Weapons from 3D printer

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Currently, 3D printing technology is developing at a very fast pace. In just a 2-3 of the year, an 3D printer will become in our world as much an ordinary thing as a personal computer, laser printer or scanner today. For this reason, people today are increasingly concerned about the problem that will arise when distributing these printers and related technologies. This is a "printout" of various rifle weapons - from compact pistols to full-size assault rifles.

It is no secret to anyone that humanity always seeks to use new, only emerging technologies not only for the good, but also to the detriment of itself. In this regard, 3D printers are no exception. Not everyone is ready to use these devices in advertising, toy manufacturing, medicine, or just for their everyday hobbies. For someone will become a fad production of weapons. Today, any owner of an 3D printer, if desired, can make a plastic “samopal” at home, which can be quite used as a small arms.

Technology perspectives

How is a cream pattern applied to an ordinary biscuit cake? The pastry chef squeezes cream onto the surface of the cake from a special culinary syringe or rolled up bag. By changing the nozzles, you can also change the pattern or font on the cake. Imagine that the confectioner suddenly changes robot, and the confectioner's hand is replaced by a mechanical one, which works in accordance with the programmed program. This is exactly what happens today in large culinary factories. By the same principle, you can make a variety of chocolate figures. At the same time, cream or chocolate can be replaced with a special powder of quickly hardening plastic, with which you can create various toys, cups, plates, chess pieces, and other small things. In just a few years, these technologies will become available to the masses, and on the worldwide web you can find a huge number of pirated (and not only) digitized models of everything and everything.

Weapons from 3D printer

In the near future, McDonald’s fast-food chain expects to purchase 3D printers in order to print toys on them. Currently, the price of consumer 3D printers ranges from 1,5 to 8 thousands of dollars, which makes them expensive “toys”, but at the same time quite affordable. At the same time on the Internet you can find materials that allow you to make such a printer at home; drawings of printers, as well as all the necessary software for their work today can be found on the Internet. Not so long ago, in Russia, a group of enthusiastic developers from Novosibirsk published on the network information about the SibRap 3D printer they collected independently. To print on this printer three-dimensional objects used molten thread from ABS plastic. The developers of the Russian printer estimated the cost of the parts that are necessary for its creation, all in 20 thousand rubles.

Currently, Gartner - one of the largest research firms in the field of information technology - predicts an increase in the volume of industrial production of these devices. Supplies of 3D printers worth up to 100 thousand dollars increased by 2013% up to 43, the market volume was 412 million dollars. At the same time, individuals account for 87 million dollars, for companies - 325 million dollars. According to analysts, in 2014, the supply of 3D printers will increase by 62%, and the total amount of sales will be already 669 million dollars, in unit terms, the growth in supply of printers will be near the mark in 50%, it is planned to sell up to 56,5 thousands of similar devices. In 2015, the doubling of the number of 3D printers delivered to the end consumer is predicted, this will be due to the appearance of new players on the market and increased competition between them, which will lead to lower prices.

Danger 3D printers

The greatest interest in the new product was shown in the USA, where in 2013, the 3D printer was first used to make weapons. It is worth noting that the second of the 10 amendments, which form the so-called “Bill of Rights”, allows all American citizens to keep and carry firearms. In this case, the weapon could be made at home, in the event that such a hobby did not imply a commercial background. This right did not fail to take advantage of the enterprising 24-year-old American law student Cody Wilson, who decided to independently test the nerves of the American authorities for strength. Wilson became the founder of the company called Defense Distributed, its main purpose was the creation, accumulation and dissemination of information about the development and manufacture of firearms using the 3D printing method.


Gun "Liberator"

Cody Wilson decided to personally check how the American government would behave if, at one fine moment, the production of weapons ceases to be the prerogative of the state and becomes the property of the masses. Agree that far from everyone could make a full-fledged firearm on their own at home, but the use of 3D printing makes this process accessible to the layman. In the US, a young man very quickly found a large number of supporters who helped him raise the necessary amount of 20 thousand dollars. With this money, Wilson leased a 3D printer owned by Stratasys.

Soon the printer was delivered, but Wilson could not even unpack it. Stratasys unilaterally terminated the agreement concluded with the student, citing the fact that Defense Distributed did not have a license to manufacture small arms. As a result, 3D printer was taken away, and Cody Wilson had to deal with registration of the appropriate license. As a result, drawings of various weapon parts and the first samples of small arms, which can be made with an 3D printer, began to appear on the worldwide network.

Wilson proved that it is possible to manufacture small arms at home with the help of modern technology. In the network, he laid out the drawings of a pistol of his own design, which received the designation "Liberator" (from English - "Liberator"). According to the model presented by Wilson, it is possible with the help of a three-dimensional printer to make quite combat-ready weapons. Not surprisingly, representatives of the Bureau for the Control of Alcoholic Drinks, Tobacco Products and Small Arms, who had tested the Liberator, printed their two copies on their own quickly enough. The first sample immediately exploded while attempting to shoot with live ammunition, while the second sample of the pistol was able to withstand a series of 8 shots.


The first rifle, made on 3D-printer

Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that the tests have caused serious concern to the US administration. Every year in the States about 200 thousands of people become victims of the violent use of firearms, and almost every year there are mass murders of people by some regular psychopath. Against this background, the US authorities are pursuing a policy of introducing stricter norms for the circulation of small arms in the country and imposing restrictions on its sale. For example, US Secretary of Justice Eric Holder called on congressmen to extend the current US ban on the manufacture of pistols and rifles, which cannot be detected with the help of modern metal detectors, by 25 years. This alarm is understandable, because plastic weapons can be easily carried to crowded places or on board an aircraft.

As a result, Cody Wilson had to remove the drawings of the Liberator pistol from the Internet. He went for it at the request of the US Department of State. However, by the time the drawings were deleted, at least 100 of thousands of users already managed to download them, later they appeared again on file sharing sites and on torrents. In addition, not so long ago, information appeared on the Internet that Wilson did not stop at what had been accomplished and produced on the 3D printer a model of an assault rifle M-4, which could withstand 6 shots from the expected 20. It is worth noting that the result did not impress Wilson, but one should not discount the fact that this is only the beginning. Who knows where this technology will lead humanity ...

Anyway, the US Congress in December 2013 of the year extended the existing ban on the production of small arms in the country by 10 for years, which could not be detected by metal detectors. The Senate approved the adopted document. To such steps, the US authorities are pushing fears that, in the near future, everyone will be able to manufacture an all-plastic pistol using a home 3D printer, which, due to combat capabilities, will have little to do with combat analogues.


If we talk about printing at home with the help of a household 3D printer of the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifle, then he, perhaps, has a quiet life for many years without 3D copying. You can print it, but only in the role of a model, theatrical props. The AK model, made of ordinary plastic, will be deprived of its main advantages, for which it is appreciated and its tremendous reliability and unpretentiousness.

Information sources:
http://nvo.ng.ru/armament/2013-12-27/8_avtomat.html
http://itar-tass.com/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/822451
http://lifestyle.ru.msn.com/tech/3d-печать-автомат-заказывали
http://hi-news.ru/technology/3d-pechat-oruzhiya-v-ssha-ugroza-zapreta-vse-blizhe.html
http://www.towave.ru/pub/3d-pechat-vozmozhnosti-i-perspektivy.html
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25 comments
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  1. 0
    14 January 2014 10: 10
    Technology ... Well, who three years ago could even have suggested this ...
  2. +9
    14 January 2014 11: 49
    And even more fun will be the problem of controlling the creation of a 3D printer (all of a sudden!) On another 3D printer. On which it will already be possible to create weapons :))
    1. smprofi
      +8
      14 January 2014 14: 33
      Quote: Floock
      create weapons

      in childhood "samopaly" did not? do you know how?
      there were no labor lessons at school? you don’t know which side to approach the same lathe?
      Well, sorry ... recourse
      1. +3
        14 January 2014 16: 03
        The people were lazy, they all want to do it on the computer with a mouse click. :)
        1. Kir
          +2
          14 January 2014 20: 03
          Listen, and what is surprising is what country these things are from? The correct expression is about them (about cars):
          In Japan, they guarantee that during the declared period it will not break
          Has it broken in America? so there is always service.
          The country of the victorious service and comfort, and then their Classic is true, said:
          "..... The richer the country, the rounder the shape of its fools"
      2. 0
        14 January 2014 16: 03
        The people were lazy, they all want to do it on the computer with a mouse click. :)
      3. +2
        14 January 2014 22: 56
        Quote: smprofi
        in childhood "samopaly" did not? do you know how?

        Yes, they drove a little drooling on a simple homemade gun firing with factory ammunition, printed on a device worth a good carbine.
        If you are not from the secret society of rukozhopov, then really, as they say, there would be a desire:
    2. 0
      15 January 2014 19: 37
      From this know-how ....)))))
  3. USNik
    -1
    14 January 2014 12: 22
    Congress in December 2013 extended the ban on the production of small arms that could not be detected using metal detectors for 10 years in the country.
    Not a problem, we print a disposable and one or two charging pistols, glue a strip of metal and voila on top, we did not break anything! I wonder if it is possible to print explosives using a replicator?
    1. smprofi
      +2
      14 January 2014 14: 31
      Quote: USNik
      Is it possible to print explosives using a replicator?

      belay
      um ... but what, in fact, is the question? I did not quite understand.
      create explosives? well, so there was no need to skip chemistry lessons. or books / Internet you can read. a printer is not needed at all.
      "print" the form you want? Well, again, everything is very simple: the same tolt melts (everyone knows), just pour the melted into the desired shape. with other explosives, you have to work differently.

      teach you how? USNik, so I, for example, will not do this.
      1. +2
        14 January 2014 15: 34
        Why print if you can buy? And you can kill people with other means, such as poisonous gas, you are sure to know how to get it ... smile
  4. +1
    14 January 2014 12: 26
    3D printer technologies lead to downsizing (in the future).
    1. +1
      14 January 2014 14: 24
      And millions more will be completely unnecessary in the labor market.
  5. smprofi
    +5
    14 January 2014 14: 25
    uh ... but did the zhurnalyug not report?
    if at one fine moment the production of weapons ceases to be the prerogative of the state and becomes the property of the broad masses

    and how long has it been in arms manufacturing in Gringostan only state?
    this time.
    second. it is much easier (and more reliable!) at present to "find" and use a "regular" factory-made barrel. but now which zhurnalyuga (and on which site) starts a wave of "the problem" of weapons and 3D printers. yes no problem! everything is sucked out of the finger!

    You can talk for a long time on this topic, but it’s not interesting
    1. 0
      14 January 2014 15: 38
      Quote: smprofi
      yes there is no problem! all sucked out of a finger!

      I agree, tomorrow they will write that they began to print knives and bring them aboard ... smile
  6. 0
    14 January 2014 14: 26
    Quote: Floock
    And even more fun will be the problem of controlling the creation of a 3D printer (all of a sudden!) On another 3D printer. On which it will already be possible to create weapons :))

    URobert Shackley has a story called "A Necessary Thing" there is just such a description.
    1. 0
      15 January 2014 19: 41
      It's about Joe the Elder and the Multiplier))))))
  7. +2
    14 January 2014 15: 44
    I agree with smprofi - sucked out of the finger. To make a firearm - you don't need a 3-D printer. Need hands and a file. all. The article is not about anything.
  8. +2
    14 January 2014 19: 07
    And before that 3-D printer weapons "on the head" did not?
  9. 0
    14 January 2014 19: 49
    these plastic disposable freaks are already anoranism. technology went to another level. engine parts are already laser-printed in metal and work well in aviation. the parts have already been tested on the "tornado". In combat conditions, a real replacement for a heap of machine tools in army workshops hi
  10. -1
    14 January 2014 19: 59
    A weapon from a work of art turns into a surrogate. The lack of culture is visible in everything.
  11. +1
    14 January 2014 20: 19
    A criminal and a criminal in Africa. And how to commit a crime, with or without a 3D printer, there is a way. Technology has nothing to do with it.
  12. +3
    14 January 2014 23: 22
    Quote: smprofi
    Quote: Floock
    create weapons

    in childhood "samopaly" did not? do you know how?
    there were no labor lessons at school? you don’t know which side to approach the same lathe?
    Well, sorry ... recourse

    I agree completely. The primitive "shooter" on a school lathe and drilling machine is being made quite successfully (for a small-caliber chuck or a mounting chuck ... a 25-year-old memory :))
  13. Voronbit
    0
    15 January 2014 02: 14
    any engineer understands that this is a mess ........ and the technologist will say, wait a dude .... it is very difficult now to evaluate VTR .... what, to speak about the most complex systems in the world - multi-purpose submarines?
  14. With
    +2
    16 January 2014 15: 57
    I didn’t see any weapon that could be used for real use, printed on a 3D printer, but an ordinary kitchen knife is much more dangerous. The so-called "problem of weapons from a 3D printer" has been sucked out of my finger

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