Bruno Ferreira Contributor Bruno Ferreira is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has decades of experience with PC hardware and assorted sundries, alongside a career as a developer. He's obsessed with detail and has a tendency to ramble on the topics he loves. When not doing that, he's usually playing games, or at live music shows and festivals.
DingusDog I wonder how many times it can go full auto before blowing up in your face. Reply
USAFRet People..I implore you to please keep this to the technical aspect, and to not delve into the political. Thanks. Reply
MechWarrior Honestly, not surprising. Keep in mind, all the important items are made from metal. Barrel, bolt, springs, etc. Just the lowers and other non crucial parts are made from plastics or polymers. Full plastic ones have been tried before, but they don't last very long. Actual firearms parts are already 3D printed with titanium filaments, see HuxWrx for some of those. The equipment is still expensive overall, but eventually may come down in price. But also keep in mind, like machining be it manual or CNC, 3D printing takes a lot of time and practice, especially when you need to deal with tight tolerances and high pressures. Can the average person do this? Yes, but with a LOT of trial and error. Just because you can download the file, does not mean it will work properly or reliably. Reply
MechWarrior DingusDog said: I wonder how many times it can go full auto before blowing up in your face. Really just depends. Especially with what materials are chosen. If the crucial components are metal and the proper alloys at that, probably thousands. Reply
Zeus287 MechWarrior said: Honestly, not surprising. Keep in mind, all the important items are made from metal. Barrel, bolt, springs, etc. Just the lowers and other non crucial parts are made from plastics or polymers. Full plastic ones have been tried before, but they don't last very long. Actual firearms parts are already 3D printed with titanium filaments, see HuxWrx for some of those. The equipment is still expensive overall, but eventually may come down in price. But also keep in mind, like machining be it manual or CNC, 3D printing takes a lot of time and practice, especially when you need to deal with tight tolerances and high pressures. Can the average person do this? Yes, but with a LOT of trial and error. Just because you can download the file, does not mean it will work properly or reliably. Huxwrx suppressors aren't printed with titanium filament. They're printed with a technology called Direct Metal Laser Sintering, which uses powdered metal. You're right that the machines are exorbitantly expensive, though. So much so that only one manufacturer produces nearly every 3D printed suppressor on the market (the suppressor "manufacturers" are really just designers in this case, as they contract it out to this company). Each machine costs around $1 million, so not many manufacturers have them. Also, anyone can print a firearm these days with little experience. Modern 3D printers aren't like the old days of spending dozens of hours tuning a Ender to get good results. With Bambu Lab printers, and all the other models from other manufacturers that followed it, very little tuning is needed. It really has become nearly as easy as using a 2D printer. Reply
jg.millirem USAFRet said: People..I implore you to please keep this to the technical aspect, and to not delve into the political. Ignoring the societal impacts of tech is a major problem with tech culture. Having to warn people to ignore rational concerns really exemplifies this. Reply
USAFRet jg.millirem said: Ignoring the societal impacts of tech is a major black eye to tech culture. No it isn't. This is a tech site. And there are many technical aspects with can be discussed here. The social/political/legal aspects can be debated in multiple other arenas. Left unchecked, those things completely drown out the tech discussion. Reply
Kilofeenix DingusDog said: I wonder how many times it can go full auto before blowing up in your face. I'm assuming the couple hundred buys you a metal receiver and barrel and whatnot and your pretty much just printing the plastic parts it would have anyway, and anyone worth their salt would uh salt sinter their parts. Reply
arch1e I've had the good fortune to fire several firearms that had 3d printed components (or were 90% 3d printed) and they've really come along way. At this point, if a component isn't actively touching a bullet I'm pretty sure a 3d printed part is just as good as a COTS option. The everything-but-springs-and-barrels designs are interesting and from my experience quite reliable if properly finished afterwards. The versions that I've fired that had been specifically designed to use no traditional firearms parts and had their barrels "rifled" using electrolysis were functional if inaccurate and prone to jamming after a couple of shots since the magazine springs were either 3d printed coil-springs which wore out quickly or were made by hand as a test. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/3d-printing/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/3d-printing/3d-printed-ghost-gun-designs-have-evolved-dramatically-outside-the-u-s-full-auto-bullpups-can-now-be-made-for-a-couple-hundred-dollars#main
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