The world's first 3d printed firearm arrives!

[the_tyrant]

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/05/the-first-entirely-3d-printed-handgun-is-here/

Last month, Austin-based Defense Distributed (http://defcad.org/) was granted a Type 7 federal firearms license (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/3d-printed-gunmaker-now-has-federal-firearms-license-to-manufacture-deal-guns/). The not-for-profit group of 3D-printing enthusiasts and gunsmiths had been designing and printing weapon components for a while (including AR lower receivers (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/download-this-gun-3d-printed-semi-automatic-fires-over-600-rounds/), the portion of an AR legally considered to be the "body" of the firearm), but the federal firearms license enabled them to legally manufacture and distribute "lowers" and other weapons, with some stipulations.

Ok, so it hasn't passed rigorous testing yet, but as we can see, there is lots of potential in 3d printed firearms.

[Betonov]

I can see the potential in oldtimer spare parts printing :hmmm:
the kind that are either rare or non-existant

Sorry, floated off :D
Firearms, yes, a mobile printing press not far from the front lines :hmmm:

[Jimbuna]

Thankfully I reside in the UK.

[Platapus]

The US and other governments have produced disposable weapons in the past. The .45 Liberator being one of the more famous.

None of those weapons were designed for a long life. I foresee the same for printed weapons. All they need to be is good enough and last long enough to kill someone with a better weapon.