This has been around for a while now. It's impressive, but they are only printing a particular piece, and you still have to get or buy the rest (plastic barrels are a bad thing in a gun, as someone comments there). And there are cheaper and more effective ways to get, or produce, the part that was printed.
http://johnbearross.blogspot.com/2012/07/you-cant-stop-signal-part-2-3-d-printed.html (Not my blog, but useful information on the topic.)
Yeah. It's like the rest of the "rapid prototyping will change the world!!!! Next week!!!!!!!!!" predictions. Yes, the technology can do a lot of cool fabrication. You can make a cellphone case, but you can't make a cellphone, there are too many parts that require specialized fabrication.
Your typical gun nut + maker geek can uSe this to make a part of a gun, and use that part to make a fully automatic weapon. But, the same geek could do that 10 years ago with a C&C machining mill, and could set that up cheaper and easier today than they can a prototyper.
The only reason this is news is because they are using a 3d printer to produce it, which brings in the "see, I knew the Internet was evil!" advertising dollars.
This has been around for a while now. It's impressive, but they are only printing a particular piece, and you still have to get or buy the rest (plastic barrels are a bad thing in a gun, as someone comments there). And there are cheaper and more effective ways to get, or produce, the part that was printed.
ReplyDeletehttp://johnbearross.blogspot.com/2012/07/you-cant-stop-signal-part-2-3-d-printed.html (Not my blog, but useful information on the topic.)
.. Promise? :/
DeleteYeah. It's like the rest of the "rapid prototyping will change the world!!!! Next week!!!!!!!!!" predictions. Yes, the technology can do a lot of cool fabrication. You can make a cellphone case, but you can't make a cellphone, there are too many parts that require specialized fabrication.
DeleteYour typical gun nut + maker geek can uSe this to make a part of a gun, and use that part to make a fully automatic weapon. But, the same geek could do that 10 years ago with a C&C machining mill, and could set that up cheaper and easier today than they can a prototyper.
The only reason this is news is because they are using a 3d printer to produce it, which brings in the "see, I knew the Internet was evil!" advertising dollars.
... Promise?
Delete;)