3D Printed Guns

[Hurdergaryp]

Compared to Europe, at least

Is gun crime in the US comparatively high to Europe because of guns or is it high due to poverty, lack of education, etc? Nations with guns will always have more guns used in crime compared to nations that don’t have gun. That fails as a reason to ban or heavily restrict guns.

There are more nations where legal gun ownership is relatively high, but without the cultural side effects (if that's the correct term) as seen in the USA. And let's face it, all nations have guns, making your second sentence a bit of a moot point.

[Petrasylvania]

In the Line of Fire now becomes an every day occurence.

How?

Disposable plastic guns able to be ready made that can slip through metal detectors especially if they're componential to avoid blatantly looking like a gun until time to use it. So many situations that can be problematic for security.

[Len Hyet]

How?

Disposable plastic guns able to be ready made that can slip through metal detectors especially if they're componential to avoid blatantly looking like a gun until time to use it. So many situations that can be problematic for security.

Because security has such a sterling reputation as is.

[San Marlindo]

Sounds cheap and dangerous. Unless you need to smuggle a firearm through a metal detector.

[Chernoslavia]

How?

Disposable plastic guns able to be ready made that can slip through metal detectors especially if they're componential to avoid blatantly looking like a gun until time to use it. So many situations that can be problematic for security.

Ammunition would still be made of metal so good luck with getting those through a metal detector.

[Hurdergaryp]

Disposable plastic guns able to be ready made that can slip through metal detectors especially if they're componential to avoid blatantly looking like a gun until time to use it. So many situations that can be problematic for security.

Ammunition would still be made of metal so good luck with getting those through a metal detector.

Indeed, also you're going to need at least a few metal components for plastic gun to actually more or less work as a gun.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Ammunition would still be made of metal so good luck with getting those through a metal detector.

Indeed, also you're going to need at least a few metal components for plastic gun to actually more or less work as a gun.

The firing mechanism needs to be made of metal.

[LimaUniformNovemberAlpha]

Disposable plastic guns able to be ready made that can slip through metal detectors especially if they're componential to avoid blatantly looking like a gun until time to use it. So many situations that can be problematic for security.

Ammunition would still be made of metal so good luck with getting those through a metal detector.

What if it was designed to fire non-metal objects instead?

[Washington Resistance Army]

Ammunition would still be made of metal so good luck with getting those through a metal detector.

What if it was designed to fire non-metal objects instead?

Probably wouldn't be very great ammo in that case.

[LimaUniformNovemberAlpha]

What if it was designed to fire non-metal objects instead?

Probably wouldn't be very great ammo in that case.

What if it fired ceramic blades?

[Washington Resistance Army]

Probably wouldn't be very great ammo in that case.

What if it fired ceramic blades?

You might as well be asking what if it fired lazors

[The Two Jerseys]

Yeah, but I've heard these are more durable

Do you intend to fire tens of thousands of shots so that it makes a difference?
For all appreciable measures of durable and reliable a simple pipe gun such as those used by insurgents around the world from the Viet Cong and IRA to ISIS is going to be just as good as anything you can 3D print without a gunsmith to design things for you. And cheaper.
...
I really don't see why people are jumping on the 3d printing hype train. I just don't.

I think the appeal is mostly the idea that any idiot can press a button and a 3D printer will start spitting guns out, you don't need to be a skilled machinist with a shop full of tools to make a gun anymore.

Not recommended. I've seen my fair shares of them explode.

Do tell. I would very much like to hear the story.

I'm guessing some combination of pipe walls being too thin, using too large of a propellant charge, and poor welding.

[Hurdergaryp]

What if it fired ceramic blades?

You might as well be asking what if it fired lazors

Why not integrate your body with an organic particle projector cannon or something? Anything goes with a bit of imagination!

[Pax Nerdvana]

You might as well be asking what if it fired lazors

Why not integrate your body with an organic particle projector cannon or something? Anything goes with a bit of imagination!

The Rule of Cool!

[Chernoslavia]

Ammunition would still be made of metal so good luck with getting those through a metal detector.

What if it was designed to fire non-metal objects instead?

They won't fire believe me I've tried...

[The Two Jerseys]

What if it was designed to fire non-metal objects instead?

They won't fire believe me I've tried...

If shotguns can fire non-metallic objects, it can't be impossible...

[Purpelia]

I think the appeal is mostly the idea that any idiot can press a button and a 3D printer will start spitting guns out, you don't need to be a skilled machinist with a shop full of tools to make a gun anymore.

But you still need one to program the thing for you before you push the button. Or rather you need an even more skilled firearms engineer to do it. So how is that different from just going to the store and buying a gun? Or, if that is illegal where you are from do people actually think printing guns is going to be any less illegal?

I'm guessing some combination of pipe walls being too thin, using too large of a propellant charge, and poor welding.

Thing is I want the juicy details. Like where the hell does he live if he actually saw pipe mortars in action? Ireland?

[Tule]

3D printed guns are not revolutionary. People have been making guns in garages for decades. Hell, it used to be the norm in the pre-industrial world.

Just regulate hem the same way you would regulate the home manufacture of guns in general.

Besides, you can't 3D print gunpowder.

[Dylar]

3D printed guns are not revolutionary. People have been making guns in garages for decades. Hell, it used to be the norm in the pre-industrial world.

Just regulate hem the same way you would regulate the home manufacture of guns in general.

Besides, you can't 3D print gunpowder.

But you can buy it at Cabela's for $20

[Imperium Sidhicum]

The OP seems to defend a number of myths promoted by the US firearms lobby.

First and foremost, an armed populace is no check against government tyranny - a militarily-trained populace would be, which the overwhelming majority of gun owners aren't. It is simply wishful thinking to believe that the average Joe whose combat training is limited to plinking stationary targets in the local shooting range on Saturdays will somehow be able to defend even himself, let alone his freedom with his handgun or hunting rifle against a heavily armed and properly organized military force that tyrants tend to employ as their enforcers. Simply being capable of operating a gun with some proficiency by no means qualifies one as an effective combatant in case of an emergency, and in my personal opinion, most of these so-called "gun owners" should in fact be kept as far away from firearms as possible in case of a real emergency. Overconfidence, enthusiasm and ignorance make a very dangerous mix especially where guns are involved.

Secondly, gun ownership doesn't decrease crime, to which United States seems to be a prime example. Rather, it only increases the incidence of violent crime with lethal consequences. A society where almost everyone is armed doesn't make criminals think twice before committing crimes - it merely convinces them to shoot first and shoot to kill, with the expectation that the victim is likely to be armed and therefore able to kill them unless neutralized first. An armed society also means that everyone including the criminals is armed, making the police equally jumpy and trigger-happy, again with the expectation that any suspect is likely to be armed, often leading to misunderstandings with tragic consequences - which are also publicized here on NSG on an almost weekly basis. A criminal may likewise target a known gun owner expressly with the intent to procure his firearm, and it is only rarely that the proud gun owner will see it coming, let alone have time to prepare his weapon and respond.

The right to defend yourself is useless if you can't do it effectively, and "effective" doesn't necessarily equate to "overwhelming firepower" as many Americans seem to believe. Effective self-defense doesn't revolve just around physically surviving and prevailing through the incident - one must also "survive" it morally and legally, i.e., emerge alive, morally intact and legally unassailable.

Where it comes to physical survival, self-defense with firearms involves specific shooting techniques not widely taught outside militaries, law enforcement agencies and private security companies. Furthermore, such training is usually combined with close-combat techniques, since the distances involved are very short and even a highly-trained shooter may not always have the time to respond. So unless the potential victim is someone who has actual training in both tactical shooting and close combat, and practices his skills regularly, his chances of successfuly defending himself with a firearm are negligible. The typical civilian gun owner simply doesn't have the situational awareness, skill or knowledge to respond effectively even under ideal conditions, when attacked head-on by a single opponent from beyond minimum-response range with prior warning. In most real-life situations, the victim of a violent attack will have no such luxuries, and will most often never see it coming until it happens, unarmed combat skills being way more useful for personal defense than guns.

Furthermore, professionals who study these combat skills are also taught psychology and conflict de-escalation, another thing that civilian gun owners sadly aren't. Every policeman can attest that drawing a firearm in a heated situation will only escalate it, and can be especially dangerous where the other party is likely to be armed as well, such overtly-aggressive action prompting them to defend themselves with lethal force where they otherwise wouldn't have. The result - bereaved families, lifetime disabilities, six-digit medical and legal bills and more often than not a lengthy stay behind bars.

Long story short - unless you are someone who actually knows what he's doing, just leave your guns at home and only take them out to the range where they belong. You will almost definitely live longer and stay out of jail while you do.

Overall, the traditional pro-gun arguments proposed by the OP lack basis in fact and seem to be more of marketing ploys promoted by firearms manufacturers and others who benefit from the proliferation of firearms.

On a side note, I personally wouldn't entrust my life and limb to the existing 3D printing technologies. While it has been demonstrated that they can produce functional firearms, the end product still seems nowhere near as robust as properly-manufactured firearms using tried and proven construction methods. Besides, the simple possibility of printing a functional gun doesn't resolve the availability of ammunition, which, while not necessarily a problem for US citizens, is generally not easily available in most other locales.

[Vistulange]

-snip-

That awkward feeling when you completely agree with Sidhicum...

[Sovaal]

Sounds cheap and dangerous. Unless you need to smuggle a firearm through a metal detector.

I mean an all plastic firearm is effectively a bomb, so just make a bomb in that case.

[Sovaal]

3D printed guns are not revolutionary. People have been making guns in garages for decades. Hell, it used to be the norm in the pre-industrial world.

Just regulate hem the same way you would regulate the home manufacture of guns in general.

Besides, you can't 3D print gunpowder.

Can’t really ‘regulate’ it. The only reason that there’s any regulation on home built guns at all is because many who make home built guns already follow the law.

[The Two Jerseys]

I think the appeal is mostly the idea that any idiot can press a button and a 3D printer will start spitting guns out, you don't need to be a skilled machinist with a shop full of tools to make a gun anymore.

But you still need one to program the thing for you before you push the button. Or rather you need an even more skilled firearms engineer to do it. So how is that different from just going to the store and buying a gun? Or, if that is illegal where you are from do people actually think printing guns is going to be any less illegal?

Those are some good points. But from the end user's viewpoint, they're still probably just looking at it as "I have 3D printer, I have plans that I downloaded from the internet, I can haz gun!"

I'm guessing some combination of pipe walls being too thin, using too large of a propellant charge, and poor welding.

Thing is I want the juicy details. Like where the hell does he live if he actually saw pipe mortars in action? Ireland?

For some reason I'm picturing some drunk rednecks...

[Imperium Sidhicum]

Sounds cheap and dangerous. Unless you need to smuggle a firearm through a metal detector.

I mean an all plastic firearm is effectively a bomb, so just make a bomb in that case.

It's possible to print with powdered metal as well with some printers. The end product still looks rather shabby and probably wouldn't last more than a few shots, every one of them being at least as dangerous to the operator as to the target.

Printing all the other bits that make a gun is easy enough and most don't even need to be metallic, but fabricating a proper gun barrel is currently beyond the existing technology. What appears to be a simple metal tube is actually easily the most sophisticated piece of engineering in most modern firearms, employing complex metallurgical techniques in their production. A 3D printer basically just sinters layers of powdered metal in the shape of a tube, so a printed gun would likely fail catastrophically after a few shots.

Some may argue that printed guns may still be useful for assassins who ideally only need to get one shot right, or robbers who can ideally carry out a heist without having to fire even once, but that still leaves the problem of ammunition - it cannot be printed, purchase of ammo requires a valid gun permit in most locations, and the necessary components to make one's own rounds are also regulated. All that considered, not to mention the price tag of a suitable printer and the specific skills required to operate it, a serious criminal in need of a gun would likely find it much more convenient to just buy a conventionally-made firearm and ammo on the black market, having both the contacts and the means to do so, and his purchase in the very least being unlikely to blow up in his face.