3D Printed Gun Magazine Shows Off Deadly High-Capacity ‘Wiki Weapon’

http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/07/video-of-3d-printed-gun-magazine-shows-off-deadly-high-capacity-wiki-weapon/

by kirillzubovsky • 13 years ago

21 24 13 years ago

3D printing is no doubt awesome, but this video is a scary reminder of how dangerous cool toys could be in the hands of wrong people. If you can print a magazine, I assume eventually you'd be able to print a weapon that can withstand at least one-time use. That means no one needs to buy guns anymore, they just need to print them. Not the most comforting thought.

sachingulaya2• 13 years ago

Printing a magazine is entirely different from printing a barrel. Either way you'd be better off with a CNC mill from China and already available plans.

Personally, I would not be willing to fire a gun made of plastic. High pressure + weak material -> fragmentation.

yial2• 13 years ago

I don't really see the issue- you can already make weapons relatively easily, look at this guy who made an AK out of an old shovel.

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/build-yourself/17...

Heres a basic concept of a .410 shotgun in a flashlight. (something that could be made at home with drill press and a few other things.)

http://hackedgadgets.com/2007/03/09/shotgun-flashlight/

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Honestly, a hi capacity magazine is the least of your worries...

jared314• 13 years ago

The last attempt, from the same group, to print the regulated parts of a AR-15, that are under mechanical stress, lasted 6 shots [0].

[0] http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/12/03/heres-w...

dmm2• 13 years ago

You are probably within 10 miles of a machine shop full of machinery that can, in the hands of a skilled person, make guns.

I know people who make guns as a hobby. This is moral, legal, and fun.

hahainternet• 13 years ago

I feel this is pretty misleading. Yes, you probably are within 10 miles, however the required skills are perhaps 1 in 10,000 or worse. Not to mention that the proportion that will break the law to manufacture a firearm is going to be a very small subset of those.

On the other hand, if 3d printed weaponry were feasible, it would require a small purchase, a file download and a button click. That is a significant and notable change.

fnordfnordfnord• 13 years ago

You can't nerf the whole world.

gabrielrotbart• 13 years ago

Humanity will always find a way to use the newest technologies for violence. In fact, violence is one of the biggest drivers of technology.

IMHO, limiting and fearing technology because it will be used for violence is futile. The only way (if there is any) to curtail the use of technology for weaponry is to win the war over ignorance / lack of education and poverty.

MrMember• 13 years ago

Good lord, could the title be a little more editorialized?

dimitar2• 13 years ago

A firearm entirely made of plastic doesn't seem practical, you really need metal and we've had CNC metal-working lathes since the 60s.

Why haven't people started making their own firearms? Probably its much cheaper to just buy a gun. Although people seem to make excellent knockoffs in Afganistan.

dobbsbob• 13 years ago

If its all plastic you can walk through metal detectors. As for afghanistan their knockoffs they buy in Pakistan gun markets are pretty good considering they are entirely made from scrap metal. Well, used to be before the gun markets were shut down by the taliban. You'd think they want to keep it open to buy weapons guess they are more worriied with angry villagers getting weapons and runninng them out of town

dimitar2• 13 years ago

Better make a plastic crossbow and bolts. Which is scary enough.

yial2• 13 years ago

No offense... you can't walk a bullet through a metal detector.

Unless you're getting into caseless ammunition, which has never been popular.

dmm2• 13 years ago

Barrels and chambers can't be made from any plastic I know of. Typically they are made of machined/forged steel.

phogster• 13 years ago

Easy, ban the bullets.

TDL• 13 years ago

Because those can't be made "at home" either: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handloading

gnu82• 13 years ago

Why should bullets be banned?

fiatmoney• 13 years ago

A magazine is essentially a box, with a spring in the bottom. It's really not the hard part of weapons manufacturing. And, the spring can't even be 3-d printed currently.

DigitalJack• 13 years ago

While this is true, it allows you to circumvent any ban on high cap mags. And I'm sure that is the point.

mahyarm• 13 years ago

You could do the same with any plastic shape manufacturing process available to consumers, which there are many.

sachingulaya2• 13 years ago

Take two magazines. Use a plasma cutter and then weld them together.

See: http://www.defensereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/High...

Another option is to get a redi-mag. Essentially it holds two magazines right next to each other and switches between them if one jams.

See: http://www.redi-mag.com

Limits on guns don't really stop anyone who is slightly determined.

gnu82• 13 years ago

That isn't a high-capacity magazine, it is a standard capacity magazine.

hayksaakian• 13 years ago

Welcome to techcrunch where the facts are made up and points of accuracy don't matter

3D Printed Gun Magazine Shows Off Deadly High-Capacity ‘Wiki Weapon’

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