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First 3D-printed gunsuccessfully test fired

'3D printed gun parts'seized by police may justbe printer mods

3D-printable gun makerordered to take downblueprints

New York introduceslegislation to regulate 3Dprinted guns

California may outlaw3D printed guns

A US- ba s e d 3 D pr i n t i n g s e r vi c e s c o mpa n y A US- ba s e d 3 D pr i n t i n g s e r vi c e s c o mpa n y h a sh a sbu i l t a f u l l y f u n c t i o n i n g, s e mi - a u t o ma t i c p i s t o lbu i l t a f u l l y f u n c t i o n i n g, s e mi - a u t o ma t i c p i s t o la n d s h o wn ( i n t h e vi de o a n d s h o wn ( i n t h e vi de o a bo vea bo ve ) t h a t i t wo r k s) t h a t i t wo r k sj u s t a s a t r a di t i o n a l l y ma n u f a c t u r e d gu n .j u s t a s a t r a di t i o n a l l y ma n u f a c t u r e d gu n .

Built by Solid Concepts, the pistol is a replica of the storied .45-caliber,M1911 semi-automatic that served as the US military's standard-issuesidearm for more than 70 years. Solid Concept demonstrated the gun byfiring 50 rounds with it.

The accuracy? At more than 30 yards, the gun was able to strike a targetbull's-eye several times, Solid Concepts said.

Previously, the only 3D printed gun was The Liberator, a single-shotplastic weapon made by Defense Distributed. That weapon didn't proveto be reliable after multiple rounds were fired through it.

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World's first 3D-printed metal gunfired 50 timesBy Lucas Mearian | Computerworld US on November 11, 2013

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Solid Concepts' pistol is composed of more than 30 3D printed parts (Image: SolidConcepts)

Solid Concept's pistol was made with industrial-grade 3D printers usingthe Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Direct Metal Laser Sinteringtechniques (DMLS). Both DMLS and SLS use lasers to melt metals, eventitanium, at temperatures exceeding 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The 3Dprinters work by laying down a fine layer of powder and then using a laserto fuse granules together, building an object layer by layer from theground up.

The difference between the two techniques is that DMLS tends to be usedwith alloys.

"The industrial printer we used costs more than my college tuition (and Iwent to a private university)," Kent Firestone, Solid Concepts' VicePresident of additive manufacturing, said in a statement. "The engineerswho run our machines are top of the line; they are experts who know whatthey're doing and understand 3D Printing better than anyone in thisbusiness. Thanks to them, Solid Concepts is debunking the idea that 3DPrinting isn't a viable solution or isn't ready for mainstream manufacturing."

3D printers that use metal sintering techniques function differently fromdesktop 3D printers that use stereolithography, which melts plasticfilaments and pushes them through a small extruder to build objects layerby layer.

The 3D printed gun in piecesSolid Concept's gun is composed of more than 30 3D-printedcomponents. The slide, frame and many of the internal components aremade of stainless Steel. The main spring, the hammer and part of the uppergrip's handle was made with nickel-chromium-based alloy called Inconel625.

"Laser sintering is one of the most accurate manufacturing processesavailable, and more than accurate enough to build the 3D Metal Printedinterchangeable and interfacing parts within our 1911 series gun," SolidConcepts said. "The gun proves laser sintering can meet tight tolerances."

According to the company, 3D metal printing means fewer porosity issuesthan are seen with the traditional method of casting metal parts.

Solid Concept said its gun's barrel experiences chamber pressure above20,000 psi every time the gun is fired. By comparison, a factory-madeM1911 pistol is rated for 17,000 psi chamber pressure.

"We're proving this is possible, the technology is at a place now where

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TOPICS 3D printing, Illustration

we can manufacture a gun with 3D Printing," Firestone said. "As far as weknow, we're the only 3D printing service provider with a Federal FirearmsLicense (FFL). Now, if a qualifying customer needs a unique gun part infive days, we can deliver."

A 3D-printed Colt M1911As its name suggests, the Colt M1911 pistol became the military's sidearmin 1911, after legendary gun designer John Browning developed it morethan a decade earlier. Since that time, many manufacturers have copiedthe design.

Solid Concepts demonstrates its ability to 3D print an M1911 .45 caliberpistol.

The barrel of any modern gun contains rifling -- helical grooves that put aspin on a bullet as it is fired. The cork-screw movement of a bulletincreases its accuracy.

Solid Concept's pistol's rifling was built directly into the barrel using 3Dprinting. The gun was in no way machined, as guns are traditionally made.

"We did not machine this gun," the company stated. "It's born this way."

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• Reply •

Jason • 4 months ago

Why cant you 3d print food for the staving......war monger

3

• Reply •

Carlos Fernandes • 4 months ago

The world already has enough guns. That's surely a sad way to use this promising technology.You could have made your point in any other way. All we are saying is give peace a chance.

1

• Reply •

James • 3 months ago

The choice of a gun is a challenge for 3-d printing is an excellent one for a variety of simplereasons: First of all, guns were the first tools mass-produced with interchangeable parts, andthus at the root of modern industrial production. Guns need to be relatively high in precision andable to withstand tremendous peak forces and temperature extremes. It's also very easy toascertain the function of a gun, both in terms of reliability and accuracy. More importantly, sincethis company chose to use a gun that has been extremely popular and made by manymanufacturers for more than a century, their experiment can be tested/compared to extensivedata that already exists. Thus, this whole thing becomes a good engineering challenge and I'msure that the results will have numerous spinoffs even if 3D printed guns never go intoproduction.

• Reply •

justanotherpropeaceperson • 4 months ago

Id be interested to know what the other choices were when it was decision time to marketconsidering the need to prove its strength and real life application as said in the video.... Surleythere was an alternative option to a Gun...

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