Will the Armory come back if USA changes its weapon laws?

[SaintFlow]

Bitcoin - the classic case for freedom.

Say for example one of USA constitutional rights get thinned out by a pow-wow
of politicians and lawyer magic. Would you buy your leadthrower with bitcoins then?

As a person subject to the european warlords I have grown up used to being unarmed.
Have to say I had a interesting time with a G36 when the oppresive regime placed
my body into the defence cult of the conspiracy to uphold the oppresive regime.
Never liked sharp ammunition though. Didn't feel right to have it if I knew that not
everyone else had it, too.

Enough rambling, If i would be in USA I guess I would be helping to bring the Armory
back - just in case you know. Just in case like I hold coins cause I do not trust the banks
either.
If more people feel like that in the land of the fee (the taxed nation) I guess they should
consider holding enough coins to change to guns.

Praise Bob

[TECSHARE]

Another issue the government will have is that under current law it is legal to make your own gun (provided you are over 18 and not a felon) and have no registration for it as long as you don't transfer it to anyone else. Under this framework some one could travel the country in a vehicle with a 3d printer and have people just press the print button on a machine and make a instant ready made firearm completely unregistered. This technology not only completely circumvents the law but also makes it irrelevant in one step.

[myrkul]

Another issue the government will have is that under current law it is legal to make your own gun (provided you are over 18 and not a felon) and have no registration for it as long as you don't transfer it to anyone else. Under this framework some one could travel the country in a vehicle with a 3d printer and have people just press the print button on a machine and make a instant ready made firearm completely unregistered. This technology not only completely circumvents the law but also makes it irrelevant in one step.

Well, we're not quite to the "instant ready made firearm" yet, but this plus some spare parts, and you're set.

Lasts about 6 shots before it cracks from stress. Plan accordingly.

[Lethn]

I keep telling you idiots explosives are far easier to make than guns.

[myrkul]

I keep telling you idiots explosives are far easier to make than guns.

True. Very true. I could go into my kitchen right now and come out with a bomb. That bomb would be almost as dangerous to me and mine as it would be to anyone I would use it on, however, and it makes, thus, a shitty self-defense weapon.

[ElectricMucus]

Another issue the government will have is that under current law it is legal to make your own gun (provided you are over 18 and not a felon) and have no registration for it as long as you don't transfer it to anyone else. Under this framework some one could travel the country in a vehicle with a 3d printer and have people just press the print button on a machine and make a instant ready made firearm completely unregistered. This technology not only completely circumvents the law but also makes it irrelevant in one step.

Well, we're not quite to the "instant ready made firearm" yet, but this plus some spare parts, and you're set.

Lasts about 6 shots before it cracks from stress. Plan accordingly.

3D-printed parts aren't necessarily inferior to injection molded parts. If the printer is calibrated properly and the geometry is taken into account they are as good or even better.
That there are different requirements for a firearm than a pencil holder must be clear. If you download the file and print it right away you are probably right though.

[Bitware]

Another issue the government will have is that under current law it is legal to make your own gun (provided you are over 18 and not a felon) and have no registration for it as long as you don't transfer it to anyone else. Under this framework some one could travel the country in a vehicle with a 3d printer and have people just press the print button on a machine and make a instant ready made firearm completely unregistered. This technology not only completely circumvents the law but also makes it irrelevant in one step.

Well, we're not quite to the "instant ready made firearm" yet, but this plus some spare parts, and you're set.

Lasts about 6 shots before it cracks from stress. Plan accordingly.

they used a plastic or polymer.

it can be done with titanium or steel powerders for this process and it would last much longer.

they probably cant afford the equipment though

[myrkul]

Another issue the government will have is that under current law it is legal to make your own gun (provided you are over 18 and not a felon) and have no registration for it as long as you don't transfer it to anyone else. Under this framework some one could travel the country in a vehicle with a 3d printer and have people just press the print button on a machine and make a instant ready made firearm completely unregistered. This technology not only completely circumvents the law but also makes it irrelevant in one step.

Well, we're not quite to the "instant ready made firearm" yet, but this plus some spare parts, and you're set.

Lasts about 6 shots before it cracks from stress. Plan accordingly.

they used a plastic or polymer.

it can be done with titanium or steel powerders for this process and it would last much longer.

they probably cant afford the equipment though

Well, you could always print in plastic, then use that as the positive for a mold.

[Richy_T]

3d printer is probably the wrong technology anyway. They're cool and I would love to have one but something in CNC would get you something better, cheaper and more reliable.

[myrkul]

3d printer is probably the wrong technology anyway. They're cool and I would love to have one but something in CNC would get you something better, cheaper and more reliable.

All you need to do is change the print head out for a CNC cutting head, and (assuming you have the right software) you're good to go.

[stochastic]

Just wait until the 3D printers are fully capable of printing copies of itself and self assembly, then everyone would have their own 3D printer.

[ElectricMucus]

Just wait until the 3D printers are fully capable of printing copies of itself and self assembly, then everyone would have their own 3D printer.

Autonomous replication not in our lifetime. But a 3D printer as a common good, that is entirely realistic and I expect it to happen somewhat soon.

What also might happen is complete replication with minimal manual labour using multiple machines.
Something like an robotic arm, cnc mill, cnc lathe and 3D printer working together to create complete copies of themselves. That, I think may also be the minimal requirement to completely automatically produce a firearm.

3d printer is probably the wrong technology anyway. They're cool and I would love to have one but something in CNC would get you something better, cheaper and more reliable.

All you need to do is change the print head out for a CNC cutting head, and (assuming you have the right software) you're good to go.

Nope that wouldn't be as efficient, a 3D Printer isn't sturdy enough for milling and a mill isn't fast enough for printing. You need both until you figure out how to do it. Some professional SCARA robots might qualify but those have high end material and precision requirements. It's not out of reach but there is quite some road ahead to get there.

[myrkul]

3d printer is probably the wrong technology anyway. They're cool and I would love to have one but something in CNC would get you something better, cheaper and more reliable.

All you need to do is change the print head out for a CNC cutting head, and (assuming you have the right software) you're good to go.

Nope that wouldn't be as efficient, a 3D Printer isn't sturdy enough for milling and a mill isn't fast enough for printing. You need both until you figure out how to do it. Some professional SCARA robots might qualify but those have high end material and precision requirements. It's not out of reach but there is quite some road ahead to get there.

I've seen an industrial robot arm repurposed as a 3d printer. That would handily run a mill. But yeah, your average makerbot isn't going to be able to handle chewing through block aluminum (much less steel). Casting from a printed positive, though, is still a very appealing possibility to me.

[Charlie Prime]

Say for example one of USA constitutional rights get thinned out by a pow-wow of politicians and lawyer magic. Would you buy your leadthrower with bitcoins then?

Ha!  Good post.  No.  I live in Texas.  I would start manufacturing guns and selling them for bitcoins.  Cocaine-like profits, without the high costs of transportation from Mexico.

In the gun-nut community people are already gearing up for home production.  There is much discussion on the gun forums about where to buy lathes, milling machines, micrometers,etc.; and how to build home forging furnaces, jigs, etc.

Fabrication of the moving parts is easy.  Watch these dirt-poor guys in Peshwar Pakistan do it...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cQDvBrVCCM

The hurdle for home production is how to forge the critical parts which must withstand pressures of 16,000 p.s.i.  Solutions are in the works.

I'm jealous of your G36 training.  That's a top-notch machine.

[Richy_T]

I wonder if it would be possible to come up with a design for a gun assembled from (for example) laser-cut 1/8" steel or aluminum plate stacked and riveted. The barrel would have to be created by other methods probably. The real tricky part there is that one of the major advancements in firearms is rifling and that requires some clever design (though it might be straightforward for sufficiently advanced 3d printing)

[Charlie Prime]

I wonder if it would be possible to come up with a design for a gun assembled from (for example) laser-cut 1/8" steel or aluminum plate stacked and riveted.

That's basically an AK-47.  They are stamped out of sheet metal.  The only part which needs machining above the peasant-workshop level is the barrel.

This is also why AK-47's suck.  When running, they feel and sound like you are holding an old worn-out cake mixer that's about to fly apart in your hands.  Civilized gentlemen don't own them.

[myrkul]

I wonder if it would be possible to come up with a design for a gun assembled from (for example) laser-cut 1/8" steel or aluminum plate stacked and riveted.

That's basically an AK-47.  They are stamped out of sheet metal.  The only part which needs machining above the peasant-workshop level is the barrel.

This is also why AK-47's suck.  When running, they feel and sound like you are holding an old worn-out cake mixer that's about to fly apart in your hands.  Civilized gentlemen don't own them.

That's also why they'll run packed full of sand or mud (OK, maybe not packed, but I'd like to see your AR-15 run just minutes after submersion in it), or with the action rusted solid then kicked loose. It's the perfect gun for leaving in a box somewhere and digging it up when you need it.

[Charlie Prime]

Exactly.  Civilized gentlemen don't live in mud and sand.  We have cool stuff like concrete, plumbing, houses, petroleum refineries, refrigeration, and teamwork.  

Kiss.  Kiss.  I agree that if I ever find myself on the dirt floor of a hovel stirring a pot of kitten stew, and all the Castrol 10w30 and toothbrushes in the world have disappeared, I'd rather have an AK.  

 

[myrkul]

I've heard stories of AKs operating in just those conditions. Having never had the desire to do such a thing to one, I can't verify, but seeing as how the "rusted shut then kicked open" story was heard from a weapons historian, I'm inclined to believe it.

If guns were cars, the AK would be a Volkswagen. Cheap, reliable, and functional. Also, like the older model VWs, ugly as sin, but that's beside the point.

(And yes, I am aware of the pipe method. Friend of mine has at least one such cache, though I was never privy to it's exact location.)

[Richy_T]

I wonder if it would be possible to come up with a design for a gun assembled from (for example) laser-cut 1/8" steel or aluminum plate stacked and riveted.

That's basically an AK-47.  They are stamped out of sheet metal.  The only part which needs machining above the peasant-workshop level is the barrel.

This is also why AK-47's suck.  When running, they feel and sound like you are holding an old worn-out cake mixer that's about to fly apart in your hands.  Civilized gentlemen don't own them.

I mean avoiding any stamping or bending or anything that requires any level of skill other than fixing a bunch of rivets (nuts and bolts might even be an idea).

I even have an idea about the barrel. Forget round bullets, would shooting coin-type disks work if you could give them some spin?