Illegal 3d printed firearms

[on_one_wheel]

This caught me eye in the news
https://www.9news.com.au/national/3d-pr ... 159c00f764

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When I first sawi llegally made 3d printed firearms in the news it was of poorly made, extremely basic and highly dangerous to the user by design handguns, apparently prone to exploding in the user's hand.
They always said as the technology improves, 3d printing will become a serious problem.

Obviously were are already at that point where we can 3d print metals of equal strength or better than cast metals.... so I'm guessing were at that point where it's a serious problem for our authorities.
They've gone from this

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To this

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Good thing every man and his dog doesn't have access to the machinery to form melal printed objects.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes before we start seeing 3d metal printing in the legitimate market

[womble]

Yep.
Impressive where threy’re at now. There’s online communities that share and discuss.
And yep. You can download and print one nowadays.
But in this country today, with the people running it. Not a good idea for any interest in the subject to be in your browser history.

[straightshooter]

The laser sintering process is already in extensive use in the Aero/Space industry to make durable but impossible to conventionally machine components.
BUT if for the average person a cnc machining center is but a dream then the sort of equipment for this process is unobtainium. You can just about forget about cheap domestic units coming from China.

On the other hand the alarmisim represented in the quoted article is purely part of the steady diet being dished out to feed the anxiety of the (generally uninformed) public.

[womble]

Haha. The alarmism
It’s channel 9
CEO peter Costello.
Yep, the same. Little jonnys treasurer.
Right wing conservative rage bait article.

Should you research elsewhere however, you may be suprised what you find.

[disco stu]

The laser sintering process is already in extensive use in the Aero/Space industry to make durable but impossible to conventionally machine components.
.

That was what I first thought of, it uses a powder from memory. Is next step in manufacturing rather than a hack for people at home.

Were those metal parts in the article 3d printed, or just all the add on bits?

[cz515]

I recon anyone with but of sense and some metal working experience could make a single use firearm.

The thing with 3d printers is the plastic type are cheap and plans absurdly online will mean any tom could build one... its probably from a site run by aus federal police and likely to blow up their hand upon firing.

These 3d metal printers are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars price range.

[Communism_Is_Cancer]

There was a cohort on the gold coast making submachine guns of high quality a few years back. A precision rifle takes some skill to produce but submachine guns like the Sterling, Uzi, Mac 10 and the Owen are very basic in design and require few parts. The prototype for the Owen submachine gun was made in a garage in Sydney in 1939 by a 20 year old. If that can be done then imagine what can be done by a criminal enterprise in 2021.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-23/ ... op/8051244

[bah!]

You can buy a black box in the USA that just makes the ar15 lower, at the press of a button.

[InisBineest]

I wonder if they can bring in a law that will dissuade criminals from breaking the law.... oh wait!

Yeh, anyone else pick up that the guy who was busted with these was already under a firearms order? These #D printed firearms are more accurately described as 3D printed firearms parts. Some parts can be made with a printer, but the barrel, the bolt, some trigger components, these still have to be purchased, or at least, crudely machined. It won't win a precision match, but i'm confident anyone with a basic knowledge of machining and use of a lathe could pull it off.

And that there is the problem... you can legislate as much as you want, but criminals don't follow the law. I don't mind laws that make it more difficult for criminals to obtain material, but the simple reality is that they are merely a hinderance, not a full stop to criminal endeavors.

[disco stu]

Exactly my thoughts, and others here I guess. Like that brass catcher DJ posted on another thread, apparently illegal in nsw. The only reason I can think of is because it's easier for some murderer not to leave brass with finger prints behind. Murder is already illegal, I can't see how banning brass catchers is going to stop murders, or even stop law breakers using one

[on_one_wheel]

Exactly my thoughts, and others here I guess. Like that brass catcher DJ posted on another thread, apparently illegal in nsw. The only reason I can think of is because it's easier for some murderer not to leave brass with finger prints behind. Murder is already illegal, I can't see how banning brass catchers is going to stop murders, or even stop law breakers using one

Imagine criminals preparing for an armed robbery...
"Better leave the brass catcher at home, it's illegal".

Our stringent laws, keeping all the Joe Citizens safe

[boingk]

Barrel is basic - make a 3D printed jig and use electrolysis to make basic rifling in a tube.

At least that'd be my best guess. Still need a lathe to make a chamber profile though.

Interesting stuff.

- boingk

[pomemax]

Now if only they would make drugs illegal we could clean up ..................

[disco stu]

Barrel is basic - make a 3D printed jig and use electrolysis to make basic rifling in a tube.

At least that'd be my best guess. Still need a lathe to make a chamber profile though.

Interesting stuff.

- boingk

Look out-you're about to get raided for discussing how to make illegal firearms now!

[boingk]

Thats the great thing about speech - you can discuss something all you want but it's only an issue once you start taking actions towards making that discussion a reality.

Plans and materials / tooling to make the thing are the minimum I have seen successfully prosecuted unless there is a whole lot of other circumstantial stuff in the background contributing.

Part of the reason I don't own a 3D printer - no accusations of using one to do something stupid.

- boingk

[Communism_Is_Cancer]

We live in a crap country with no freedoms but even here having the knowledge how to make firearms is not a crime. Producing them without the correct paperwork is however a crime. As lawful firearms owners we spend a lot of time around firearms so I would assume most of us have the general knowledge of how they work and what they require to make function.

[disco stu]

Thats the great thing about speech - you can discuss something all you want but it's only an issue once you start taking actions towards making that discussion a reality.

Plans and materials / tooling to make the thing are the minimum I have seen successfully prosecuted unless there is a whole lot of other circumstantial stuff in the background contributing.

Part of the reason I don't own a 3D printer - no accusations of using one to do something stupid.

- boingk

Its alright, was only joking around. It does seem rare on here sometimes given how heated some get

[womble]

We live in a crap country with no freedoms but even here having the knowledge how to make firearms is not a crime. Producing them without the correct paperwork is however a crime. As lawful firearms owners we spend a lot of time around firearms so I would assume most of us have the general knowledge of how they work and what they require to make function.

That’s very true.
No different to any other tool or machine you might own. It’s only sensible to understand how it works. It could be dangerous if you did’nt understand it.

I think more of concern to our overlords is the direction and marketing of these. The idea or even business plan is that any complete novice is buying of the net everything they need to produce a firearm in the privacy of their own home with complete secrecy. Instructions included and the hardware is available in stores now and quite affordable for the masses.
This is a growing trend o/s and something authorities here can expect to be facing more and more frequently in the near future.
Obviously being Australia they deal with it by cracking down on legal firearm owners. And obviously these things are of zero interest to us and effectively that achieves nothing.
But it presents an image to the greater public that they are fighting actual crime. Without having to expose their members to the risks and dangers of engaging criminals. So it’s a win win for them, albeit ineffective and way of target.
Typically illegal firearms circulate here through organised crime. And as such we don’t see the weirdos and lone wolfs having the connections to get access to them.
This changes all that. And it’s fast growing technology. This clip is a month old >
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C4dBuPJ9p7A

[womble]

This was foreseeable since it first became a reality in 2013. The race has been on to disarm us entirely in most western countries with a renewed frenzy since.
Its backfired here as the shooting sports are the fasted growing sports in our country. And statistically licenced firearm owners are just not causing any problems. Because we have a very sound vetting process. And that’s the only reason for our success here. Bans on specific types, makes, models, actions etc dose’nt effect anything.
We just don’t let d**kheads own guns. Simple as that.
Unfortunately this new tech markets to that specific demographic. Because that’s where the untapped market is.
It’s a problem and myself i would feel obligated to report any such activity if i became aware of it.

[wanneroo]

No surprise. Firearms technology is nothing new and it's not like building a spacecraft to go to the moon(which someone could probably do with enough money these days).

Anytime government gets out of control with laws, people will find a way around them. In fact in my opinion, the heavy hand of government makes it worse due to human nature, people want what they can't have. Australia created a lucrative black market for firearms, the gangs love the existing laws, they make big money. Here in the USA, guns are so common that there isn't really any money in it for gangs.

Here in the USA predating the country, we can build our own firearms for personal use and we do. There are some limitations, finished receivers must undergo a background check and if you sell a firearm you made yourself it must have a serial number placed on it. Of course you can't make machine guns and whatever you build has to fit existing legal limitations but within that you can make what you want. I have built AR 15s. I buy a finished lower receiver and then buy what parts I want.

[boingk]

Here's a good doco (25min) on the state of what's out there.

Semi auto 9mm anyone? Fully printed bar the barrel. Old mate seems pretty passionate about it.

https://youtu.be/jlB2QV5wVxg