By
3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 1, by M.B.
https://ift.tt/ghOM04x
Disclaimer
This article covers information and activities that are legal under U.S. federal law and in the author’s state of residence. It is the reader’s responsibility to know and comply with applicable laws in their jurisdiction. Neither the author, nor SurvivalBlog, have any control over readers of this article. This article is therefore for informational purposes only.
INTRODUCTION
“Whether or not you live in England, the right of Free Speech is a universally treasured right, but sadly, a right that is still denied to millions of people around the world.” – Philip A. Luty, as quoted in L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise, April 3, 2005
The title of this article mentions printing firearm components, not complete firearms. This is because all designs we will examine utilize some 3D-printed parts, but no firearm that the author is aware of is 100% 3D-printed. All designs use some metal parts, such as springs, pins, screws, firing pins, barrels, bolts, et cetera.
The 3D printing technology that this article will focus on is known as Fused Deposition Modeling, or FDM. It consists of using a computer-controlled “squirter” to lay down layers of molten plastic—building up layer after layer to create a three-dimensional object—starting from a three-dimensional image.
I will not be making recommendations on specific printers, as the available models change frequently as the technology evolves. Rather, I will recommend features to look for in a printer suitable for creating precise, durable parts for firearms, as well as tips for successful printing. I know that the array of printers is daunting. So I’ll suggest a very good website that does recommend specific printers for printing firearm parts.
MYTHS ABOUT 3D PRINTING
One: 3D Printing (of Gun Parts) is Illegal
The “mainstream” media generally depicts “3D-printed firearms” as something that—if it isn’t already illegal—should be against the law. This ignores the historical tradition in the United States—and elsewhere—of making one’s own firearms. The advent of 3D printing merely made the manufacture of some parts easier. Long before I tried 3D printing, I made a receiver for a pistol caliber, blowback “AK-47” (technically an AKM pistol) from a stainless steel mop rack I found discarded behind an office building.
In England, Phillip A. Luty famously built working 9x19mm submachine guns using no firearm parts whatsoever. They looked rather crude and had unrifled barrels, but they worked. More recently, Texas YouTuber Brandon Herrera—who has a federal license to legally build machine guns—successfully built and fired a Luty SMG. He reported that it was a challenge to build, and it had plenty of sharp edges, but it functioned—more or less.
As of the time of this writing, U.S. federal law imposes no restriction on building a firearm that is not restricted by the National Firearms Act (NFA), the 1968 Gun Control Act, the 1986 Hughes Amendment, etc., provided the builder is not a person prohibited from possessing firearms and the firearm is for personal use, not for sale. Federal law also does not require homemade firearms to have a serial number. Don’t forget that, under U.S. law, only the part designated as the firearm is what is being discussed here. In a homemade “Glock,” that would be the plastic frame, as it would be in many semiauto pistols. The SIG P320 and a few other pistols now have a Fire Control Unit (FCU) , which has a serial number and is considered “the firearm.” The FCU can drop into different frames, which are not serialized and can be mailed to your home. In AR-15s, only the lower receiver is the firearm. A small number of states either forbid making your own firearm or require serialization of the part that is the firearm—and probably some paperwork—at some point during the process.
The only other part generally subject to control by law in some states of the U.S. is the magazine of a semiautomatic firearm. Capacity laws vary, but anyone printing magazines should be aware of the laws in their jurisdiction. The part that statists focus on is the magazine body. Some 3D print gun enthusiasts also make their own floorplates and followers and even wind their own springs(!), but these parts are generally easy to purchase without restriction in the U.S.
The long and short is that if it’s legal—in your jurisdiction—to make your own firearm, then it’s for your own use, and you have to make the “firearm” part yourself. I am not a lawyer, but I will not directly help someone printing a receiver, nor can they “borrow” the time on my printer to do it. Pistol grips, stocks, handguards, sights, even semiauto fire control groups, etc. are no problem, but I will not have any role in the slicing, the printing, nor the final finishing (drilling out holes, removing supports, etc.) of the “firearm” part for another person. I’m happy to help anyone learn 3D printing, and will help them make other parts, but there are some things a person has to do for themselves.
Two: A Complete Gun Can Easily Be Printed
As previously covered, it’s rare to find a gun design that does not contain a large number of metal parts. A 3D printer can produce a frame for some semiauto pistols. It can also be used to make handguards, pistol grips, stocks, braces, and a wide variety of parts, but these are then generally combined with firearm parts, such as the barrel, trigger parts, safety, etc. to create a finished firearm. Some designs—most notably the FGC-9 (“F@&% Gun Control-9”), a 9mm carbine intended for end users in countries that severely limit access to gun parts—use a large number of printed parts, but they still require metal for the high wear or pressure-bearing components.
In the case of the FGC-9, the fire control group can consist of parts from an Airsoft gun, and the bolt carrier is made of steel stock from a hardware store. The springs for the FGC-9 can be wound by hand with steel spring wire, many of the metal pins and screws come from a hardware store, and the barrel is a steel tube that can be rifled and chambered for 9x19mm via an electrochemical process that can be performed in a well-ventilated apartment bathroom. The process uses a bucket, a water pump, a power supply and other components. FGC-9s have famously been used by rebels against the military government of Myanmar (formerly Burma).
About the only “gun” that comes off a 3D printer—complete and ready-to-use—is a “blue gun.” This is a fake/prop gun used for training in basic, safe gun handling, or in martial arts classes where weapon disarming or weapon retention is taught. “Blue guns” are often made of a solid piece of blue plastic to keep them from being confused with real firearms.
Three: “3D Printed Guns” Are Only Good for a Few Shots
It’s possible the people peddling this myth Googled a 3D-printed gun image and saw some version of The Liberator (https://odysee.com/@TheGatalog-PrimarilyPrintedDesigns:9/KCAD-Liberator-Suppressors:a), a very early example of a 3D-printed gun project. It used a plastic barrel, and wasn’t made to last, but rather as a public statement against government-imposed gun control. In truth, some firearms with 3D-printed receivers have lasted for over 1,000 shots, and there are unconfirmed reports of some 3D-printed frames or receivers lasting much longer.
Four: “3D Printed Guns” Are Undetectable Firearms
Anyone reading this has probably already gathered that firearms with 3D-printed parts still set off metal detectors because of their springs, pins, firing pin, ammunition, etc. A typical project—such as a “Glock” with 3D-printed frame—has a significant number of large, steel parts that make it very detectable.
Five: There Is No “Right” to the Files Used in 3D Printing
The truth is that the STL files, G-code files, and other types of files used in 3D printing are information. The God-given right to read and to share information is protected in the U.S. by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. This also applies to images and blueprints of firearms and firearm parts. This is yet another line of attack that has been used by statists attempting to take away God-given rights. In some countries, people have been unjustly imprisoned simply for downloading a firearm blueprint or an STL file for printing a firearm part.
THE BASICS OF 3D PRINTING
“…tanks, battleships and bombing planes are inherently tyrannical weapons, while rifles, muskets, long-bows and hand-grenades are inherently democratic weapons. A complex weapon makes the strong stronger, while a simple weapon – so long as there is no answer to it – gives claws to the weak.” – George Orwell, “You and the Atom Bomb,” 19 October 1945 (H/T to Karl Dahl)
Most hobbyist 3D printers use Fused Deposition Modeling—what one person described as a “computer-controlled hot glue gun.” The whole process generally begins with finding an object or a project that you wish to print. These are usually found in large, online databases, such as Thingiverse, Printables (https://www.printables.com/), The Gatalog (https://thegatalog.com/), etc. These databases offer STL (STereoLithography) files for download, often with instructions for completing the project.
An STL file is a scalable, three-dimensional representation of an object. It can be opened with a slicing application, such as Cura, or Prusa Slicer. The slicer is used to prepare the file for a specific model of 3D printer, then it is exported as a G-code file. A G-code file is a set of instructions for the 3D printer, telling it how to print the object. The image included with this section summarizes the process in three steps.
Many objects require support material for successful printing. Imagine a superhero figure, standing with feet apart and an arm outstretched. The supports print along with the object, so that the overhanging parts—such as the outstretched arm, and the legs—are printed onto supporting material. Otherwise, the first layers of liquid plastic could collapse before they cooled and hardened. The supports are gently removed after printing. Sometimes the supports leave rough areas where they touched the object. I find “organic” supports—also called “tree” supports—are easier to deal with than other kinds. Your mileage may vary.
(To be continued tomorrow, in Part 2.)
The post 3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 1, by M.B. appeared first on Activist Post.
news
via Activist Post https://ift.tt/CJZqL0F
March 14, 2025 at 10:02AM
March 14, 2025 at 10:06AM
via Activist Post https://ift.tt/ghOM04x