this post was submitted on 01 Nov 2023
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Are we past the point where the most damage these genocidal bitch babies are likely to inflict with the 3d printed guns is to blow off their own fingers?
Theres a lot of very misleading claims about 3d printed guns and a lot of old misinformation.
The fact is that most people would be likely to blow their fingers off, but someone who REALLY knows 3d printing and has some firm material science and engineering chops could actually put together a pretty fucking good one. The science behind 3d printing has come a long way in 10 years. Even a mildly experienced printer could put together one thats highly likely to survive making at least 1 shot. Which for most criminal purposes is enough. Especially for purposes like in the article.
What I think they are really worried about is that any wannabe stickup kid can print something that couldnt fire a single round, they dont even need to get bullets. Just wave a block of gun shaped plastic with a metal "barrel" and wave it in a cashiers face. Fake guns look fake, 3d printed guns look like 3d printed guns. Wether it works or not is anyones guess.
The guns pictured in the article look like variations of the FGC-9. The files for that one are fairly easy to find online, as are tutorials explaining to complete novices how to make one from more or less scratch, including machining rifling into the barrel. The design itself is reliable enough that it's being used by rebels in Myanmar. All of the pressure bearing parts are metal like in a more conventional firearm, so the most likely failure model for one of these is a non-explosive crack in the frame.
This is all to say that a mildly experienced printer has a pretty good chance of making a fully functional semi-automatic gun using this design.
I'm not sure the tech has changed that much, but the availability has certainly exploded - I've been involved in it on-and-off for about 20 years now (that makes me feel old). I just wish we had hobby-scale SLS printers - the impact they'd have is hard to overstate.
The guns side of things is something I've been aware of for a while, but have never seriously looked at - which is why I ask - thanks!