3d plastic gun

[Conan The Librarian]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2320264/Plastic-pistol-Defense-Distributed-successfully-fires-gun-3-D-printer.html


Pretty cool. Pretty massive for a .380. Search for 5.7


Interesting choice of name for the gun. Historic significance in ww2.


Looks like a glorified zip gun to me. Have seen zips made of wood and other non metallic stuff, and in shapes that did not suggest they were guns.

[Conan The Librarian]

Not to give them idea, but a shotgun Chambering would give them low pressure and a more formidable weapon.


My buddy growing up made a zip cannon that he used to hunt egrets with. Fired about a pound of shot. Used black powder.  The guy was a bit of a nut.

[ChungDoQuan]

CSI New York did an episode on 3D printed guns. They seemed to think that, since there is no way to incorporate glass or carbon fibers into the 3D printed gun's plastic, it would come apart after one or two rounds are fired. I wouldn't want to be the test dummy pulling the trigger...

[Old Fart]

This technology has been around for quite a few years. I suspect the only reason it's getting press is because of the gun part of the story. I've had access to one of these printers for about 8-10 years. I've made all kinds of stuff on it, except weapons, and it definately is a cool machine. The CAD files for various guns have been floating around for several years for anyone willing to do the digging in the internet.
 
All that said......it's not "if" but "when" will it come undone and explode. So I'd just pass on the experiement,

[Conan The Librarian]

On the lighter side of the news, I heard something I didn't know about 3D printing: It has revolutionized a part of dentistry. Caps and similar tooth replacement parts are almost exclusively done on 3D printing now. Better fit, less expensive. High quality. Durable. Cool!

[mcwoodduck]

Chuck Shumer is a Joke.
 

[Conan The Librarian]

McWoodduck: I think there's a misspelling in the last word of that sentence.

[mcwoodduck]

We have to keep it clean this is a family site.

[dakotashooter2]

I watched a youtube clip of the gun firing but the clip did nothing to prove this gun fired a factory produced or standard pressure round. You hear the gun go bang but there was no evidence a projectile was fired. No video of loading the round into the gun, no smoke or debris exiting the barrel, no impact of any kind of target. For all we know the shooter just popped off a primer.... In the begining of the youtube clip it flashes what appeared to be plastic cases which leads me to believe this gun was fired with non production/special ammunition.  While the link above shows a brass/lead round in the case next to the gun that may be just for show. Somebody is blowing a lot of smoke and people are buying into it.............

[mcwoodduck]

I do not know enough about plastics and ploymers to say for sure.
But what I do understand is the barrel can not be rifled that builds pressure and created deadly projectiles.
Like the 3 D model gun in the CSI NY show.  It would be interesting to see it shoot more than once and at what point the gun will fail. 
I find the choice of a 380 odd when something like 38-40 has less pressure
380 = 21,000 CUP
38-40 = 14,000 CUP
pluse 38-40 has a rim that would make chambering easier.  As the 380 would have to chamber on the mouth of the case and the rim is what can be used to chamber the round. 
I also find it hard ot believe that a plastic firing pin broke the primer. 
Now I will believe that the gun could have a steel barrel liner, a steel firing pin, and a steel or possibly alloy like Brass or bronze block that holds the pressure in.  '
Having watched Myth Busters a number of times I will say that the gun is not real, at least not as advertised.  That there were probably two models, the enhanced model that can shoot and the one they take apart to show how it is all plastic / polymer. 
I also find it hard to believe the 3D printer that uses sheets of plastic as thick as a sheet of note book paper and the pages are glued together or heated will not stand the pressure.  The 3D printer model may have been used to make molds that were poured like injection molding. Or a solid block of Plastic was set in a CNC machine and made based on the 3D models.