Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month • Hacker News Board

Re: Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month

#51

Post by cheez » Fri, Jul 20, 2018, 7:10 AM UTC

majewsky wrote: post #25

cheez wrote: post #4

Not at all fear mongering by this Gardiner person: Gardiner fears it will make it easier for terrorists and people who are too dangerous to pass criminal background checks to get their hands on guns. "I think everybody in America ought to be terrified about that." The fact that high end 3-D printers are still too expensive for most people doesn't ease her concerns. "The people who make them will be state actors or we…

FYI: It's really annoying to read quotes when you have to move the scrollbar left and right all the time. Please avoid using codeblocks for quotes. Just put a "> " at the start of each quoted paragraph.

Noted.

Re: Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month

#52

Post by Doxin » Fri, Jul 20, 2018, 8:21 AM UTC

em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #45

toomanybeersies wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can even legally buy copies of the U.S. Army Improvised Munitions Handbook [1], which includes instructions on creating improvised firearms and other weaponry. The moral panic about 3d printed weapons is complete nonsense. It's been trivial to make firearms out of hardware store and few practical skills. Back in high school we even made little black powder cannons in the metal shop, raiding fireworks for their po…

But I think should admit that open-source 3D-printing/CNC does makes it even easier and harder to stop.

No it doesn't. Have you ever used a hobby level 3d printer or cnc? Easy isn't the word I would use to describe the process.

What does harder to stop even mean?

Re: Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month

#53

Post by kall1sto » Fri, Jul 20, 2018, 10:33 AM UTC

meowface wrote: post #7

dkoubsky wrote: post #3

I don't see why a CAD file would be any different than normal instructions for building firearms. For example, building a 12 gauge shotgun from 1" and 3/4" steel pipe is cheaper, easier, and probably safer/more effective than the plastic gun from the article. It seems to me the 3D printing part of this made the article popular for clickbait and thus it garnered more attention than the traditional approaches to homema…

One concern is that it's now cheaper, easier, and faster to mass produce weapons which will evade metal detectors. I don't think any of this should be illegal, but the concerns should be considered.

it should be illegal.

Re: Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month

#54

Post by maxerickson » Fri, Jul 20, 2018, 10:41 AM UTC

em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #46

asfasgasg wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The saving grace, such as it is, is that these firearms are single-shot, and the rounds themselves are still metal and explosive-residue-detectable. While 3D printing has changed manufacturing methods, it's not like the method of deposition changes the strength of the material that much, so it's improbable that these plastic firearms will ever be able to withstand more than one or two shots. It strikes me as likely t…

The 3-D printed guns are single shot, but the new ghost gunner machine is a CNC mill and I believe uses an aluminum alloy which can handle multiple shots.

The ghost gunner is used to finish metal parts that are fully functional, they will last for thousands of shots.

But they also won't pass metal detectors.

Re: Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month

#55

Post by animal531 » Fri, Jul 20, 2018, 1:19 PM UTC

wyoung2 wrote: post #49

tcbawo wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even scarier: attach it to a drone

A drone capable of carrying the weight of a useful firearm and dealing with the recoil is a potential weapon in its own right. If you were thinking of a lightweight one-shot deal that sends the drone flying in pieces away from the point of firing according to Newton's third law, then I question the operator's ability to aim it properly. Every minute of angle you're off in your aim at the start is 1 inch of error at 1…

The 2nd part is an interesting problem.

Print the barrel and drone casing together, so that you can eliminating syncing (/tying) the two together, which should enhance aiming significantly and allow you to link your software aiming to the hardware firing line a lot easier. Of course if the barrel can't turn, then the operator needs to select a body for the drone that matches its height to target, or that can accurately turn the drone body by a few degrees. Otherwise you need a bit of extra hardware that will be able to turn the barrel to a precise number of degrees.

After that use a very basic onboard camera to id the target by a human operator. The drone can find the center of mass of the target object (e.g. head sphere), the operator confirms and then the drone merely flies close enough to eliminate missing and fires. The only issue of course being if the target is moving too much or is occluded at any point, at which time you'd need more advanced image recognition, or further operator adjustments.

Re: Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month

#56

Post by LyndsySimon » Fri, Jul 20, 2018, 2:53 PM UTC

ryanmarsh wrote: post #31

Guess what, if you go in your garage and make a can with even one baffle inside and a hole in each end big enough for a bullet you’ve built a silencer (however shitty). If you don’t have a class III license you just broke the law. Furthermore, I’m pretty sure 3D printing an impractical but illegal silencer is within the reach of most makers. Technology is going to continue to make breaking all manner of laws easier f…

> make a can with even one baffle inside

Actually, you don't even have to do that. The ATF has ruled in the past that it the device is intended to reduce the report, it's a suppressor.

> Furthermore, I’m pretty sure 3D printing an impractical but illegal silencer is within the reach of most makers.

It's within reach of everyone with access to a soda bottle and a roll of duct tape.

---

Gun laws in the US are Byzantine. There are all kinds of things that fall under the same law as suppressors (National Firearms Act of 1934) that make no sense at all. For instance - installing a vertical grip on a pistol, or installing a barrel of less than 16" on a rifle.

Using any of the items on this page on an AR-15 lower receiver that is configured as a rifle _or was sold by a dealer in the past while configured as a rifle_ is a felony and carries the same penalty as possessing an unregistered machinegun: https://palmettostatearmory.com/ar-15/barreled-upper-assembl...

Re: Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month

#57

Post by ryanmarsh » Fri, Jul 20, 2018, 3:04 PM UTC

drasticmeasures wrote: post #40

ryanmarsh wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In conflict areas, of which I’m familiar, AK47’s are often easier to obtain than fresh produce.

And in gun-controlled areas? They would have to control the printers and the digital blueprints as well.

You mean like Chicago?

Re: Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month

#58

Post by ThefinalResult » Fri, Jul 20, 2018, 3:42 PM UTC

em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #45

toomanybeersies wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can even legally buy copies of the U.S. Army Improvised Munitions Handbook [1], which includes instructions on creating improvised firearms and other weaponry. The moral panic about 3d printed weapons is complete nonsense. It's been trivial to make firearms out of hardware store and few practical skills. Back in high school we even made little black powder cannons in the metal shop, raiding fireworks for their po…

But I think should admit that open-source 3D-printing/CNC does makes it even easier and harder to stop.

I can just imagine crooks struggling to use a 3d printer lmao

Re: Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month

#59

Post by ThefinalResult » Fri, Jul 20, 2018, 3:44 PM UTC

toomanybeersies wrote: post #34

dkoubsky wrote: post #3

I don't see why a CAD file would be any different than normal instructions for building firearms. For example, building a 12 gauge shotgun from 1" and 3/4" steel pipe is cheaper, easier, and probably safer/more effective than the plastic gun from the article. It seems to me the 3D printing part of this made the article popular for clickbait and thus it garnered more attention than the traditional approaches to homema…

You can even legally buy copies of the U.S. Army Improvised Munitions Handbook [1], which includes instructions on creating improvised firearms and other weaponry. The moral panic about 3d printed weapons is complete nonsense. It's been trivial to make firearms out of hardware store and few practical skills. Back in high school we even made little black powder cannons in the metal shop, raiding fireworks for their po…