3D
Printed Guns
Guns are a controversial topic these days. And
why wouldn’t they? According to
gunpolicy.org, USA alone had 11,101 gun homicides in 2011[1].
While researching for this blog, I looked
for a reliable source on gun homicides worldwide. Other than one Google result
for a Wikipedia entry that listed off 75 countries for their firearm related
deaths Wikipedia firearm related deaths,
nearly every other result was concerned with one country, the USA.
Now,
it is no secret that the USA are fond of their love of guns, their reluctance
to ban them shows this quiet plainly. The 2nd amendment in the
American constitution gives every US citizen the right to bear arms. This is
the argument commonly used any time more stringent gun control laws are
proposed. Why are there calls for stronger gun laws in America? Because of the
horrific mass shootings. Since the terrible shooting in Sandy Hook,
Connecticut, there have been 23 mass shootings with over 100 dead [2]. That’s 100 people dead, that’s someone’s
mother, someone’s father, someone’s son, someone’s daughter, someone’s
grandparent, someone’s best friend; dead. It comes as no surprise that Helen
O’Neill of the Associated Press has dubbed 2012 as the year of the gun [3]
But will stronger enforced gun laws prevent
firearm related deaths? In my opinion, the short answer is no. Take Brazil for
instance. Gun laws in Brazil are very strict. The minimum age for gun ownership
is 25. There are severe restrictions in place that allow people to carry a gun
outside of their residence. There is also a tax to be paid on the gun every 3
years. It is estimated to be around 17 million firearms in Brazil, of which
only 9 million being registered [4]. And yet, according to Wikipedia
on firearm related deaths above, Brazil has almost 6 times as many gun
homicides per 100,000 than America.
Now you are probably wondering why I’m
rambling on about gun violence when you are here to read a blog on 3D printing.
Well, I hope that by explaining how devastating guns are viewed in today’s media
(and not without good reason) that it would show how controversial some of my
next topics are going to be.
3D
printed Airsoft Gun
We’ll start off small. Airsoft guns, also
called BB guns, are replica firearms that shoot plastic pellets that are non-lethal
[5]. Here in Ireland, up until 2006, Airsoft guns of any kind were
considered firearms and a license was required for them. Even a toy dart gun was
legally considered a firearm [6]. In 2006 the law was revised to
allow for airsoft guns with limited muzzle energy of 1 joule or 328 ft/s (Feet per
Second) with a 0.2gram BB. This limit was set because anything over 1 joule can
penetrate a person’s eyeball and cause serious injury. Ever since the sport has
taken off and now there are airsoft shops in the majority of counties, housing
hundreds of replicas of nearly every gun that has existed. With the ever
increasing popularity and decreasing costs of 3D printers, the following will
be very attractive to airsoft members.
On a site called Instructables (http://www.instructables.com) I came
across a complete step by step guide on how to print an airsoft gun that was
uploaded on the 2nd of February 2014. Below in the picture is the
gun in question; a single shot, spring powered assault rifle replica that
shoots at 250 ft/s, well below Ireland’s firearms law requirements.
Logans
3D printed Assault Rifle replica
The person behind this design is 19 year
old Sam Logan, going by the username Engineer777 on instructables.org. The
total cost for this gun is roughly $50 [7]. To buy a similar gun the
price would be $250.
Defense Distributed
Defense Distributed (DefDist) are an
American company founded in the summer of 2012 in Little Rock, Arkansas, by Ben
Denio and Cody Wilson. A non-profit company, they have been showing the
potential that 3D printers have by manufacturing guns that can fire live
ammunition. [8]
AR-15
lower receiver
DefDist were not printing the whole gun.
They were only interested in printing the lower receiver of a gun. The Receiver
is the part of the firearm that houses the operating parts such as the bolt
carrier group, the trigger mechanism and the magazine slot [9]. Under American law this is the part of gun
that is considered to be the firearm. A gun’s serial number is imprinted onto
the receiver. DefDist decided to print the lower receiver of a gun that is very
controversial at the minute, blamed for the majority of the mass shootings in
America, the .233 caliber AR-15. With a firing rate of 800 rounds per minute on
the fully automatic version, muzzle velocity of 3,200 ft/s and an effective
range of 400-600m, the AR-15 is a deadly and devastating weapon in the wrong
hands.
This was the gun that DefDist decided to
start with. It comes as no surprise that after only 3 weeks of starting a
campaign on Indiegogo to raise $20,000 for the printing of 3D guns, that the
campaign was suspended for violation of terms of Indiegogo’s service [10].
When DefDist s 3D printable designs were pulled from Thingiverse, they launched
their own site to host the files, called http://defcad.com.
3D
printed AR-15 Lower Reciever [11]
The picture above shows the lower receiver
for an AR-15. DefDist attached this 3D printed part to the upper receiver, the
barrel, the stock and the rest of the parts of an already manufactured AR-15. In
December of 2012, DefDist began on a prototype for the receiver. The receiver,
made out of ABS, was not strong enough to deal with the recoil forces of the
AR-15 and would disintegrate after a couple of shots. With each failed attempt,
DefDist viewed it as a step towards the right answer. After much trial and
error, in March 2013, they printed a receiver that was capable of
semi-automatic firing more than 600 .223 caliber rounds as shown in the youtube
video below.
In addition to printing the receiver,
DefDist also released the files for the first printable AR-15 standard capacity
magazines in January 2013 [8].
The
Liberator
After DefDist successfully printed the
AR-15 receiver, they turned their focus to fully printing a gun. On May 5th,
2013, DefDist successfully printed a gun called the Liberator, a single shot
.380 caliber pistol, pictured below. The
gun is made of 16 parts, 15 of which are ABS plastic. The 16th is a
nail. The nail, which can be bought at a hardware store, acts as the firing pin.
While there is a metal part in the gun, the nail is too small to be detected by
a metal detector. To fix this problem and comply with the Undetectable Firearms
Act of 1988, a lump of steel was placed into the body of the Liberator.
Defense
Distributed Liberator [12]
The Liberator handles a .380 caliber pistol
round very well with very little damage. After passing the test fire from a
mount, Cody Wilson successfully hand fired the Liberator. The Liberator was
also tested with a 5.7 x 28 rifle cartridge. Unsurprisingly the Liberator
exploded, as the 5.7 x 28 has 2.5 times the chamber pressure of the .380
cartridge.
The ATF decided to test out the Liberator.
They made two models, one made out of ABS plastic and the other out of VisiJet
plastic. The ABS model performs as expected with no visible damage sustained by
the gun. The VisiJet plastic model on the other hand explodes in spectacular
fashion.
The video below compares the two models.
Solid Concepts
Solid concepts are a custom manufacturing
company founded in 1991 in Valencia, California. While pioneering various
technologies, most notable ID-LightTM, a method of printing SLA and
FDM parts that are 1/12th the weight of regular SLA and FDM parts [13], the
product that they have designed which is of interested to us, is their fully
functional, 3D printed stainless steel Colt M1911 pistol.
A single action, semi-automatic, .45 caliber
pistol, the M1911 pistol has been around since 1911. During its service life,
it has sold 2.7 million units [14]. Solid Concepts decided to use
this as their 3D printing exercise.
Solid
Concepts 3D printed M1911 [15]
Solid Concepts use a process called direct
mental laser sintering (DMLS) to manufacture the M1911. As with other methods
of 3D printing, a CAD file is used as the blueprints of the design. The
software slices the design into 2D shapes and it is from these 2D shapes that
the 3D printer builds the object. A layer is laid down on a metal powder bed
that is at an optimal temperature for sintering. A laser cuts out a cross
section of the design and then a new layer of metal powder is laid down. The
whole process is repeated until the required design is completed. When finished
the object is encased in excess power, which is then removed to reveal the
desired design [16]. The Solid Concepts M1911 is made out of 17-4
stainless steel and Inconel 625, a nickel-chromium superalloy. 34 parts were
created using metal sintering (DMLS) and 2 parts were created using Nylon 12
CF, a carbon filled Nylon. Only 6 springs were retail purchased. [17].
The M1911 was stress relieved as this would be the weakest strength of material
and Solid Concepts wanted to see how it handles. There were plans to heat treat
it should the need arise [18]. And the results? On the 12th
of November 2013, Solid Concepts released a video on their youtube channel of
their 500 round endurance test. The video is also below. While this is very
impressive, the first comment on the video is also from Solid Concepts, wherein
they state that the M1911 has successfully fired over 2,500 shots. The video below shows the 500 round endurance test.
So what is to stop anyone going out, buying
a DMLS capable 3D printer and mass producing the M1911? The simple answer:
cost. According to Solid Concepts, the printer alone costs anywhere between
$400,000 and $1,000,000+ to purchase, which immediately puts it outside the
range of the average 3D printing hobbyist. The next is the power draw to run the
equipment which exceeds the standard residential draw. The acquisition of the
inert gases to run the printer is also not available to the general public [19].
Solid Concepts have decided to manufacture 100 limited edition 1911
DMLS at a cost of $11,900, all of which are more than likely sold by now.
Conclusion
These are just the beginning is terms of 3D
printed firearm manufacture. Even in the short period of time that people have
been 3D printing guns, the rate at which they are progressing is astonishing.
From a ABS receiver that fell apart after a couple of shots, to a receiver that
was capable of firing over 600 rounds; from a ABS single shot pistol to a full
functional DMLS pistol that has successfully fired over 2,500 rounds. In 5
years, who knows, DMLS might be the preferred method of gun manufacture.
Although Solid Concepts have explained good reasons why the average 3D hobbyist
can’t print a DMLS gun, 3D printers are advancing at an incredible rate, in 5
or 10 years, it could be a very real possibility that anyone could print a gun
capable of firing thousands of rounds. It is this thought that has so many
people up in arms, excuse the pun, over 3D printed guns. There is a huge
controversy concerning 3D printing firearms, which I haven’t even touched on,
otherwise this blog post would be 20 pages long. Suffice it to say there are
those that strongly support the right to 3D print guns and those that strongly
campaign against 3D printed guns, understandably after so many mass shootings.
One thing is certain; the future of 3D printed firearms is going to be very
interesting to see
Bonus: Defense
Distributed documentary and article link; Click, Print, Gun:
References
10. http://betabeat.com/2012/08/indiegogo-suspends-campaign-to-build-blueprints-for-3d- printed-gun/
14. “Pistol,
Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911 Technical Manual TM 9-1005-211-34 1964 edition. Pentagon Publishing. 1964. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-60170-013-1.”
17. http://blog.solidconcepts.com/industry-highlights/questions-answered-3d-printed-metal-gun/
Q. How much of the gun was 3D Printed?
18. http://blog.solidconcepts.com/industry-highlights/questions-answered-3d-printed-metal-gun/ Q. Was the material stress relieved or heat treated?
Q: Can anyone print this metal gun with a
hobbyist 3D Printer?
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