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tdkkart

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Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
6,887
Location
Eastern Iowa
And this is the scary part. Anyone who can buy a printer can make the parts. I know anyone can do the same with a milling machine, but the printer takes no skill.

Does take some CAD/CAM skills, so while the tweakers are making guns they'll be learning a useable skill for their post incarceration years.

Why such a fear of gun parts?? Do you have the same fear of auto parts??
 

Regnar

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 9, 2010
Messages
461
Printed guns has already happened. Google "Liberator" btw the model has been around for years.

Wanna have real fun....... goto CNCguns.com and see what you can do with a drill press.

Wanna have even more fun...... Order a AK47 parts kit and bend the reciever with a shop press. Plenty of Youtube videos on how to do that with just angle iron jig.
 

ADSR

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Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
10,713
Printed guns has already happened. Google "Liberator" btw the model has been around for years.

Wanna have real fun....... goto CNCguns.com and see what you can do with a drill press.

Wanna have even more fun...... Order a AK47 parts kit and bend the reciever with a shop press. Plenty of Youtube videos on how to do that with just angle iron jig.

Nah, not worried about 80% lowers. I'm worried about when the metal ones become affordable and can make this.....

 

whyNick?

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Joined
Jul 10, 2013
Messages
1,016
Location
Midwest
There was a youtube video I ran across a couple days ago where someone had CNC'd a 1911 frame, and was building his own 1911 pistol. Or at least that's what his plans were. Problem with this technology now, you can put guns in the hands of criminals and background checks aren't going to do a thing, because the criminals just print them at their house :scared:.

Any gang banger who wants a gun has access to a gun, there is no shortage and no system of background checks will dry up the market since 1) criminals don't care about background checks (they are criminals, after all) and 2) there are already lots and lots of guns that have no paper trail. 3D printing won't put any more guns in the hands of gangstas but it will help to ensure that those of us who aren't gangstas have the tools to defend ourselves against said gangstas.

This is a fascinating technology and some of the cheap DIY kits available are really tempting. Don't be scared, I promise I will only be printing safe blue frogs with mine.
 

DodgeMech

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Aug 17, 2012
Messages
1,858
notice how it's the Canadian who's scared of the guns while the Americans are pointing out that criminals break laws anyway?
 

wildbill23c

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Jun 6, 2014
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1,360
Location
Idaho
Any gang banger who wants a gun has access to a gun, there is no shortage and no system of background checks will dry up the market since 1) criminals don't care about background checks (they are criminals, after all) and 2) there are already lots and lots of guns that have no paper trail. 3D printing won't put any more guns in the hands of gangstas but it will help to ensure that those of us who aren't gangstas have the tools to defend ourselves against said gangstas.

This is a fascinating technology and some of the cheap DIY kits available are really tempting. Don't be scared, I promise I will only be printing safe blue frogs with mine.

Yep, that's why I always have laughed at the whole background checks BS to get a gun, the only people being checked are the law abiding citizens. You really think a criminal is going to go into a gun store to buy a gun...ok well maybe and you'll see them on America's dumbest criminals LOL. They will always get them illegally black market, steal them, etc. I totally agree with you.

Looks like some of the CNC milled guns can be pretty well made from the few videos I've seen.
 

dowmace

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Joined
Apr 30, 2012
Messages
596
Location
KCMO
Didn't they one of these in back to the future that made pizzas?

Press a button and get a domino's pizza sounds good to me. :)
That was a rehydrator. Put in a dehydrated pizza and it rehydrates it to be ready to go.
 

candikid

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Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
91
Location
Drammen, Norway
Looks really neat. I'm not sure if I will ever have a real need for printed parts directly, though it could be really useful for making molds for polyurethane bushings among others. Hmmmm.
 

noid

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Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Messages
1,341
I'm Canadian and believe criminals will stay criminals. Its not the accessibility, its the mindset, anyone crazy enough to want to do something criminal will find a way to do it.

Unfortunately Canada is filled with liberals :willy_nil

Our gun laws are so *** backwards that we have guns banned by name, so you can have a CZ 858 and an sks, but you cant have an AK-47. For "restricted" firearms which are mainly pistols we have to call and get authorizations to transport to take them anywhere. Apparently they expect criminals to call the police to let them know they are taking their unregistered guns to commit a crime :lol:

While we are at it, lets ban assault cars, assault teddy bears, kitchen knives, and assault toothpicks.
 

tdkkart

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Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
6,887
Location
Eastern Iowa
Always confused about people's fear of guns, yet on a daily basis they quite willingly climb in their 4000lb death machines and go play at 70-80mph with thousands of woefully under qualified operators, and are somehow convinced someone is gonna single them out in their home or on the street to shoot them.

No, I'm not a gun wacko, in fact I don't even own one. Not because I'm afraid of them,
because I rarely feel a need for one. Basically the same reason I don't own something like tandem axle dump truck, or a helicopter.

There was a note on the local news the other day about a marked increase in thefts from autos. Wanna guess what one of the most stolen items from cars is??
 

SantaAna12

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Joined
Mar 1, 2012
Messages
1,091
For some applications this is also being done with titanium. It will soon be cheaper to buy a custom shape titanium part cheaper than what it costs to make a machined aluminum part.

I do not follow this. Isn't titanium harder than aluminum? If the machine would do titanium, why wouldn't it do aluminum?
 

Daedalus

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Sep 28, 2009
Messages
5,952
I do not follow this. Isn't titanium harder than aluminum? If the machine would do titanium, why wouldn't it do aluminum?

Yes, it can be done with al. But right now the process doesn't allow for printed aluminum with good material properties. If you want 7075-T73, forget it. But the ti process allows for good properties right off the bat. My point was more about the cost difference...that for low-volume stuff that already costs a lot of money, it will be cheaper to buy printed ti parts than machined al parts, and they will perform better. There are some caveats of course. Surface finish is not as good, and there is some pre/post machine processing involved to ensure the parts can support themselves during the print, e.g., you can't print a suspended flat surface without some vertical supports added to the part.
 

Clik

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Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
430
Location
Highest Mountain in Western, MD
not sure if there are even any plastic 1911's out there or if they can be made with plastic frames.

Remember that after buying the slides, barrels and the numerous other parts that must be made of metal they will still cost a few hundred dollars per gun to make. Criminals want the cheapest gun possible since they are very likely to just toss it away after they use it in a crime.

If i had one, i would print a handful of glock style frames and then go turn them in at a gun buyback and pay off the printer and then some:rocker:

right on!
 
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autonaut

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Mar 10, 2014
Messages
191
Cant wait to scan and 3d print those pesky interior clips used in cars.. Door handles. Shift knobs. Horn button. And all other various small items i need during a car restoration. When metal 3d printing becomes accesible i will drink more berrs and turn the cans into somthing usefull as well.

If you cabt see the advantages for a DIY home 3d printing your'e not trying.
 

Allgonquin

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Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
59
Location
MD
The "grown up" version of plastic 3D printing can print metal, and yes, guns can be made. Here is an example of a 1911.

https://blog.solidconcepts.com/industry-highlights/worlds-first-3d-printed-metal-gun/

No doubt the machine used cost WAY more than the desktop plastic printer, but I remember when the first plastic printers cost more than $10K. So we're down in price by 1 order of magnitude after not too many years. I've read that NASA is considering equipping future missions with 3D printers so they can print spare parts. Just upload the design, and voila, spare valve or whatever widget.
 

Engineer61

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Oct 26, 2012
Messages
225
Location
Colorado
Aluminum's reactivity - it forms an oxide layer nearly instantly in the presence of oxygen, is the problem for printing it. Your parts would have layers of aluminum oxide throughout the part, giving it a "grain" with pronounced weakness along the grain lines. Of course this could be overcome by filling the printer housing with argon or other non-reactive gas and "peeling" the aluminum source rod/wire to remove existing aluminum oxide layer on the outside of it before melting the wire and applying it to form the part.
 

willy3486

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Jan 14, 2010
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1,592
Location
Middle Tennessee
We just bought about 20 or more of the makerbots for about 2000 a pop at work. Since we have a few already and we got these we brought one to shop to learn how they work. Right now they are toys for the most part. But in the right hands they can be great tools. They can be used for designing a part then making that part to be used for a pattern for a mold. I made a piece just to get use to the machine. No hard at all.

The issues I see on this now is the machine is way to slow. It seems to me that it lays down a line then in a while another line is laid down. I am thinking the first line dries and the second line is put down to a cold piece. I am thinking that due to not being uniform in cooling that it seems to brittle. Another issue is the part is not uniform. You can see where the lines were at. Its not a smooth surface. I have been told that there is a way to program to make it smoother.

In a few years I can see these being really good and usefull. For example if a nylon gear goes bad you could order a one off plan for that gear then make it in house. You can also right now make a part and then use it for a mold. These can really be a good tool.
 

dv8customs

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Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
162
Location
East Texas
We have a CubePro at work. We got it to learn what the capabilities are and are working with a company to do some metal printing in the future.
 

GarageMac

Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
7
Ryan, I believe you are almost right... This stuff is changing the world already. The Dremel is childs play - 3D bioprinting is already a reality. I believe a couple lymph nodes have already been produced (printed? wth!), with the goal of a heart in sight. A human heart.
 

Vegaman_Dan

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Joined
Jun 1, 2012
Messages
2,453
Location
Pacific, WA
Gun topics- wrong forum for it so I won't comment.

3D printing: This Dremel is a very good move as it will put a trusted well known brand into retail stores where consumers will respect and know that it must be a good thing- brand recognition means a lot. Consumers may or may not know about Makerbot, but they know they've heard of Dremel. Selling in Home Depot means actual printers on the shelves. Home Depot is going to be carrying several brands of printers, along with consumables. Frys is also now carrying the plastics.

What do you need to know about 3D printing?

3D printing is basically an inkjet that uses extruded plastic line (think weed trimmer cord) that is fed into a moving head assembly, melted, and squirted through the nozzle to the build platform. It starts at the bottom and goes up, allowing printing overhanging structures with over and under cuts within some reason. The resolution or how fine of detail you can get varies greatly. These units produce a product that will have lines in the surface. It's the nature of the technology. How fine those lines are will vary between brands, with the finer thinner lines being in the $2000-10,000 range. These sub $1000 units will have the resolution of a large pencil. That's not a bad thing, but don't expect to be producing anything with fine detail. The final product will need finishing to complete it.

The plastic can be recycled and made into new filament if you have a recycler- but those are expensive currently.

If you make a mistake in the model, or the unit has a hiccup in the production, then the model is toast. You'll have to start over.

These are *S L O W*. You're building something with hot melt glue essentially, and the material can only be applied so fast. Speed of the machine, temperatures, and size of filament affect times. You'll be sending a print job to the printer and going to work to see what waits for you when you get home. Print jobs are measured in hours, not minutes.

How big of an object can you print?

This is limited by the build area. The build plate is usually quite small, and a model like this Dremel will likely be in the 6x6 or 8x8 range with a similar height. The case size is the key there. The build plate ideally will be heated- sometimes it can be hard to get the initial layer to stick to the build plate if it isn't heated. This is a feature of nicer units.

The ribbed or lined surface can be smoothed using acetone usually. Wipe it down with an acetone soaked cloth, or some people put a cake pan of acetone on a bench, put the model next to it and cover it all with a box so the vapors can soften the surface to be smoothed out. I haven't tried this myself.

Large objects can have voids added to the interior to save on material, build time, and weight. There are some options to have the printer create a honeycomb structure for the interior of large objects to still be strong and light.

I see this as being useful for items like mounting blocks, spacers, testing a part design, adpaters, etc. Many things you'd make out of a delrin or acrylic can be printed. There are good CAD drawing apps out there that take a lot of the confusion out of it, making design a lot simpler. A public open source library is out there that has many projects ready to download and print. It's well supported as people like to show off their builds.

Do I want one? I do! I have a laser engraver/cutter now for light duty work and the ability to fabricate things out of acrylic is very cool and handy. I want to know the full specs of the Dremel before I start saving up for one, but it's on my wish list.
 

mike052082

Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
18
I have a MakerBot Replicator version 2. I still need to learn and get better on my CAD skills but here are just a few things I have made with it:

Wire clips and fuel line clips for my neighbors hotrod.
Multi piece trilobite for a science lesson.
Tic Tac Toe game with case for my daughter.
My logo in a large coin for a Plinko game I rent out. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?....668971544289.2073490.78801151&type=3&theater
A 3d version of a bounce house with a loop on top that I send to customers around Christmas as an appreciation gift.
Customized toothbrush holder for a neighbor with his kids name in each place for their toothbrush. He has 7 kids so no toothbrush holder was big enough. LOL.
Iphone case.
And a lot of things that didn't work out as planned.

It breaks down more than I'd like it to and someone mentioned earlier that it is slow. For instance I thought I'd make 100 Christmas ornaments but only got about 30 done. Next time I'll print a mold and use it instead. Also, you can see the layers so it is not a finish piece that you want in a high dollar hotrod so to speak but you can custom make a piece that you can use as a mold. I use PLA which is pretty brittle but with some temp setting and speed changes I can do ABS. There are many colors out there. I have thought about using a heat gun to see if I can smooth it out and make it more of a finish piece.

Most of my pieces come from the thingiverse website or I paid someone to design a few things for me.
 

bartz32tt

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Joined
Aug 23, 2012
Messages
88
Location
Iowa's capital
Not sure if there are even any plastic 1911's out there or if they can be made with plastic frames.

Remember that after buying the slides, barrels and the numerous other parts that must be made of metal they will still cost a few hundred dollars per gun to make. Criminals want the cheapest gun possible since they are very likely to just toss it away after they use it in a crime.

If I had one, I would print a handful of Glock style frames and then go turn them in at a gun buyback and pay off the printer and then some:rocker:

Yes, that's a "genius" idea...allow tax-payers to foot the bill for your selfishness. Or how about we boycott this unconstitutional program and fight to get these programs, and all who enacted them, removed.
 

GrandmaSideways

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Joined
Jan 27, 2011
Messages
221
It's pretty cool, no doubt. Lots of possibilities. Sometimes a brittle part works OK too, like this guy that is 3D printing the glove box lock knobs for old Volvos. Can't be any more brittle than the factory thirty five year old plastic right?
 

GirchyGirchy

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Joined
Nov 14, 2011
Messages
9,815
Location
Central Indiana
One of the things they made was an adjustable wrench and the thumbwheel worked right out of the printer - no assembly, nothing.
I still haven't figured out how they did that.

Our printer has two materials - the main material (ABS in our case) and a support material. The support material is sacrificial and is used to build a base on which to lay the main material. The support material washes away in solution, leaving the part.

For instance, if you build a hollow tube on its side, it will need support material both in the hollow area inside the tube as well as from the outer walls down to the base of the build surface. It can't cantilever main material out from itself.

So when a wrench or something is built, the support material fills the gaps between the moving parts. Leave it in the wash tank for a while, voila, a working (sort of....it is sill plastic!) wrench.
 

Sage55

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Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Messages
413
Location
N/A
I've been watching the 3D printing market for a while and even thinking about getting one myself. Seeing Dremel getting into the market is only a good thing as it shows an acceptance from all sizes of companies.

I'm curious how this compares to the MakerBot 3D printer, as I hear it's one of the better ones on the market though pricey.
 
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