The first gun made from a
3D printer shot its very first bullets. The gun, designed on a
computer program and made of plastic, is designed to be easily replicated.
Watch this video of the 3D-printed gun
in action:
The gun is made by Defense
Distributed, a company hoping to spread the prevalence of DIY firearms--what
they call "Wiki Weapons."
3D printing technology is
still in its very early stages of development and use. By constructing items
from hot plastic, based on a set of plans drawn up on the computer, a user can
essential create any 3D object.
Many 3D printing projects
are intended to be open source and freely shared. That is the goal of Defense
Distributed.
What are the implications
of this project? Plastic guns present a very clear safety issue, in that they
are unable to be detected by metal detectors.
Freely distributing plans
for plastic guns that people can print in their own homes seems reckless,
provocative, and extremely dangerous.
As of now, there is no law
to address the issue of distributing plans for plastic guns. Does this need to
be a part of the gun control
conversation?
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