Defense Distributed a non-profit organization displays on You Tube the first ever fired 3-D printed handgun. The CAD (computer aided design) uses a computer to create, modify, analyze or optimize a design. CAD drawings are used within many industries to produce a wide range of products automotive, shipbuilding, prosthetics, computer animation, perfume bottles, shampoo dispensers and now a hand gun.
The plastic gun fired is called “The Liberator” and Defense Distributed a computer design company provides free blueprint downloadable files on their website. The Liberator has 16 parts and 15 of which requires 3-D printer technology and one metal part, the firing pin which helps the gun comply with the Undetectable Firearms Act. The Stratasys Dimension SST 3-D printer is needed to create the handgun and cost approximately $8,000.00. Staples expects to offer the printer in their stores next month. Connecticut, US congressman Steve Israel recently called for a ban on 3D guns under the Undetectable Firearms Act.
3D printing is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. This technology prototyping is used in distributed manufacturing in jewelry, footwear dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems and many other fields. 3D printing is not a mainstream technology yet and prices need to come down. Usability is another issue, consumers need a way to design their own objects without having to master CAD.
Donna Sellers, from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) told BBC News that the 3D-printed gun, as long as it was not a National Firearms Act weapon (an automatic gun, for example), it is legal in the US.
My fascination with 3-D printing technology is the affordability it brings to small business when the only obstacle for the business is the power of prototyping to build a three-dimensional object. Another amazing functionality of 3-D printing technology is use in medicine. It prints bone structure used to create amputated limbs and the technology can be used to deliver medicine or replace damage tissue. In contrast, my thoughts are the 3-D printed hand gun can create a major risk at airport security or involved in another Sandy Hook.
via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://www.examiner.com/article/create-your-own-hand-gun-with-3d-printing-technology?cid=roadrunner