A new 3D printer for $5k can print in carbon fiber. Implications.

J

Jim March

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Somebody correct me but...couldn't this build a Glock frame clone right now?

It should also be able to print a "Liberator" class single-shot pistol with no problem at all, probably up to around 38Spl power levels.

Such a critter will get cheaper in a few years.

I can think of one way to build up more impressive parts. Use a plastic 3D printer to build a "jig" that holds steel parts that you then use a carbon fiber printer to lay carbon fiber around...giving you mixed steel/carbon fiber construction in say, a revolver cylinder. Plain stainless steel tubes are easy to get, easy to cut to the right length to get a revolver cylinder built, which is an insanely complex item for a home machinist to make with a traditional lathe/mill setup.

Am I right in seeing this as a step to totally uncontrollable firearms manufacture?

Yeah, it's $5k now. But in 5 years? 10?
 
Probably not. There was a thread a while back about the possibility that fully automatic weapons are not running rampant in the U.S. because we still have access to fine semi auto weapons. I feel as though a similar principle is likely at play here.

With the wide availability of nicely manufactured weapons, why in the world would anyone use one of these?

As for criminal use, I turn to the same argument. Criminals don't really use fully automatic weapons, and can still easily get cheap, real guns, so why would they use these crappy guns?

That's just my opinion, maybe I'm wrong and maybe my logic is a bit of a jump, but that is how I see it.
 
Hard to say. I don't pretend to understand the political and/or cultural climate in every country, but I'd imagine that something like this may be picked up on IF the price of making them is significantly lower than the price of smuggling or illegally manufacturing real guns. For a large organization, it probably won't be worth it, but to some crime circles, it is possible that this could lead to trouble under the right circumstances.
 
real criminals ... god look at the cartels. most of their weapons comes from the colombian military itself. no need to make something at home when you simply bribe someone..
 
I found some more info on this thing. Basically there's a strength limitation because it can't "interweave" fibers, so you only get strength in one direction and not the other. You can layer the thread directions some, a bit like the wood grain in plywood and that would help, but I am now questioning whether it could print a Glock frame reasonably well.

One thing that I think it could do really well is layer thread around a steel barrel core that is set to spin inside the machine. Still requires a rifled steel barrel so this is more a manufacturer's trick, but it'd be a pretty good one for making long light and strong barrels with good heat dissipation properties cheaply.
 
I'd strongly suspect that a basic process like wrapping a barrel could still be done far better and more efficiently with traditional composite techniques. For something like a carbon fiber or similar 3d printer to really take off the resolution/precison of the printing heads is going to have to be much better. As it stands this printer doesn't match materials and process very well. 3d printers are good for complex shapes...but unidirectional material strength is going to have limited applications where a 3D printer would truly be an advantage over traditional methods
 
Other than the novelty of having a gun that was "printed", I don't see 3D printing technology as something a would-be gun owner is seriously going to pursue. At least, not in the next 7 years.

The huge pink elephant in the room is that we have easy access to the finest firearms made in the world. It's like a watch enthusiast choosing to invest in technology that will print and assemble a cheap plastic McDonald's watch over simply buying a Rolex for the same cost.
 
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