Good or bad: free plans for making pistol with a 3-D printer

[BCRider]

Any "printer" that can print in metal is going to require that the the metal powder and binder parts be heat fused to achieve the high degree of strength needed for something such as a barrel or other highly stressed parts. So the whole gun basically becomes similar to a MIM sort of product. Just the gun is printed prior to the heat fusing process instead of molded. And likely some form of barrier would be printed between parts that are not intended to be heat fused into single nonmoving parts.

A lot of the guys buying new versions of the more traditional firearms are already whining and sniveling over MIM parts. Can you imagine the hue and cry when the new S&W Classic line is made from printed and fused metal powders? So basically the whole gun is similar in makeup to a fully MIM gun? I'm not sure the internet could withstand the amount of traffic THAT would cause....

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

It appears as though I forgot to actually post my link, here it is for free CNC downloads. http://www.cncguns.com/

 

[M-Cameron]

Can 3-D printers do metal work?

surprisingly yes, they can...however they are not something your average person can afford....hell, they are not something your average multi-million dollar corporation can afford.

 

[WinThePennant]

I am for anything that weakens the government's ability to destroy civil rights.

So, yes, I am 100% in favor of the "Gutenberg Gun."

 

[Steve C]

The issue of distributing a firearm design for 3-D printers as being a way to distribute real firearms is a ridiculous red herring promoted by someone who is either an ignorant alarmist or an untruthful propagandist.

3-D printers produce polymer models for rapid prototyping. The ones we had at the Aerospace plant I worked at cost close to a million dollars but the technology has become less expensive. They don't produce anything in metal but they can produce models capable of being used to make molds for casting.

If you have a multi million dollar manufacturing facility 3-D printers are a handy method to take 3-D CAD drawings and producing something in plastic to use for fit.

Firearms are relatively uncomplicated and can be made with simple hand tools as they have for hundreds of years from zip guns to SMG's. No one is going to make a functional firearm using their 3-D printer but they can make a plastic model. From the model to the actual firearm that would work takes metal, tools and someone who knows how to work in metal.