Britain's National Ballistics Intelligence Service/BBC claims anyone attempting to fire a 3D printed plastic gun would probably maim or even kill themselves,misleading

This BBC story is quite misleading.  Note that it is only at the very end of their video that they concede that it is indeed possible to use a 3D printed plastic gun.  From the BBC:

Police are warning technology enthusiasts not to attempt to use 3D printers to make plastic guns, because each time they have been tested the weapons have exploded.
Relatively cheap plastic printed guns have been fired successfully in the United States.
Scientists in the UK say without additional expertise and the right type of ammunition, anyone attempting to fire one would probably maim or even kill themselves.
They also point out that to do so would be illegal. . . .

Newest piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Some realities to consider before passing more gun-control bills”

My newest piece in the Inquirer starts this way:

The new year has brought yet more gun-control regulations. President Obama announced new executive orders on background checks. Connecticut citizens stood in long lines to register their guns, and, next door in New York City, registration lists are used to confiscate them.

While the research by criminologists and economists keeps showing that gun control doesn't work, technological advances and practical problems mean the laws are increasingly likely only to disarm the law-abiding. 

In the era of 3D printing, you won't be able to ban guns and it will be even more difficult to stop unapproved people from obtaining them. A part metal/part plastic gun printed from a 3D printer will be completely indistinguishable from a traditionally made gun, even down to whatever serial number you want. 

3D printers have consequences for the gun-control laws Obama and other Democrats are pushing. If AR-15s are banned, anyone could borrow a 3D printer and make one. If magazines holding more than 10 rounds are banned, and you don't have access to a very simple set of tools, print one off. 

Can the government stop 3D-printed guns? Unfortunately, no. . . . .

The most important parts of the piece deals with Interpol Secretary General Ron Noble’s comments on stopping mass public shootings and that gun control disarms the law-abiding, not the criminals.

Despite the hoopla, 3D printed plastic guns are at least as much of a risk to the shooter

Senator Schumer sure makes the danger of 3D printed guns look immediate and ominous. From the Huffington Post: 

"We are looking at a world in which anyone with a little bit of cash can bring an undetectable gun that can fire multiple bullets anywhere — including planes, government buildings, sporting events and schools," Schumer said. "3-D printers are a miraculous technology that have the potential to revolutionize manufacturing, but we need to make sure they are not being used to make deadly, undetectable weapons." . . .

 Others such as Eric Holder have made a big deal about these printers.  From Fox News:

“This is an extremely serious problem,” Holder said in a statement. “This is a very worrisome threat to law enforcement and to people who fly every day. We can’t have guns legally in circulation that are not detectable by metal detectors.” . . .

Of course, 3D plastic guns aren't really completely undetectable, though it does make the problem more difficult.  From the Huffington Post:

Currently, X-ray machines used in many federal facilities can detect 3D weapons, unless they are broken down into component parts, in which case it may be up to security officials to recognize the individual components of the weapon. "Not every place you go to is like the airport," Griffith said. "A lot of places, [like] courthouses, all they have are metal detectors." . . .

Computer World has this about how dangerous the plastic gun is to those who use them.

Last week, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) published videos demonstrating how some plastic models of the Liberator were able to fire up to eight rounds, while others exploded on the first round; the success of the weapon depended on the polymers and printers used. . . .

A couple of the results of the BATFE test:



From Businessweek:

A truly all-plastic firearm “would be very unreliable and very unsafe,” according to Larry Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade group representing gun manufacturers that’s allied with the National Rifle Association. . . .

Other law enforcement organizations around the world are even much less positive.  From Gizmodo:

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione called a press conference today after the NSW [Australia] Police Force concluded its experiments with 3D printable weapons, including The Liberator. The boffins over at the NSW Police bought themselves a 3D printer for $1700 and decided to test how easy it would be to build their own gun. They downloaded the blueprints for The Liberator from the internet and printed out two weapons to test fire. 

All in all, they printed the 15 parts required to assemble The Liberator in 27 hours and assembled it within 60 seconds with a firing pin fashioned out of a steel nail. The two guns were test fired into a block of resin designed to simulate human muscle, and the first bullet penetrated the resin block up to 17 centimetres. NSW Police Ballistics division confirm that it would be a fatal wound if pointed at someone. 

What’s interesting about the second device they tested, however, was the “catastrophic failure” of the weapon. Translation? It exploded. The plastic gave way to the brutal force of an exploding .38 caliber bullet and the barrel exploded. . . .

  The law banning plastic guns is particularly useless because metal used in the gun to make it legal could be easily removed. 

Schumer said the Liberator's CAD blueprint allows for a piece of metal that can be easily removed and plays no functional role but renders the gun legal; bullets can be fired from the gun even though it is made entirely of plastic. . . .

The Undetectable Firearms Act was passed in 1988, then renewed in 1998 and again in 2003.  Here is something that I wrote about plastic guns back in 2003 and something about 3D printing earlier this year. To me the more important problem is the fact that metal guns that work identically to other manufactured guns can be made using 3D printers.

Philadelphia is posed to ban 3D printed guns that aren't made by licensed gun makers.  Other articles on the 3D plastic gun debate are here and here.

Well, we are in a new age: World’s first 3D-printed metal gun, solves problem of gun exploding on you when you use it

The current metal printer that is used here is a very expensive machine.  I have seen ads for some running up to $50,000.  While I can't tell from the article exactly how much the printer here cost, that price is surely seems plausible.  From Fox News:

Depending on who you are, where you hail from, and where you stand on guns, 3D printing and related issues, this bit of news will either thrill and astound you, terrify you, or compel you to say “meh.”  

But here goes: A company by the name of Solid Concepts has made the world’s first metal gun using a 3D printer. 

Based out of Austin, Texas, the 3D-printed metal pistol made by Solid Concepts is based on the Browning 1911 firearm. Solid Concepts set out to make this gun in an effort to prove that they can make weapons that are fit for “real world applications.”  

To make the gun, Solid Concepts utilized a manufacturing process known as direct metal laser sintering, or DMLS. DMLS is a 3D manufacturing process used to make metal parts for the aerospace and medical industries. The application for DMLS in the latter example is specific to surgical tools, meaning it’s perfectly suited for the creation of precision firearms.  

“The whole concept of using a laser sintering process to 3D Print a metal gun revolves around proving the reliability, accuracy, and usability of 3D Metal Printing as functional prototypes and end use products,” says Solid Concepts’ vice president of additive manufacturing Kent Firestone. “It’s a common misconception that laser sintering isn’t accurate or strong enough, and we’re working to change people’s perspective.” . . .

My take on the impact of these guns is available here.  Prices are dropping rapidly.  For 3D printers that don't deal with metal the prices have already dropped dramatically.  In 2007, the first consumer 3D printer later this year for $4995.  Now we see prices such as this: "That goal came one step closer to realization in early May 2013, when office supply retailer Staples announced that it would be selling a $1,300 printer from 3D Systems, making it the first major retailer to do so."  More on prices falling available here.
The new printed gun also solves an important problem of blowing up in the users hands.  This gun had no problem firing 50 rounds.  From Computer World:

Solid Concept said its gun's barrel experiences chamber pressure above 20,000 psi every time the gun is fired. By comparison, a factory-made M1911 pistol is rated for 17,000 psi chamber pressure. . . .

Might advances in 3-D printing might soon make it really possible to make working guns?

There have been a real problem with using 3-D printing to make guns, the barrel of the gun hasn't been able to withstand the pressure from the explosion of the bullet.  If 3-D printing can make parts that can withstand the explosive pressure of a rocket engine, might they be able to withstand the explosive pressure of a gun?  From QZ.com:

Even if 3-D printing doesn’t change the economy, it has the potential to change manufacturing—making it cheaper and capable of producing better parts and products.  

Now the NASA space agency and Aerojet Rocketdyne say they have successfully tested a rocket engine injector that was made using powerful lasers to “melt and fuse fine metallic powders into three-dimensional structures”—read, 3-D printing. . . .  

According to the engineers behind the project, the test results matter because, unlike a lot of the basic structures created by 3-D printing, the components inside rocket engines must be machined to extremely exacting standards. If they can withstand the heat and pressure of burning rocket fuel while maintaining high performance, it’s a sign that the techniques behind 3-D printing can have major applications in all kinds of machining scenarios. . . .

3D printer produced a gun for only $35

As I have warned in past posts, one uses one of these plastic guns at one's own peril.  But the cost of these guns is amazingly low.  From the Sydney Morning Herald:

The gun only costs $35 to make on a 3D printer, with instructions downloaded from the internet. 

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said on Friday police easily made two Liberator plastic guns on a $1700 home 3D printer. From 16 parts it only took police 27 hours to build the guns. . . .

In order to function and keep the gun from exploding on you, two metal parts needed: a steel barrel and firing pin.  I don't know how much those parts will add to the price of this guns if they are made using a 3D printer that uses metal, but you would have to believe that it can't be that much.  In any case, Cody Wilson, the guy who put the original 3D gun together, used a metal nail for the firing pin.

UPDATE: Apparently, someone named "Joe" figured out how to make a cheaper gun and he apparently demonstrates that a generic Polylac PA-747 ABS fed is stronger than the more expensive ABS plastic and shows nine shots being fired (though the footage is interrupted).  This engineer figured out how to make the gun for only $25.  

Government says "may be impossible" to stop 3D printing of guns

At the very least, how do you stop drug gangs from smuggling in or stealing 3D printers?  From Fox News:

A new Department of Homeland Security intelligence bulletin warns it could be "impossible" to stop 3D-printed guns from being made, not to mention getting past security checkpoints. . . .
The guns threaten to render 3D gun control efforts useless if their manufacture becomes more widespread.
"Significant advances in three-dimensional (3D) printing capabilities, availability of free digital 3D printer files for firearms components, and difficulty regulating file sharing may present public safety risks from unqualified gun seekers who obtain or manufacture 3D printed guns," warns the bulletin compiled by the Joint Regional Intelligence Center. . . .
"Limiting access may be impossible," concludes the three-page bulletin.
A source tells FoxNews.com the potential problems faced by government authorities involve securing large, high-profile events or those attended by the President, where magnetometers used to screen for weapons would not pick up a 3D printed gun.
"This is a serious threat," the law enforcement source said. "These could defeat magnetometers. The only security procedure to catch [the 3D firearms] is a pat down. Is America ready for pat-downs at every event?" . . .

Printers are relatively inexpensive:

The price range of 3D Systems printers ranges from $10k to $750k. The average would be ~$380k. But the median is much lower <$100k. . . .

More importantly, prices look to be falling dramatically very soon.

Widespread adoption of 3D printing technology may not be that far away, according to a Gartner report predicting that enterprise-class 3D printers will be available for less than $2,000 by 2016. . . .

How are you going to stop people from getting 3D printers when the prices get that low?  The hard part is designing the file, but that has apparently been done, with one already created file downloaded 100,000 times.

In any case, let me note that I still have some skepticism about these plastic guns.  The force from the explosion of the bullet seems very likely to risk having the plastic gun explode in your hands, sending shrapnel all over the place.  My advice is if you were to fire one of these guns, make sure that you are heavily protected.  I would still like to have some third party confirm that this gun works.

UPDATE: My skepticism about how safe this is has some support from some recent tests in Australia.  From Gizmodo:

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione called a press conference today after the NSW Police Force concluded its experiments with 3D printable weapons, including The Liberator. The boffins over at the NSW Police bought themselves a 3D printer for $1700 and decided to test how easy it would be to build their own gun. They downloaded the blueprints for The Liberator from the internet and printed out two weapons to test fire. 

All in all, they printed the 15 parts required to assemble The Liberator in 27 hours and assembled it within 60 seconds with a firing pin fashioned out of a steel nail. The two guns were test fired into a block of resin designed to simulate human muscle, and the first bullet penetrated the resin block up to 17 centimetres. NSW Police Ballistics division confirm that it would be a fatal wound if pointed at someone. 

What’s interesting about the second device they tested, however, was the “catastrophic failure” of the weapon. Translation? It exploded. The plastic gave way to the brutal force of an exploding .38 caliber bullet and the barrel exploded. . . .

These guns have a history "to fall apart or degrade after repeated use." 

UPDATE: Printing can be done with metal, not just plastic.

UPDATE: Senator Schumer, Rep. Israel, and California state Senator Yee are all pushing gun control laws to deal with 3D printing.  Israel's proposal would license those who make ammunition magazines. According to the Boston Globe, Yee's proposal could include the registration of 3D printers.  Schumer's actions are discussed here.  More of a discussion is available here.

The Digital Journal has this proposal:

Solutions? Trying to censor the internet will be a failure, it is simply not possible for one regulator body to control such a vast network. However, the streets can be safer by imposing regulations on retail 3D printers. These include price fixings making the printers unaffordable for the average consumer, but as well requiring licensing and strict regulations for ownership.

From the New York Times:

Mr. Israel’s bill represents a form of gun control that the N.R.A. could actually support. Not because the Constitution remains silent on the question of printers, but because current manufacturers might not love the idea of new technology messing with their bottom line.

Other information by Ashley Feinberg is available here.

3D printed gun in wild: downloaded over 100,000 times worldwide in 2 days

I still need to be convinced by a third party expert that the plastic is able to withstand the force of the explosion of the bullet.  But if this works, the Genie is definitely out of the bottle.  

Blueprints for the first-ever plastic gun produced on a 3-D printer, that can pass through metal detectors, have been downloaded over 100,000 times since it was posted to the web on Monday. Designs for the 'Liberator' pistol were posted online by Defense Distributed but on Thursday the U.S. State Department ordered the website to take down the blueprints, on the basis that the plans could violate export regulations. The blueprints, that could be produced on 3-D printers costing as little as $1,000, were seen as a breakthrough because no one has previously designed such a weapon that could withstand the pressure of firing modern ammunition.
Surprisingly, most downloads of the plans did not come from inside the U.S. but from Spain.The U.S. is second, ahead of Brazil, Germany, and the U.K., according to Haroon Khalid, a developer working with Defense Distributed, who reported the statistics to Forbes. . . .

The printer itself only costs $8,000.  The files are stored on servers outside the US.

. . . Defense Distributed does not host the files in the US; instead it has uploaded them to the Mega website run by the internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, based in New Zealand, and where user information – including who has logged into the site and downloaded files – is encrypted.
The files have also been uploaded to the Pirate Bay file-sharing site, where they have proved a popular download.
The gun blueprints take the form of computer-aided design files, which have to be read by specialist software which can then be used by industrial 3D printers to build up the hair-thin layers, one by one, to create the finished parts.
On Thursday, a British expert in 3D printing and a ballistics expert separately warned that building a gun from the parts could be lethal to the user, because the physics involved in firing a bullet – with pressures in the gun chamber of more than 1,000 atmospheres, and temperatures of over 200C – could put catastrophic stresses on the plastics used it its construction.
Even so, two British newspapers are understood to have asked 3D printing companies to try to build the gun for them. . . .

Realistic guns made from Lego?

Ever wondered how to make realistic looking guns out of LEGO?  Well here is your chance (see here).    In some sense, this is like the debate over 3D printed guns.  We regulate toy guns so that they don't look like guns, but people find ways to make guns through other ways.

"Politics" behind Defense Department threatening legal action against 3D printed gun?

Will these 3D printed guns be used in the commission of crime?  Undoubtedly.  But will they also be used for self-defense?  Equally surely.  If you ban 3D printed guns, how does this change?  With law-abiding citizens obeying the law, only criminals will be the ones who get these relatively inexpensive guns.

Is this a civil liberties issue?  To me this is a way to lower the cost of people obtaining guns -- a big benefit given that it is poor minorities who live in high crime urban areas who benefit the most from owning guns.  Yet, it looks as if the Obama administration is using threats, without a legal basis, to stifle people obtaining these guns.

From Fox News:

. . . Plans for the working handgun were posted online Monday by Cody Wilson, founder of Defense Distributed, potentially allowing anyone with access to a 3D printer to make a firearm from plastic. The plans, which had been in the works for months, caused alarm among gun control advocates but were seen by some Second Amendment advocates as a breakthrough. More than 100,000 copies of the plans were downloaded before the federal government took the files. 

“[Defense Distributed's] files are being removed from public access at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense Trade Controls," read a banner atop the website. "Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information.” 

Wilson tells FoxNews.com that he decided to comply to a request by the Pentagon to take down the gun specs from his website while he weighs his legal options. . . . 

Wilson says he has complied to most laws on the books and feels that the D.O.D.'s request may be more politically motivated. 

"If this is an attempt to control the info from getting out there, it's clearly a weak one," he said, adding that the CAD design for the weapon has already spread across the Internet at downloading sites like the Pirate Bay. . . .

3D printing of ammunition magazines threatens U.S. gun regulation plans

Unlike printing guns, which doesn't work, printing ammunition magazines doesn't face any practical problems.  Of course, people could always make the magazines using simple tools in any machine shop (after all they are just metal boxes with a spring), but my guess is that these 3D printers will capture attention in a way that the old machine shops didn't.  This article is from Metro News:

After the tragedies of Sandy Hook and Aurora, the U.S. government is preparing to introduce stricter guidelines on gun ownership. But supporters of the second amendment could get around them by printing their own firearms at home.
The technology is still developing but 2012 saw the first shots fired from guns with printed parts. ‘Gun hacking’ is a growth community in online forums and has become serious business.
“I have five people now making AK-47 magazines – they’re incredibly easy to reproduce”, Cody Wilson, CEO of the Defense Distributed company in Texas, told Metro. A firm believer in the right to bear arms, Wilson is deliberately producing parts for assault weapons likely to be banned by new controls.
“(U.S. Vice-President) Joe Biden’s group are using the assumption that if you control the channel you control the product – but that is not the case any more”, says Wilson. His company have made open-source code for over 30 gun parts available online, and claims they have been receiving thousands of downloads a day. . . .

As Peter K, the person who sent me the link to this information, noted these printing machines are everywhere: "my brother in law owns a couple of these type of machines for his jewelry business. you can make just about anything with them."