3D-printed guns are a problematic invention in that they allow anyone with access to a 3D printer to create, own or distribute firearms without any sort of regulation. Up till now this hasn’t been too much of a problem due to limitations with the manufacturing process but a group called Defense Distributed has now completed and published the plans for a completely 3D printed firearm.
Dubbed the Liberator, the single-shot weapon only uses a single metal part, a nail that acts as a firing pin for the weapon. Forbes reports that the gun has been test-fired, both from a distance using a mount and a bit of string as well as by hand, but the weapon isn’t as versatile or safe as its creators might like.
The handgun was test-fired using .380 ammunition, which saw little discernible damage to the Liberator. A mounted test-fire using one of the interchangable barrels and a rifle cartridge ended with the weapon exploding. It has, however, been hand fired, as the video below shows, and it didn’t blow the user’s hand off. That isn’t to say that home attempts to create the weapon won’t have that result however.
How this will affect various gun laws around the world is unknown but Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson has claimed that the creation of the weapon isn’t just about creating the weapons. Speaking to Forbes he said “This is about enabling individuals to create their own sovereign space…The government will increasingly be on the sidelines, saying ‘hey, wait’. It’s about creating the new order in the crumbling shell of the old order.”
Source: The Verge