3D-Printed Gun Plan Files Legal

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  • thperez1972

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    "Significantly, the government expressly acknowledges that non-automatic firearms up to .50-caliber – including modern semi-auto sporting rifles such as the popular AR-15 and similar firearms – are not inherently military."

    I'd love to see this in an official court document. This statement has a lot of implications and is a huge blow to the anti-gun community.
     

    dougstump

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    Kraut

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    Last paragraph - "untraceable guns that criminals can buy or print themselves." Correct me if I'm wrong, but without offering for sale or exporting from one's home state, isn't it already legal for a home hobbyist to manufacture an "untraceable" gun for personal use?
     

    thperez1972

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    Last paragraph - "untraceable guns that criminals can buy or print themselves." Correct me if I'm wrong, but without offering for sale or exporting from one's home state, isn't it already legal for a home hobbyist to manufacture an "untraceable" gun for personal use?

    Yes, but that wasn't the point of the article. The pint was it is legal to share the files needed to print the untraceable guns. The last sentence expresses the fear that people who would otherwise not be tech savvy enough to create the file themselves will not be burdened with having to learn as the files will be freely available.
     

    herohog

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    If by "untraceable gun" you mean a gun self manufactured without a serial number or ANY paperwork, providing it is of legal length, caliber etc, NO, that is NOT illegal. Making such a gun and selling or giving it away (transferring it away) WOULD be illegal.
     

    thperez1972

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    If by "untraceable gun" you mean a gun self manufactured without a serial number or ANY paperwork, providing it is of legal length, caliber etc, NO, that is NOT illegal. Making such a gun and selling or giving it away (transferring it away) WOULD be illegal.

    The title of the thread is misleading. It's not the making of the gun that was deemed legal. That was not in question. It was the sharing of the files to print the guns that was made legal.
     

    krotsman

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    The title of the thread is misleading. It's not the making of the gun that was deemed legal. That was not in question. It was the sharing of the files to print the guns that was made legal.

    I thought about that when I started the thread, but it was an awkward phrase so I simplified it... I just changed it. More awkward, but more accurate
     

    Kraut

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    Yes, but that wasn't the point of the article. The pint was it is legal to share the files needed to print the untraceable guns. The last sentence expresses the fear that people who would otherwise not be tech savvy enough to create the file themselves will not be burdened with having to learn as the files will be freely available.

    I got the point of the article, thank you, just think it's funny how the anti crowd is going to make it out as if it's new to make a gun at home. This will make it easier, but it's not new, although many who will listen to them and blindly follow will believe this to be opening up some new door. Opening it WIDER, yes, but it was already open, just not common.
     

    sandman7925

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    Just so I understand?? I can’t share music or movie files but I can now now share plans to 3D print guns. Is that right?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    machinedrummer

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    All plastic. That’s why they don’t rust, never malfunction, go through metal detectors, shoot under water, and leave no fingerprints. They never need cleaning so the money saved in maintenance one can buy ammo. I still can’t believe the gubment allows such a weapon to be sold to anyone but Russian double agent spies.
     

    tim9lives

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    The door is open and can't be closed. The ATF must adapt. For one thing, it's just a matter of time before we have a low cost 3d scanner and that would negate the need to "download" the blueprints since you'd then be able to scan a AR lower and then print one up. It's just a matter of time. Touch point sensors are already low cost and common. Within 5 years you'll most likely have a low cost scanner which mates to Mach1 or some other CNC software. It'll be like a Replicator on Star Trek.
    So, it's just pointless to fight this. It may buy them a little time but all it's going to accomplish is preventing law abiding citizens from printing a lower or a pistol frame. I'm assuming that there's still a need for a steel barrel and steel chamber.
    That said...The ATF needs to adapt and figure a way to register barrels IMO. You can't print a 3-D barrel.
    ------
    Edit- After reading up a bit more I see some have printed barrels which do work, but not for long. And...This here is an even bigger game changer of 3D guns.
    https://www.wired.com/2014/11/atlas-314-3-d-printed-guns-bullets/
    Pretty clever solution really. It does solve the problem of blowing up the plastic printed barrels.
     
    Last edited:

    John_

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    The door is open and can't be closed. The ATF must adapt. For one thing, it's just a matter of time before we have a low cost 3d scanner and that would negate the need to "download" the blueprints since you'd then be able to scan a AR lower and then print one up. It's just a matter of time. Touch point sensors are already low cost and common. Within 5 years you'll most likely have a low cost scanner which mates to Mach1 or some other CNC software. It'll be like a Replicator on Star Trek.
    So, it's just pointless to fight this. It may buy them a little time but all it's going to accomplish is preventing law abiding citizens from printing a lower or a pistol frame. I'm assuming that there's still a need for a steel barrel and steel chamber.
    That said...The ATF needs to adapt and figure a way to register barrels IMO. You can't print a 3-D barrel.
    ------
    Edit- After reading up a bit more I see some have printed barrels which do work, but not for long. And...This here is an even bigger game changer of 3D guns.
    https://www.wired.com/2014/11/atlas-314-3-d-printed-guns-bullets/
    Pretty clever solution really. It does solve the problem of blowing up the plastic printed barrels.

    Why, whats the big deal? You can purchase 80% AR15 lowers now and machine at home. No serial# and completely legal. BATFE will never demand registering just a barrel...that isn't happening.
     

    Vermiform

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    As per the 3D printed bbls, I read an article somewhere that a guy chrono'd one of these new guns and because of the gas escaping around the projectile, it only produced "pellet gun" velocities.

    The truth of the matter "seems to be" that the plastics will never be hard enough to make an effective bbl because it has to be "soft" enough to be heated and molded by the printing machine. In the future there may be new plastics and machines designed that could produce better results, but this is unlikely because the regular market that drives 3D printing is not very interested in going that route. There's no huge demand for that in the 3d printing industry, so therefore we are unlikely to see much innovation in that area.

    Basically, the bbl holds together and does not explode when 1 round is fired through it, but you'll probably never see velocities escape pellet gun strength.

    Who knows what the future holds but I would like to see some more chrono tests. For now, this is just all hype?
     

    RaleighReloader

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    Just so I understand?? I can’t share music or movie files but I can now now share plans to 3D print guns. Is that right?

    Not quite.

    Music and movies are typically restricted because they're copyrighted. Since you don't own that intellectual property, you can't share it with others. That said, content that is in the public domain (for instance: the text of Tom Sawyer, or a music recording that was expressly released into the public domain) can be shared at will.

    This isn't a question of copyright.

    Mike
     

    SVTFreak

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    There's no huge demand for that in the 3d printing industry, so therefore we are unlikely to see much innovation in that area.

    Not as unlikely as you may think. I can make urethane batches as small as 10k lbs that, even at its increased cost of development and purchase for customer, could still make a bunch of barrels for a decent price. And the urethane technology is there. All it would take is sorting out how to make it useable in a printer. Or, hell, even just mold it. For an individual, it wouldn’t be cost effective but for someone selling a bunch....
     

    RaleighReloader

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    Who knows what the future holds but I would like to see some more chrono tests. For now, this is just all hype?

    Yes and no.

    I'm certain that we won't, all of the sudden, see a ton of criminals packing Liberator 3D printed guns. In time, the plastics may get good enough to withstand ballistic pressures ... look at the evolution of plastics in car engines for an example of how these synthetic materials can operate in some pretty harsh conditions.

    As 3D printing (and other personal manufacturing technologies) gets more into metals ... well, then things will get really interesting.

    Mike
     
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