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Imagine the BATFE reaction to printing guns on a 3-D printer some day.
This thing is mind boggling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZboxMsSz ... ata_player" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Houston, we have a problem".

I've seen these for years at trade shows. They are great for prototyping and making marketing models. But the biggest limitation is the materials. They're still a long way from making the high-quality metal needed for guns.
But they are neat to use.

Yep, printing the internal parts wouldn't work so well for guns etc, plus the material used ...else we could print all resin guns like the ceramic Glock ...new livers, kidneys etc

RPB wrote:Yep, printing the internal parts wouldn't work so well for guns etc, plus the material used ...else we could print all resin guns like the ceramic Glock ...new livers, kidneys etc

BUT...you could disassemble a gun and print each part separately and then reassemble the new resin gun.

It is only a matter of time before the materials catch up with the technology and the prices come down.

Talk about a game changer. It's late Sunday night and I need another bolt, pin, or doo-hicky, and the store is closed. No problem, just go to the printer and make one.

Obviously there are some limitations, even if the materials come up to speed, there will always be some type of material that can't be replicated i.e. food, living tissues...but who knows. I can see metals being used just not sure of the specific process.

But think about it, you want a new AR-15 lower in hot neon zebra stripe, just pull up a CAD and print it.

Pretty cool...I want one.

troglodyte wrote:But think about it, you want a new AR-15 lower in hot neon zebra stripe, just pull up a CAD and print it.

People have already made plastic AR lowers. Could you make a stripped lower on this? Everything else needed to build an AR can be purchased without ID.

RPB wrote:Yep, printing the internal parts wouldn't work so well for guns etc, plus the material used ...else we could print all resin guns like the ceramic Glock ...new livers, kidneys etc

Yeah, printing barrels and slides out of plastic might not fly, but machining them out of metal should be ok. Between that and a Makerbot, you should be able to make everything but the ammo yourself.

There are 3D printers that can print metallic pieces using a similar process. http://composite.about.com/library/PR/2001/blifam1.htm

I'm working on printing some pieces for a target stand I designed yesterday on a "normal" rapid prototyper (3D printer). Well see if anything comes to fruition.

Here's a neat system, saw it in action at a customer event a few weeks ago. It was being used to make molds for golf balls.

http://www.eos.info/index.php?L=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;