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A test for 3D printer technology: the plastic gun

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A test for 3D printer technology: the plastic gun

By Craig Nakano

May 6, 2013, 1:09 p.m.

What's billed as "the world's first gun made with 3D printer technology" had its BBC premiere Monday with a video demonstrating how, with the exception of one small metal pin, the weapon is wholly constructed of plastic components made with a machine bought on EBay.

As L.A. at Home reported in January, 3D printer technology is advancing toward the mass market, for better or for worse. Although our Solidoodle 2 review revealed that some low-cost models are not quite ready for prime time, a surprising number of 3D printers now can be bought for a fraction of the $8,000 reportedly paid for the machinery that created the gun.

The 3D-printed gun's maker is Cody Wilson, described by BBC science reporter Rebecca Morelle as a 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas. His gun -- made of ABS, similar to the kind of plastic used to make Legos -- can fire standard bullets using interchangeable barrels.

"I'm seeing a world where technology says you can pretty much have whatever you want," Wilson says in the interview, conducted during what the BBC said was the first testing of the gun.

"Aren't you worried about the kinds of people who will be using this technology?" reporter Morelle asks, to which Wilson responds: "I recognize that the tool might be used, yeah, to harm other people. That's what it is. It's a gun. But again, I don't think that's a reason not to do it, to not put it out there. I think that liberty, in the end, is a better interest."

The BBC report appears to have been produced in advance of a Forbes article posted Friday and video snippet posted Sunday that Forbes said is based on the first test firings of the gun. Regardless of who was first, response to the coverage has been abundant, with much outcry as well as some yawns. Boing Boing, among others, declared Wilson's gun "not [yet] a game-changer," mainly because traditional guns are so inexpensive and easy to get.

Although Wilson said his intention is to release his designs so the gun components can be reproduced, at least one forum in which 3D designs are shared was quick to close that door. Thingiverse, a popular ideas exchange where users post their designs for others to download, told The Times that its terms of service would prevent Wilson from sharing his gun. Users of the site must agree not to upload, transmit, display or distribute any content that "promotes illegal activities or contributes to the creation of weapons," a Thingiverse spokeswoman said.

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KAET show on printable plastic gun

It's a plastic, working gun that shoots real bullets which you can make with a 3D printer????

It's made by a Texas Libertarian law student named Cody Wilson.

The KAET segment said you could find blueprints for the gun on this website.

http://printablegun.com

http://defdist.org/

According to the article Cody Wilson thinks the citizens of the world need guns to keep their governments in check. I would have to agree with him on that.

The KAET show said the plastic gun was made from a used 3D printer that cost the students $8,000.

They didn't say how much the 3D printer cost new, but they did say the costs were expected to drop in the next few years so that the 3D printer would be affordable by common people.

I say a demo of one of these cool 3D printers many years ago, and I think the cost then was somewhere around a $100,000 to a $1 million. So the cost definitely is dropping.

Last while a homemade gun may sound like a cool thing it isn't a new concept.

Prison inmates and gang bangers have been making them for years out of common household materials and they are called zip guns.

The only new thing this homemade gun brings into the picture is that it is made of plastic and can't be detected by the metal detectors used at the entrances to airports and government buildings.