The world’s first 3D-printed gun is a terrifying thing
July 26, 2012
World’s first (partially) 3D-printed gun (credit: HaveBlue.org)
Gun enthusiast “HaveBlue” has documented in a blog post (via the AR15 forums) the process of what appears to be the first test firing of a firearm made with a 3D printer, The Next Web reports.
Actually,. the only printed part of the gun was the lower receiver. But, according to the American Gun Control Act, the receiver is what counts as the firearm.
HaveBlue reportedly used a Stratasys 3D printer to craft the part, assembled it as a .22 pistol and fired more than 200 rounds with it.
Note that Marc Goodman predicted this in a TED talk. — Ed.
Comments (69)
by Gallery 31
We just put together a show at Corcoran’s Gallery 31 in Washington DC that really relates to this topic. The exhibit’s titled “Manifest: Armed”, and a lot of the work deals with issues surrounding American gun culture. The artists involved are Sarah Frost, the collective SmithBeatty, and Julian Oliver.
Check it out if you’re interested! It runs August 8-September 2. http://www.corcoran.org/exhibitions/manifest-armed
by Face
A prediction is something that occurs BEFORE something else exists. For example, the Marc Goodmin video is dated July 12th, whereas the blogpost is dated July 1st.
by Peter Simmons
So useful, the world needs more guns! Better to use the technology to print something useful like this http://www.eta.co.uk/2012/07/20/thief-proof-cardboard-bicycle-too-cheap-steal
by GatorALLin
…reply to peter… I think you could print out the parts to make a bike with your 3d printer… that video you shared was really cool…but was made with cardboard, so I think the idea was to not need a printer… just some hard work and left over boxes… I am guessing there is a lot of time to make one, even if you have the plans and could follow them well. A very cool parent/child project for sure! This kid is amazing with cardboard for example http://www.facebook.com/cainesarcade
by dirk bruere
I would be more impressed if it had printed the barrel and receiver – those are the hard bits.
by gaoptimize
The number of comments in response to this article is astounding. You feel it in your hearts. It is time to arm up if you hope to survive the coming economic collapse. Half the population is completelly dependent on infrastructure that will quickly cease functioning when the .gov money stops. Prepare for unforeseen consequences.
by Joe
Wicked cool, now if the zombie apocalypse comes I can just build myself an arsenal :)
by GatorALLin
….maybe they can print the zombies with 3d printers… (print the biological viruses needed for zombies).
by Chazzz
What a bunch of f*cking morons. Same bunch of morons thought Glocks could pass through metal detectors without setting them off. You all demonstrate just as much ignornce of the law. Those of you poking at eachothers political parties are the dumbest of the lot if you actually believe one or the other is going to save our country.
by egore
Since most of the parts used are plastic at this time, probably the worst situation would be smuggling them through airports and such. That is not to say that in the future they will come up with a more substantual material to use.
by CaptCaveman
Looking at the remains of various digs, we’ve been killing at other since we were chipping flint, we’re just getting a lot more efficient about it. Now we are at the point where it’s a competition to see if we can stop killing each other before we wipe ourselves out.
by Sean Brazell
Considering the global population figures, I doubt we will be wiping each other out of existence any time soon.
by Bri
Honduras and El Savadore fought a war over a soccer match once. Weapons of destruction abound. The problem is man’s violent nature. Everything is so polarized and charged.
by Jordan Viray
That’s hardly “the world’s first 3D-printed gun” if he didn’t print the barrel, chamber and bolt. It’s like printing a car chassis without printing the engine and calling it a car.
by Ralph Dratman
In the U.S., one can legally manufacture all the other gun parts without any controls. Only the lower receiver is regulated. The assumption is that without a precision-machined firing chamber, the rest of the gun might as well be a toy, a work of art or just a useless collection of materials. Accurate home manufacturing of tiny parts might make all current U.S. gun laws useless. However, I doubt that would matter much, since there are so many loopholes in today’s laws that any person determined to lay hands on a projectile weapon can quickly procure whatever he/she desires.
by GatorALLin
…..U.S. gun laws may already be useless (at least to criminals) before anything changed with 3d printing…
by egore
Homemade atomic weapons………………………….
by Gorden Russell
…. and that as the worlds quality of daily living goes up the need to hurt others will go down.
That’s our onlly hope, GatorAllin
by John
I want to print anything from the videogame Grand Theft Auto. Heh heh.
by Hieronymus
The 3D printing of guns, organs and drugs; a 3D black market? A creative idea [novelty] is at times accompanied with the possibility of falling into the phenomenon of habit, i.e. mankind’s habit to take something creative and turn it into something destructive. The theory is that as human beings progress at, well, being more human, novelty increases and habit decreases. Without the pursuit of creativity, mankind becomes stagnant and that could become habit forming.
by DeBee Corley
Gee, a man made a weapon.
Wake me when he builds a robot army with a Swiss Army Knife.
by Rance Mohanitz
You sleep a lot, DeBee.
by Brock
The future will have lots of threats – 3D printed guns, designer bio-viruses, “chemputer” sarin gas, etc. There’s no way to control them all.
Which is why I predict that future societies will have VERY strict laws on emotional health and psychological stability. The slightest sign of dangerous behavior will get you locked up and treated until you’re a safe and good person again.
by Eric Smith
“The slightest sign of dangerous behavior will get you locked up and treated until you’re a safe and good person again.”
As predicted in Ray Bradbury’s 1951 short story “The Pedestrian”.
by Patrick H
More control will never solve it. Providing people the tools to be healthy will address this issue, and threats will certainly not have the desired effect. To fix this issue, you have to help people heal from the damages we all inevitably receive by functioning in a very flawed world, unhealthiness and ignorance are the only things that generate thoughts and emotions leading to the use of weapons against another, this is an idea that has been around for thousands of years in wisdom traditions, and is confirmed by modern neurochemistry. Spending any amount of scarce public funding perpetuating control and surveillance instead of on health, energy, education, medical research, and basic necessities is the real psychotic behavior.
by Ralph Dratman
Insightful.
by CaptCaveman
Yeah it sounds dangerous and all that except that multi-axis digital CNC mills have been around for several years that can produce the entire weapon easily. A 3-D printer is limited in that it can’t generate things like precision barrels and bolt assemblies that have to withstand pressures up 50,000+ PSI. If you want to fear something, fear the ability to buy the equipment to create a genetic engineering lab off of e-bay.
by GatorALLin
…. I agree CNC mills around for a long time… but I think the cool factor for 3d printing will get in more hands…. and there are more things you can build with 3d printers…. and cost of 3d printers is in the $500-$900 range when just a few years ago they were 10K and up. We have not seen the drop in high quality CNC machine prices for home use like has happened for 3d printers. I wonder if 3d printers will have combo kits available soon, so you add metal pins or metal pieces you can build into any future design… kinda like legos for 3d printers so you add metal where you need it…? I agree that the genetic lab fear is even more serious… I think as a society we have been lucky that there has not been more creative/smart terrorists that are active in the USA and as the knowledge to do more advances things gets to be available for almost free…. it will be interesting to watch what happens with that info. My only hope on this matter is that the extreme religious groups are easier to spot and monitor…. and that as the worlds quality of daily living goes up the need to hurt others will go down.
by Eric Smith
“there are more things you can build with 3d printers”
There are both more and fewer things. 3D printers are good for some things and lousy for others. Same with CNC. If I could only have one or the other, I think a CNC mill is actually more broadly useful. However, it takes more training to use.
by hans hillen
“accelerating intelligence…” it’s a shame that most inventions invariably seem to lead to violent uses. I know, it’s been the other way around also (radar etc) but still – not much acceleration of intelligence in this case. I’m from Europe BTW and firmly believe gun control lowers the number of casualties. The Breiviks are still an exception over here.
by Chrispium
2008 numbers: Japan vs. USA
Killed by guns:……. 11 … 12000
Population in mio: 127 …… 306
Gun restriction works… lots!
by GatorALLin
….Japan has never had guns…so assuming you could just make a law and get to where the Japanese are with gun control ….is about as foolish an idea as comparing their number of suicides to ours…. and suggesting they intact laws to change their idea of Shame and dishonor.
by Hudi124
Just terrible logic, and misinterpretation of statistics. The crime rate as a WHOLE is much higher in the US than in Japan, and would be even if you were to remove gun-related crimes. To compare such numbers without proper context is ignorant at best, at worst downright deceptive.
by melajara
Your logic is twisted too, as MASS killing with a knife or even with an axe is almost impossible. With a set of guns, it’s all TOO EASY.
Granted, those mass killing “incidents” are a tiny proportion of all crimes, nevertheless they make a terrible impression.
by Locke
Take a look at gun ownership vs. violent gun crime in Switzerland.
Then look at trends over time for gun violence in northern Europe (very strict gun control) vs. the same trends in the US (semi-relaxed gun control.)
If you are not exhausted googling at this point, look up gun violence, gun legislation and legal gun ownership statistics for various US states and compare them to each other. You will be surprised at what you find.
The numbers and countries you pulled up are at the extremes of either end and a snapshot in time.
This remains a cultural issue rather than a legislative issue.
by Cybernettr
Japan is also very restrictive about who it allows into the country and has an immigration policy that many would consider “racist.”
by eldras
There is but one containment policy for emerging technology. The USA/other gvmt/s must build a containable Ultraintelligence.
No-one knows how near the knee of the curve we are but not to make a Los Alamos type project on A.I. is fatal.
by rob falgiano
I’ll have to say good luck on ‘containable.’ I already feel it is inevitable that an ultra-intelligence is going to make some of our future decisions for us. Should be interesting…
by Ralph Dratman
Turing and Godel proved that even a “non-ultra” intelligence is uncontainable. There is no tech fix for human nastiness. It appears that, as in the past, we face nothing but pain and danger ahead, punctuated by moments of beauty and joy. That is human life, take it or leave it… no, just kidding, you can’t leave it. Suicide is too cruel to others. Life is mostly pretty sickening, but take comfort: in a short time we will all be gone.
by Bri
Life is a bowl of cherries. You can’t just dig in. They all have pits!!
by Anony
Terrifying because guns are just beginning. Think bigger.
by Editor
http://www.kurzweilai.net/marc-goodman-a-vision-of-crimes-in-the-future at 9:40:00 suggests where this may lead.
by MatthewQ
Very good link- thanks for posting that.
by Bri
Crime has taken advantage of every tech development, science Cain slew Able. It’s not leading to this, they are intertwined paths. Polarized as opposites. It’s the motivating or energizing forces that drive it. The war on crime, the war on drugs, etc. Saw a documentary on tattoos. They interviewed a prison warden. He said, we have the keys, they’re under constant survalence. If they get caught with a new tattoo, it’s solitary confinment. If they get caught with the equipment, it’s solitaire. If they give a tattoo it’s solitaire. We can’t stop them from doing it. What’s the driving force for tattoos? A sense of belonging, a group, an us that’s against them. Polarization! Strange game the only way to win is not to play. Don’t play opposites. Play another game. See the other side. Understand the driving forces. Seek common ground and build bridges, not a better means of gloating over your advasaries demise.
by Marc Johnson
It is MUCH easier for a criminal or terrorist to purchase a reliable gun than get a fricken 3d printer working! :-)
by Khannea Suntzu
Let’s see how your thesis holds up beyond 2015.
by Chrispium
Kalashnikovs in Afghanistan can be gotten for about $50
by rob falgiano
Weapon proliferation or even home manufacture is easy. Our security will depend upon effective intelligence that roots out potential militias from organizing around homemade weapons manufacture.
by Brad
Then why do they cost $400 plus here? I want a $50 AK.
by Marc Johnson
Sure…but with a metal stamping device and a few templates you can mass produce guns at a cost much less than 3d printing….just ask the east Europeans who have been doing so for the mid-east and Africa since WWII…
by Friggly
lol A bioprinter is even better…I’m working on the coding for a guard dog with laser breath (code name Fluffy Dragon.) Will probably need to eat a lot, but will melt a gun in one or two barks. Bullets so old school….
by GatorALLin
…this was funny…. but it does open up new “what-if’s” Obviously 3d printers will get better… easier to use… so a guy figures out how to sneak bullets past airport security and somehow assembles bullets inside an airport. His other buddy sneaks in components to almost make a gun…. the parts seen separately are not seen as any possible threat…. they 3d print the remaining parts inside the airport and assemble the guns there…. I am sure there are stronger “what if” scenarios scarier or more realistic than this (remember they took over those planes with only box cutters, that were legal at that time!)
by Locke
One more example why gun control is futile (criminals by definition do not care about breaking the law) and proper education, gun owner registration and a change in the general public’s point of view needs to come about instead.
That said, I would imagine a part like this is unsafe with a higher caliber round than .22 and for extended use.
While 3D printing is getting more sophisticated every day I do not believe it is capable of producing a steel (of the correct type) item that can then be hardened in the proper way for this use. But I may be wrong.
by Khannea Suntzu
Google “metalstorm”. This is a moot discussion, I can clearly see Pandora’s box opening up in a few years.
by Chrispium
With the right kinds of plastics or ceramics you wont need steel
by GatorALLin
And I also noticed the part already posted for download on Thingiverse.com
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:11770
I understand that if this is converted into full auto, you need a class 3 permit and there are some VERY steep fines and also could expect jail time and a visit from ATF. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Firearms_Act
http://www.atf.gov/forms/firearms/
That being said…I don’t think that there is any law that says you can’t buy the plans for full auto conversion, or buy the parts, or have the parts on hand, (or do any of this for free) you just can’t have an assembled gun (or assembled lower receiver or assembled trigger mechanism) without the permit to go with it. These parts are highly regulated and very, very expensive to buy due to the limited number available to the public and cost of the permit (not the cost of the parts).
Now TSA will have to screen your carry on luggage to make sure you can’t assemble a 3D printer and start 3d printing inside the airport. I don’t see how you can make bullets, but the list of “what-if’s” gets pretty long without much effort. What would stop someone from getting a 3d printer past security and then printing (easy to hide and print inside a bag) anything you want?
I can see that this could shake up the rules for what you can bring with you past airport security checkpoints in the near future.
by GatorALLin
…. the edit feature times out and then won’t let you save… I hope you fix that bug….(or give the user a way to add time to the clock)….
by Editor
It’s set for 5 minutes. How much time do you need?
by GatorALLin
….how about reset it for 5 minutes every time I need it…..instead of count down to zero….. or if I am still in edit mode, don’t kill my last edit as happens now. Why have a 5 min. limit?
by Khannea Suntzu
Algorithmic evolved firearms :)
by Daniel
And this is a terrifying thing, how? Your Left Wing bullshit politics is showing.
by Editor
Daniel, you may want to send your comment to the writer at The Next Web, which is linked in the news item (which we did not write).
by Daniel
Done. Thanks.
by MatthewQ
Could have also read:
Done. Thanks. Sorry.
by Hai
Daniel, And your right wing BS is not?
by Ralph Dratman
Why are “conservatives” (ha!) always so nasty? But the question answers itself.
by Cybernettr
Why are liberal always making sweeping generalizations?
by Mr.x
@ Cybernettr: Conservatives don’t?Btw generalizations have their use, too-For example, there are some things one better abstains from saying to certain groups.
@topic: Maybe sometime people can download the stuff they need, e.g tools.That will properly lead to new attempts to regulate the internet more strictly because of “hard warez”.
by GatorALLin
Some additional work being done here: http://rommie.digitalcrowbar.net/wordpress/