Defense Distributed does it:
There are so many shitty 3D printers out there, I think a lot of people are going to be very disappointed when they try to print their own version of this magazine.
Definitely a step in the right direction. I’m very surprised how uninformed the majority of people are about 3D printing and it’s capabilities… magazines and receivers are just the tip of the iceberg of firearm related items that could currently be printed.
You can download the files over at DEFCAD and try it out yourself.
Although I think the Defense Distributed project is a nobel cause, I’d really like to see some Engineering professionals on board there to speed things up. These guys look like they are having fun though, which I suppose for now is what counts.
Thoughts?
Comments
11 responses to “Test Firing A 3D Printed AR-15 Magazine”
Theres a good interview up with Cody Wilson (the guy in the clip) on infowars, he seems like a pretty intelligent fella.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKAaO26FAvA
Ignore Alex Jones trying to take the conversation into tinfoil hat territory.
I just don’t like the way he presents himself in the video. The attitude, the glasses, the eyebrow raise… I don’t know exactly what it is about it, but I don’t like it. Except for the grin with: “By Defense Distributed…” –that bit was legit.
I think 3D printing a rifle with a DIY printer is viable, just not with and AR-15 pattern, at least not with current materials. That gun was designed around the capabilities of aluminum, and while some polymer lowers have been successful, when you change the material you need to reconsider all of the engineering behind the design. Certain areas could be beefed up, sure, but I think a brand new design is what will make ABS a practical material for a semi-auto rifle. Something that considers the limitations of extruded plastic from the ground up.
If that was a commercial, it was the worst one I’ve ever seen. Not trying to knock their product, but the guy seemed too cocky.
I think “douchey” might be the right term. He nearly wreaked of FPS Russia.
Watch this interview. He’s a pompous motherfucker:
http://defdist.tumblr.com/post/40844137078/real-politics
I find it funny that people are drooling all over the 3D printed magazines when you probably need a $100k+ 3D printer in order to make a mag that can stand up to any sort of abuse. Most just lack the resolution, and you will want to use something like polycarb or laser sintered metal printing if you want a product that will stand up to any use. For $5k to $15k you could CMM an existing polymer mag and have a very nice set of injection molds made.
As a 20+ year open source gangster and UNIX/Router hack, I promise that the open source community will do THE best job possible. In regards to needing “professional engineers”. It usually is professionals doing this stuff on their downtime. Were it not for open source, there’d be no apache, php, linux, etc.
The biggest benefit will be that designs stay open and accessible to the public. Put it into the private sector and we lose access.
Please,everyone, go to defdist and download their “master pack” zip file. Save it somewhere. Ensure the continuity of knowledge.
It will be less than 10 years before most all of the parts are ubiquitous and 100% reliable. I’m in the process of upgrading my old reprap right now…
On their website somewhere(I can’t remember where, probably in an interview) they say that since they started they’ve been had several P.E.s volunteer their expertise. @DougE, it’s not commercial, it’s experimental. @derpmaster It is possible to do this with a cheap($2000) ABS fused-filament printer, the design just has to be tweaked to optimize the properties of each technology. Someone did a 5-round back in 2011 with a hobby printer:
http://blog.makezine.com/2011/09/20/proscribed-printables/
Hobby 3D printers have nearly doubled their resolution in the last two years so I’m surprised nobody else has tried it yet with DefDist’s file.
The only reason to 3D print magazines is cost effectiveness. Aside from the fact Pmags are out of stock everywhere right now, their cost is usually ~12-14$.
However, the limiting factor for cheap, cost effective, 3D mag printing is the fact that the plastics they use can’t stand up to the heat of the AR’s gas system. Try to use better materials and the cost goes up dramatically.
i was confused for a minute about the left-hand upper he used.
3-D printing is just the lastest method of weapons engineering, blacksmiths have been doing this for centuries. To all anti-firearms activists who may read this, firearms have been around for over 700 years, they are NOT going to go away. The cat is out of the bag, that ship has sailed, etc.