Category Archives: News
3D Printing Gun Debate Heats Up Again: Wiki Weapon and ATF
Can 3D printers be used to create guns? We first discussed a hobbyist who was 3D printing automatic weapon parts in July and again covered the topic of using 3D printing for dangerous goods in August.
Now, the New York Times’ Bits Blog is adding to the controversy with its own feature about “building a gun with the push of a button.”
Cody Wilson, a law student at the University of Texas, is in the process of building a completely functional printed gun. “We hope to have this fully tested and put the files online in the next couple of months,” said Mr. Wilson, who runs a Web site called Defense Distributed.
He calls the gun the Wiki Weapon. In a video explaining the project’s goals, he describes the Wiki Weapon as the world’s first “3-D printable personal defense system.”
Below is a video of Cody Wilson promoting his Wiki Weapon.
Will this really make an impact given that there are so many guns in circulation each year via loopholes or illegal transfer? Perhaps not.
“Forty percent of guns are sold through a loophole at gun shows, where people are already able to buy a firearm without having to go through a background check,” said Daniel Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “There’s already a permanent ‘gun show’ on the Internet.”
One interesting angle not raised before is the role of law enforcement and regulation in this overall debate.
Under most circumstances, it is not illegal to build your own gun, but it has been pretty difficult. Ginger Colbrun, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said people had made firearms out of pens, books and belt buckles. But those contraptions and conventional firearms require a certain amount of knowledge and skill.
Ms. Colbrun said the agency was keeping a close watch on 3-D printers. “A.T.F. always tries to stay ahead of the illegal activity and the novel firearms trafficking schemes, without impinging on individuals’ rights,” she said.
In the case of Wiki Weapon, the 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys stepped in before law enforcement needed to and seized the 3D printer back before Wilson could print his first gun, saying “It is the policy of Stratasys not to knowingly allow its printers to be used for illegal purposes.” (via Guardian)
Top 10 Countdown: Most Popular 3D Printing Stories in September 2012
Here are the top 10 most popular stories On 3D Printing brought you in September 2012.
10. Interview: Protos Eyewear Combines Fashion, Tech, and 3D Printing
9. The Variable Cross: Create Your Own 3D Printed Cross Pendant Necklace
8. Unique 3D Printed Art Featured at the 3D Print Show in London
7. 3D Printing Mobile Labs: A New Combat Strategy for the U.S. Military
6. 3D Printing iPhones in America: Disrupting Foxconn’s Assembly Line
5. 3D Printing Will Be As Disruptive As the PC, Thanks to Piracy
4. Could 3D Printing Save the Public Library System? Mixed Opinions
3. 3D Printing on the Horizon: Can You Spot the Trend?
2. Interview: Idle Print Looks to Monetize Spare Cycles in 3D Printing
1. 3D Printing a Futuristic Airplane Cabin: Innovation at Airbus
Thanks for reading in September!
Oops-Ed: TechCrunch Writer Says Consumers Don’t Need 3D Printers
In the early 1980s, Bill Gates was widely known to say “640K is more memory than anyone will ever need on a computer.” This famous quote seems laughable today as your standard home computer, tablet and phone are equipped with gigabytes of memory.
Well, today TechCrunch writer Jon Evans makes a similarly myopic claim about the 3D printer market, “There is no reason for any individual to have a 3D printer in their home.” We are sure Evans would love being compared to Gates, but let’s look more closely at his argument.
3D printing will be a serious threat to manufacturing as we know it. But not at home. That doesn’t make sense. Instead, we’ll have two kinds of communal 3D printer shops.
In high-infrastructure areas, there’ll be a clutch of online providers a la Stratasys (and I expect one of them to be Amazon.com): you’ll pick your 3D design from a huge online menu, send them size information and maybe a few photos from some kind of cunningly designed app, tweak the 3D preview until you’re happy, and they’ll print it out in some vast warehouse full of high-end high-speed 3D printers and ship it to you, possibly that same day.
In low-infrastructure areas, or if you’re a casual hobbyist, or if you have very specific requirements, you’ll head down the road to your nearest local printing facility. Depending on where you are, maybe this is tomorrow’s TechShop, maybe it’s a cluster of converted shipping containers on the outskirts of Uganda each with their own specialties and strengths. They’ll customize your order, render it in the cloud as needed, print it out, and tweak and iterate until it’s done. More expensive but more specific.
While we agree with Evans’ two predictions about online providers and tech shops, we do not agree with his assertion that there won’t be 3D printers in the home. Look at other markets: personal computers, inkjet or laser printers, photo printers, etc. In each of these cases, this technology started out expensive and niche, but eventually moved into the mainstream and enabled new industries to blossom.
Read Evans’ full post and the comments that ensue.
Bill Gates photo by MATEUS_27:24&25 used under Creative Commons license.
Top 3D Printing Headlines Last Week: iPhones, Fab Labs, Brazil, Manhattan
A roundup of the top news On 3D Printing brought you from September 24 to September 28.
Friday, September 28
3D4D Challenge Announces $100K Finalists – 3D Printing for Global Good
In July we wrote about the 3D4D Challenge, a competition offering a $100K prize to the biggest transformational idea that could leverage 3D printing technologies to deliver real social benefits in the developing world.
Seven finalists have been chosen to go through to the Live Final on October 19th in London!
Boris’s concept is based on the development of a small scale, easy-to-manufacture and assemble robotic greenhouse which will enable local communities to produce good food with ease, even in the most difficult environmental conditions.
Climate Connected Benefit Society, ColaLights - Edmund Bell-King and Cornell Jackson, UK
Ed and Cornell’s project involves the development of Solar lamps created from used plastic Coke bottles using 3D printed ‘bottle caps’ and attachments for the charger, battery and PCB components. These lights will replace expensive and dangerous kerosene ones to use in rural areas throughout India.
EN3D Project - JF Brandon, Canada
JF has developed a simple, 3D printed solar tracker that is more efficient, cheaper and easier to manufacture than existing models, which will provide sustainable solar electricity to local communities.
Fripp Design and Research - Tom Fripp and Steve Roberts, UK
Tom and Steve are working on an idea to use 3D printing technology to enable the developing world to rapidly manufacture soft tissue prosthesis, at minimal expense.
Just 3D Printing - Suchismita, Jayant Pai and Sidhant Pai, India
The Pai family’s project involves providing young entrepreneurs and students access to 3D printers using material recycled from disused plastic bottles, in order to encourage innovation.
Roy Ombatti - University of Nairobi,Kenya
Roy’s idea is based on the need to prevent the problem of foot infections caused by The Jigger Fly, something that is rife in parts of East Africa. Specially designed 3D printed shoes could be produced from recycled plastic to be worn by individuals suffering from foot deformities in order to prevent further deterioration.
Tinkher - Brandon Bowman, Matthew Rogge, Luke Iseman and Bethanu Weeks USA
Tinkher is an amalgamation of two projects submitted to the final with very similar objectives. The project aims to develop an off-grid 3D printing system, which recycles plastic bags to produce tools for local farmers.
The international competition attracted a diverse range of entries from around the world – including entries from North and South America, Europe, Asia, and East and West Africa.
Each of the finalists will receive $1000 and access to expert mentors in order to develop their projects in the run up to the competition final, which will take place at this year’s 3D Print Show on Friday 19th October 2012. Finalists will pre-record short video pitches which will be available to view at the show and online so that the general public can vote for their favourite entries. The contestants will then be invited to give live presentations of their projects to selected guests, after which the judging panel will choose a winner.
Visit the 3D4D Challenge to read more about this noble competition.
