Metal 3D printing- first metal 1911 printed

I just finished writing an article with regards to this and a little poking at the media "panic" it's causing.

http://shootersreportblog.wordpress...ed-metal-gun-and-its-got-huffpost-in-a-panic/

The fact of the matter is the machine costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and is highly specialized.

I wonder how many people alive today could make a 1911 frame with a CNC and a block of aluminum. The rest can be purchased legally.

However, this is very cool and I'm looking forward to hopefully higher accessibility of 3D printed parts. Magazines, uppers, bolts, trigger kits, who knows what the limits are.
 
I wonder how many people alive today could make a 1911 frame with a CNC and a block of aluminum. The rest can be purchased legally.
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I have asked the same question of people that were all wound up about the printing thing. With a mill a lathe and a few other tools you would not need to buy much. My guess is if you can acquire the skill to run a 3D printer you can probably acquire enough machining skill to make a better gun from metal stock. The barrel would be hard to do on your own but not beyond reach.
 
How much did it cost to produce the 1911? I'm sure that metal dust isn't cheap considering it would have to be a very consistant particle size. Not to mention the price of electricity to power a laser for hours thats powerful enough to micro-weld metalic dust into solid objects.
 
its easier and alot cheaper to make a gun from hardware store metal parts. To many books have been printed on the subject.

would it be cheaper to make a luger this way then to fully machine it?
 
Lawmakers need to take a chill pill on this one. It's just a new manufacturing process that may prove out superior to others in some or maybe many applications. No new laws need to be written, anything you could do illegally with this technology is already covered by existing laws.

Unless you want to count the "Assault by 3D Copier" Charge :eek:
 
The gun in the video looked nice, but didn't perform very well. Something was wrong with the slide-to-frame fit, I believe. It jammed a number of times and the slide seemed to be sticking.

This is nit-picky, given the accomplishment. I just think they could have spent a little time fitting the frame/slide to make a more impressive demonstration. If you spend that kind of money to manufacture a gun, don't put it on Youtube until you got it right!
 
Skans said:
The gun in the video looked nice, but didn't perform very well. Something was wrong with the slide-to-frame fit, I believe. It jammed a number of times and the slide seemed to be sticking.

This is nit-picky, given the accomplishment. I just think they could have spent a little time fitting the frame/slide to make a more impressive demonstration. If you spend that kind of money to manufacture a gun, don't put it on Youtube until you got it right!
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From the comments section of the Solid Concepts page from company rep "Kelsey": "Some have commented on the return of the battery. We have since corrected this concern by improving the mating surface where the back of the shell rides up the breach face upon lockup."
 
I like it and its super cool, the gun looked fine to me, not to mention you could just adjust all measurements to your liking anyway. I look like it didnt extract a shell completely in the video also. id like to do destructive bend test and see how it holds up. I seems like laser beam welding basically put in a cnc machine. how available are the plans/blueprints to build pistols im in my level 2 welding class and have been tig welding stainless, carbon and aluminum plate/pipe. I might be interested trying to fabricate some pieces.

lets here from some gunsmiths.
 
Well considering that up to now they have made mostly medical and automotive supplies and this is their first prototype of their first foray into firearms. It's a wonder it worked at all on the first try. Get an actual firearm engineer to refine the design a bit and I'm sure it will work as well as any budget 1911 out there.

As for the "Big deal, you still need an $850,000 machine to make it" crowd. I'll give it 5 years before the machines become priced at the serious hobbyist level run more efficiently and probably make parts to a higher standard than this. Just look at computers. Started as gymnasium sized, million dollar, card punchers. Now my cellphone costs $500, is infinitely more powerful, and I can stick it in my pocket. And so simple a 9 year old can use it.
Technology marches on.

The thing with CNC vs. 3D printing. There are certain parts or designs that a CNC mill simply cannot make. I have designed an had made a few parts for mostly airsoft guns. Odd ball one off accessories that just wouldn't be popular enough to put into full production. And on more than one occasion I would have to modify the design to something other than exactly what I wanted because the guy who runs the mill told me "Sorry, gonna have to change the design, my mill don't bend that way" This machine allows you to make odd complex parts that you can't make any other way.
 
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