Files for First 3D-printable Gun Released Online
OutdoorHub Reporters 05.05.13
Defense Distributed’s Cody Wilson has released the CAD files for the world’s first (nearly) completely 3D-printable firearm. The design comes after a single-shot .22 pistol was posted onto Defense Distributed’s website and 3D Printer wiki platform defcad.org. According to Forbes, the new firearm has been dubbed “the Liberator” by Wilson.
All of the pieces of the firearm are printed from ABS plastic, save the firing pin–which is simply a metal nail. A video of the single-shot .380 pistol in action can be seen below.
httpv://youtu.be/drPz6n6UXQY
Defense Distributed released designs for AR-15 and AK-47 magazines and a refined version of an AR lower receiver earlier this year, along with the acquisition of a Type 7 Federal Firearms License that will allow Wilson to the sell gun parts he produce. A second-year law student with a passion for the Second Amendment, Wilson has far-reaching plans. He is currently raising funds to expand defcad.org into a search engine for 3D-printable firearms, a major step for his goal of a building a knowledge base where gun knowledge is shared freely online.
Not everyone is happy with Wilson’s strides in 3D printing technology. New York Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) introduced legislation against the production of firearms and firearm parts using 3D printers.
“Security checkpoints, background checks, and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser,” the Congressman said in a release. “When I started talking about the issue of plastic firearms months ago, I was told the idea of a plastic gun is science-fiction. Now that this technology appears to be upon us, we need to act now to extend the ban on plastic firearms.”
On Friday, Israel’s office released a statement that said the new fully printable gun “circumvents the current Undetectable Firearms Act.” The issue is with the inclusion of a steel portion, which was solely designed so that the firearm would comply with the Act. Israel states that criminals printing the firearm at home could simply forgo including the steel piece. Other lawmakers are concerned with the implications of a firearm that can be constructed and assembled entirely in one location. This was not a surprise, Defense Distributed expected heavy opposition.
“You can print a lethal device,” Wilson told Forbes writer Andy Greenberg. “It’s kind of scary, but that’s what we’re aiming to show.”
You can read more about Wilson’s plans for the direction of Defense Distributed here.
