All the person needs is a computer solid model of the parts and Wa-La a 3D metal printer will produce it.
