Ok, so many think this is the beginning of a new way to make guns.
This is where I can tell you're missing the point. First of all, yes, it is actually a new way to make guns. However, no one is expecting it to overtake traditional methods of making guns. That Glock, S&W, Sig, whatever you get off the shelf will be far better than anything you can print. But that's simply not the point. I'll put this in one sentence to make it clear what the point is:
This technology will make government regulation of firearms moot because anyone with a tiny bit of computer know how, a 3D printer (which keep coming down in price by the day), some ABS printer materal, and a nail can manufacture guns in their home.
As I said, technically it is a new way to make guns. Whether it's better than the guns in your safe is moot.
At a minimum, the gun that was printed needed to be assembled - none of that was shown or discussed.
It's 15 pieces. Anyone who's ever detail stripped a handgun will have all the knowledge needed to put it together. The hard part of building a gun has always been machining the parts. That requires gunsmithing knowledge and knowledge of how to use machine tools (lathe, milling machine, drill press, etc) which relatively few people possess. I know I couldn't do it. Building this particular gun is closer to putting together legos than it is to actually building a gun.
It's a plastic zip gun instead of a metal zip gun
While this particular gun may be nothing more than a zip gun, functionally (I'd disagree since a zip gun is basically just a hollow tube with a nail and a spring) this is the proof of concept. A proof of concept is rarely very functional, and most definitely not commercially viable. However, it proves that something can be done. For years (probably since polymer striker guns became popular) the prevailing wisdom has been that an all plastic gun simply won't work. This gun proves that statement 100%, completely wrong. Now that he knows it's possible to create a nearly 100% plastic gun, he can work up other designs. I'm going to guess he's working on it right now. I'm guessing there's a lot of people working on it right now.
Let me give you an example. When the Kindle first came out several years ago, it kinda sucked. There was a lot of page turn lag, the screen had low contrast, the memory couldn't hold that much. In essence, it wasn't very impressive. A book is better in almost every conceivable way. Today, all of the flaws of the original Kindle are gone. There's almost 0 page turn lag, the screens are very high contrast and can be read in the dark, and the memories are large enough to hold literally 1000's of books (about 5-10x what a normal home library will contain). The original Kindle proved that it could be done. The new ones are the results of that proof. This Liberator pistol is basically the same way. It's like the original Kindle. It's not that impressive compared to what we currently have. But now that we know it can be done, the design can be refined to add features found on current guns.
just doesn't impress me all that much.....I'll just revisit this thread in a year or two and see where things are at.
I agree with you, that all things being equal, the gun isn't that impressive. I wouldn't want one, and I certainly wouldn't use it. All the guns in my safe are far better, functionally, to this gun. But that's not the point. It's a starting point. The tech will get better and better.
Will 3D printed guns rival current guns in reliability, accuracy, firepower, etc? Probably not, but imagine a world where you can't get a gun. Imagine being able to download a file off the Internet, set your printer up, and in an hour having all the parts needed to make a gun. Then 10 minutes later having a fully functional firearm. That's what's really amazing. There's no way for the government to regulate this. The designer is playing nice with the government, but he didn't have to, and I imagine in a scenario above, he wouldn't have.
And I ask you. If this isn't such a big deal, or all that impressive, why do you think the Anti's are doing everything they can to shut it down? Legislation is being worked up to prevent this from being something that can actually done. It's because the see the implications of this technology that you simply do not.
