3D-Printed Guns A Reality

[jim360]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22421185

I find this incredibly scary.

[woofgang]

plastic guns that can escape metal detectors are already available much more cheaply than buying a 3d printer that will do this.

[ChuckFickens]

As above...

Also, if somebody really wanted to make a working gun (not out of plastic) then it's easy to do so with supplies from a local hardware shop and a few hand tools. If you have access to some fairly basic metalworking tools (lathe and milling machine) then you could easily make a pretty sophisticated gun.

[jim360]

Quite .... but the ease of access is surely much greater when you just have to click on a few buttons than go out and learn metalwork, or find someone on the Black Market?

At the moment this is still an enormously expensive way of getting a gun, so I doubt that it will lead to mass amounts of guns on the streets any time soon. But if it's already possible, and if 3D printers start to become more readily available, then we have something to be concerned about.

[Mamyalynne]

Alarming yes, also had to cringe as The BBC's Rebecca Morelle said ' This printer cost $8,000 dollars off of E Bay.' Arghhhhhhhhhh sorry a pet hate of mine.

[woofgang]

Its already easy to get a gun....I don't think adding another way of getting one will up the risk.

[jim360]

Easy is a relative term. Gun crime in the UK is relatively low. I don't see how you can think that having no need to leave your house to get a working gun isn't going to lead to potentially far greater numbers of guns in the future.

[woofgang]

you need to source the printer, then the ABs plastic, then the bullets and other metal parts, then get the blooming printer to work with your computer (rolls eyes) while they are called printers, these 3d jobbies are huge beasts and the plastic has to be in the right conformation to work in the machine, you don't just open a packet and feed in the sheets. You can get a gun (and ammo) NOW off the net if you do your homework....honestly jim as a realistic thing to worry about its only just above the earth being struck by a meteorite.

[ChuckFickens]

well you don't really "just have to click on a few buttons"

You need to buy a £5000 3d printer and it will be a long time until 3d printers of sufficient quality get down to anywhere near general home level use (I suspect the printer they used was second hand too, so it's probably closer to a 10k printer)

Even then, after buying your 5k printer you end up with a gun that won't be accurate at any distance, reliable or will last more than a handful of shots (which it will only take one at a time)

[RATTER15]

Woofgang, in the larger cities I could well believe it easy to get a gun, I have lived with guns most of my life and also been associated with some pretty unsavoury people, however I don't think I would be able to get a gun illegally without going to a big city and then im not sure it would be easy. I could however make a gun without to much difficulty.

[woofgang]

Indeed RATTER, was just making it clear to jim that he needn't start panicking quite yet...

[jno]

Chuck, are you sure you aren't saying "Nopbody's ever going to want a mobile phone, they cost a fortune and look like a breeze block"?

[woofgang]

jno, I can see 3d printers becoming popular and household items, but I don't think that the driver will be the ease of making guns!

[jno]

no, that'd just be a by-product, but a useful one for some.

[woofgang]

mmmmm......my neighbours kids are screaming again.......

[jim360]

I probably overstated my reaction -- I think it's something to be potentially very concerned about.

[woofgang]

well so is the earth being hit by a meteorite......

[jim360]

Not exactly -- if the earth were hit by a meteorite there's little or nothing we can do. Perhaps the same is true of gun proliferation, but in principle it ought to be possible to do something about it.

[woofgang]

star wars technology jim, to either shatter the meterorite or to knock if off course...a much more interesting thing to worry about. :-)

[jim360]

Let's not go too far down the meteorite line... we'd have to spot the thing first and that's no certainty anyway.

In the short term this is probably nothing more than a (sad) breakthrough in 3D printing technology. In the long term, it could be something to watch out for.

[woofgang]

so are meteorites