Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => Politics => Topic started by: AZRedhawk44 on August 28, 2012, 05:32:02 PM
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Let freedom ring.
http://defensedistributed.com/
Can you imagine the problems this creates for tyrrany?
Let's say you're a tin-pot despot. Pick a country, doesn't matter.
You're a tyrant and you prohibit ownership of any firearms. And you tax at 90% or higher, and you have a caste system, and you have a maniacal state religion, and you have goon squads running around with machetes.
SOMEONE gets their hands on a RepRap. They print out more RepRap printers, then they print out a bunch of single-shot firearms.
You could probably build a 100% plastic rimfire firearm, including barrel. It only needs to last long enough to kill one soldier or goon that is better armed, once. But a plastic rimfire semiauto would probably last dozens of rounds reliably, maybe hundreds.
Heck, make the barrel thick enough, or make a plastic insert to put inside a 3/4 inch or 1 inch steel pipe... and you can shoot 9mm, .223, 7.62x39, whatever from it. At least once.
This is freedom and liberation for the minority African tribes that routinely get savaged by thugs.
This is a means to revolution for Falun Gong in western China.
This is something that EVERY criminal with a gang behind him, needs to worry about, in places where potential victims are now currently guaranteed to be unarmed.
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Meh. Can't print primers and powder. And, zip guns can (and are) already be built out of water pipe etc. I don't see it changing the status quo. If someone can make 3D printers, they are already well within the reach of making primitive arms.
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Will it work in NYC?
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Comment section!
This one's just for fun:
I hope this never works. This is so dangerous! If guns become printable, drug wars, civil wars, and wars between countries will flare up. Guns are for killing, there should be as few as possible!
So with how few guns could we possibly get by?
This one I find interesting:
There are a multitude of reasons that non-registered, home-brew guns are not legal.
Such as? And in what jurisdiction?
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3D printer AR lower (http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/133514-the-worlds-first-3d-printed-gun) Best of luck with that gun control. [popcorn]
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Well, everyone wants to bring back American manufacturing, don't they? What better motivation. =D
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The technology is not good enough for complex, multi-dimensional 3D shapes....yet....
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I'm not worshipping the miracle of 3D printing. Get a lathe, get a mill, make a real gun.
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The technology is not good enough for complex, multi-dimensional 3D shapes....yet....
Direct laser sintering is (at least we considered it to be when we made freakin turbopump rotors on it) Just a wee bit more expensive though.
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I'm not worshipping the miracle of 3D printing. Get a lathe, get a mill, make a real gun.
At this point in the cost/technology curve, yes. In the long run, the idea of being able to create a firearm with zero machining skills is very, very interesting.
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So the theory is that, what is essentially a photograph, can be generated that will have working parts? How does one go about animating a photo? Ink is still just ink.
So we're back to working on alchemy? Geesh.
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So the theory is that, what is essentially a photograph, can be generated that will have working parts? How does one go about animating a photo? Ink is still just ink.
So we're back to working on alchemy? Geesh.
Not sure if serious.
3D printers deposit materials (plastics, metals, etc) in layers to build up a 3-D object.
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Direct laser sintering is (at least we considered it to be when we made freakin turbopump rotors on it) Just a wee bit more expensive though.
And it's been around for 20, 30 years, if I recall. I don't recall the accuracy it can produce off the top of my head. I do recall it's gotten cheap enough to be used for limited-run production, and not just R&D or rapid prototyping. From what I remember, you use a laser to melt power in layers. Not sure it'll be economic for the average home user.
3D printers. Meh. I'm waiting for a revolution in mini-CNC machines. Cheaper and more durable parts.
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3D printers. Meh. I'm waiting for a revolution in mini-CNC machines. Cheaper and more durable parts.
A friend of mine has a small computer controlled lathe/mill set-up, and a 3d-scanner/milling machine, all tied into a computer. All this could sit on the average desktop. He's used it to "scan" 3d items and mill them out of other materials. He has taken a broken Barami hip-grip for a j-frame, glued it together to maintain the shape, scanned the "repaired" part, then had the machine carve out a new one in a tougher material. The scan was a high enough resolution to pick up the trademark/patent markings on the original and carve them into the replacement.
Chris
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And it's been around for 20, 30 years, if I recall. I don't recall the accuracy it can produce off the top of my head. I do recall it's gotten cheap enough to be used for limited-run production, and not just R&D or rapid prototyping. From what I remember, you use a laser to melt power in layers. Not sure it'll be economic for the average home user.
3D printers. Meh. I'm waiting for a revolution in mini-CNC machines. Cheaper and more durable parts.
CNC machines require you to be a CNC operator.
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So the theory is that, what is essentially a photograph, can be generated that will have working parts? How does one go about animating a photo? Ink is still just ink.
So we're back to working on alchemy? Geesh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QP73uTJApw High definition multi colored printer makes objects used as prototypes or for hands-on engineering study.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Px6RSL9Ac&feature=related Earlier version using metal powder that had to be fired in a kiln.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88BPmL8cGAo 3D printing of direct laser sintering of metal.
And finally, the RepRap, an open-source community project to make 3D printers accessible to everyone who wants one. (biggest deal is that as much as possible of a RepRap can be printed on another RepRap, and is being refined all the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMhG4fWQnlE
The technology is probably at a place where the personal computer was in the late 70's.
Eventually, home units that work in polymers, metals, and ceramics could make a decent firearm from start to finish might come about in the next few decades. Right now, something like a 21st century disposable single use version of the WWII Liberator pistol, that's meant as a last-ditch defense weapon, or to assassinate a soldier or other authority figure and steal their weapon is probably possible now.
I could see a throw-away polymer muzzle loading pepperbox type pistol that uses household chemicals as propellants, and common objects as projectiles being possible.
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The technology will advance AS NEEDED.
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CNC machines require you to be a CNC operator.
Ayep. And improvements in the interface and control could seriously drive down the degree of sophistication needed to use them efficiently.
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Ayep. And improvements in the interface and control could seriously drive down the degree of sophistication needed to use them efficiently.
Indeed. I can think of a few things, like the ability to automatically mount and position metal blanks. Integrated 3D laser scanner that could image a blank, and then figure out how to orient it. And the ability to flip/transfer parts so the other side can be milled out without operator intervention.
Oh, and getting back to 3D printers, one thing it really opens up is the ability to make high precision castings. Making stuff with scrap Aluminum and Zinc is well within the reach of the home hobbyist with access to some propane, or even charcoal and a blower, and common materials at a hardware store.
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Oh, and getting back to 3D printers, one thing it really opens up is the ability to make high precision castings. Making stuff with scrap Aluminum and Zinc is well within the reach of the home hobbyist with access to some propane, or even charcoal and a blower, and common materials at a hardware store.
Zinc castings should be fairly easy to do at home- I've made lead moulds from scratch before as an expriment, they were good enough for 1 casting, which is all you'd need for a frame or a slide.
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Aluminum is pretty easy too. I have a propane fired aluminum foundry that was homemade - works great and was cheap.
I've always thought it would be fun to build some kind of common semiauto using only car parts as the source. Melt down an aluminum cylinder head for receiver castings, use a moly steel axle shaft as the source for barrel material; at home EDM the bore and rifling. It would be completly impractical, of course, but showing that it can be done by someone without a ton of specialized education and tooling would be cool. Kind of a Dave Gingery approach to gun making.
Of course, there are easier options then clandestine manufacture for getting weapons into an area where they are not commercially avaliable; either illegal importation or theft from legitimate armories.
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Of course, there are easier options then clandestine manufacture for getting weapons into an area where they are not commercially avaliable; either illegal importation or theft from legitimate armories.
Yeah, but smuggling and theft are pretty risky. A home-built option is far less dangerous from that perspective (ignoring, for the moment, the increased risk of a catastrophic failure during firing).
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I've always thought it would be fun to build some kind of common semiauto using only car parts as the source. Melt down an aluminum cylinder head for receiver castings, use a moly steel axle shaft as the source for barrel material; at home EDM the bore and rifling. It would be completly impractical, of course, but showing that it can be done by someone without a ton of specialized education and tooling would be cool. Kind of a Dave Gingery approach to gun making.
I saw a TV show Documentary about tiger poachers in the east Indies who did just that. IIRC they used the steering shaft for a barrel, melted down toothpaste tubes to make a bullet from, and used match heads/coating from playing cards mixture for propellent. They would trap a tiger in a snare and shoot it in the head with their home made 'musket' at a range that was just outside the tiger's reach.
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I have a makerbot replicator 3D printer at home and it's pretty nice, the precision is quite impressive :)
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Ayep. And improvements in the interface and control could seriously drive down the degree of sophistication needed to use them efficiently.
The advantage of a 3D printer is supposed to be that once you feed in the proper file, it prints out the part needed without any intervention of the user, rather than requiring (like with a CNC machine) elaborate skill.
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Teach me to jump into a Geek thread. I had NO idea. Impressive.
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Gotta agree with RevDisk. I've seriously considered one of these (http://www.mydiycnc.com/)
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The advantage of a 3D printer is supposed to be that once you feed in the proper file, it prints out the part needed without any intervention of the user, rather than requiring (like with a CNC machine) elaborate skill.
As RevDisk and AJ alluded to, given the proper additional equipment (scanning/position manipulation) and software, a fully-automated CNC machine is not outside the realm of possibility - even near-term possibility.
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The problem is that while the technical challenges of making a more user friendly CNC are trivial, the expense is not.
They need strong metal parts machined to great precision, gearing, high torque/high RPM motors etc. And a self-indexing CNC that does even more positioning etc. would just cost more, you've just added more axes, and degrees of freedom to the device. More parts, more gearing, more motors etc. And there's space/size/power considerations that don't go away with CNC's either. Block of steel X, cutting of size Y, using bit Z will pretty much always need Watts/Amps of XYZ.
With a 3D printer, you only need 3 axes of precision, and as long as the part is smaller than the workspace, repeatability and indexing is only critical within the making of the part. If you're off by even an inch or more in terms of being centered in the work table, or powder bed depending on what kind of printer it is, it's no big deal. Not to mention the ability to make voids that no CNC device could ever produce.
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Of course, there are easier options then clandestine manufacture for getting weapons into an area where they are not commercially avaliable; either illegal importation or theft from legitimate armories.
IIRC, a lot of Stens meant for resistance forces were manufactured right under the Germans' noses in various factories across Norway. If problems ever came to America, there are plenty of M3 grease guns hidden away in people's attics and walls to serve as templates for similar manufacturing.
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Gotta agree with RevDisk. I've seriously considered one of these (http://www.mydiycnc.com/)
Been a while since I looked at MyDIYCNC - I didn't know they were shipping. And a turnkey system, ready to hook up to your PC, for only $590??? Yowza!
Been thinking REALLY hard about something like both this and a RepRap or similar printer (the bigger the better).
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Been a while since I looked at MyDIYCNC - I didn't know they were shipping. And a turnkey system, ready to hook up to your PC, for only $590??? Yowza!
Been thinking REALLY hard about something like both this and a RepRap or similar printer (the bigger the better).
Check out the makerbot products. I have one of theirs and know a bunch of the buys at the company. Good stuff!
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Been a while since I looked at MyDIYCNC - I didn't know they were shipping. And a turnkey system, ready to hook up to your PC, for only $590??? Yowza!
Been thinking REALLY hard about something like both this and a RepRap or similar printer (the bigger the better).
I believe it is. MakerBots are the gold standard, as I recall. $2k and they stock ABS and PLA. PLA is biodegradable, if I remember correctly it is a corn based plastic.
Theoretically, if you were insane, you could covert a 3D CNC into a three 3D printer. Not smart, IMHO, but you could. Better to buy both a CNC and a dedicated 3D printer. I intend on purchasing both eventually. I want to see if it is possible to make acceptable quality lockpicks with both. Same idea as WikiWeapon, actually. In case the government declares them illegal, I can say "Sure! I own no picks." And "print" them on demand, destroy when I don't need them. A bit of hand finishing is necessary even with commercial grade picks, so no worries on that point.
The problem is that while the technical challenges of making a more user friendly CNC are trivial, the expense is not.
They need strong metal parts machined to great precision, gearing, high torque/high RPM motors etc. And a self-indexing CNC that does even more positioning etc. would just cost more, you've just added more axes, and degrees of freedom to the device. More parts, more gearing, more motors etc. And there's space/size/power considerations that don't go away with CNC's either. Block of steel X, cutting of size Y, using bit Z will pretty much always need Watts/Amps of XYZ.
With a 3D printer, you only need 3 axes of precision, and as long as the part is smaller than the workspace, repeatability and indexing is only critical within the making of the part. If you're off by even an inch or more in terms of being centered in the work table, or powder bed depending on what kind of printer it is, it's no big deal. Not to mention the ability to make voids that no CNC device could ever produce.
Very true points. A good CNC machine will never be as cheap as a good 3D printer. But I'd argue there is a place for both.
For rapid prototyping and non-durable applications, plastic will likely always be cheaper/easier than steel. Not sure about aluminum, I'm guessing it would deploy on the alloy. One critical application I intend on using 3D printers is rapid molding. Start heating up the metal, print an object in 3D, toss it in the greensand box, remove, pour bronze or aluminum. Voila. The ability to print different holsters may be useful as well...
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Rev, your points on 3D printing are valid at the home user level. At the industrial level, DLS allows for additive manufacturing of real metal parts, inconel, titanium, you name it, especially metals that are a PITA to machine. In fact, there are a few companies that make production parts (eg turbine rotors) directly with DLS, as for low volume and complex parts, it makes economic sense. If the parts have internal structure, it makes even more sense.
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http://news.yahoo.com/you-don-t-bring-a-3d-printer-to-a-gun-fight----yet.html
the article is talking about 3-d printing making anyone able to manufacture a gun. i am not familiar with this technology. will this be realistically possible? if so, i can see a major crackdown on ammunition sales.
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http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=35863
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Duplicates merged
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http://news.yahoo.com/you-don-t-bring-a-3d-printer-to-a-gun-fight----yet.html
the article is talking about 3-d printing making anyone able to manufacture a gun. i am not familiar with this technology. will this be realistically possible? if so, i can see a major crackdown on ammunition sales.
From your link:
Setting aside any moral leanings, the fact is that the idea will need to overcome significant material and legislative hurdles before you can crank out a working, legal, 3D-printed gun in the United States. On the physical side, the ABS printing plastic might not be strong enough to make a stable enough weapon. And law-abiding, gunsmithing Americans must first face numerous federal, state, and local gun regulations and bureaucratic procedures that may not take kindly to people printing their own firearms.
Yeeaah. Misinformation much? With the exception of a few draconian states it is perfectly legal to build your own non-NFA weapons, as many as you want, as often as you want.
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Meh, kids these days. I'll be at my anvil. =D
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Aluminum is pretty easy too. I have a propane fired aluminum foundry that was homemade - works great and was cheap.
I've always thought it would be fun to build some kind of common semiauto using only car parts as the source. Melt down an aluminum cylinder head for receiver castings, use a moly steel axle shaft as the source for barrel material; at home EDM the bore and rifling. It would be completly impractical, of course, but showing that it can be done by someone without a ton of specialized education and tooling would be cool. Kind of a Dave Gingery approach to gun making.
Of course, there are easier options then clandestine manufacture for getting weapons into an area where they are not commercially avaliable; either illegal importation or theft from legitimate armories.
I wished we lived closer, the crap we could build together.
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From your link:
Yeeaah. Misinformation much? With the exception of a few draconian states it is perfectly legal to build your own non-NFA weapons, as many as you want, as often as you want.
Actually, he's stating the truth, as he explains further down:
If you aim to sell your services as a gunsmith (e.g., "I charge $50 an hour to make a gun") or you intend to sell the weapon once you've made it (e.g., "I charge $500 for this particular gun"), you need to obtain a federal manufacturer's license. If the weapon is for personal use, no manufacturing license is required.
You then need to consider the kind of weapon you intend to make. Crafting a Title I class weapon at home -- a long-barreled semi-automatic or single-action rifle, a long-barreled shotgun, or a traditional pistol or a revolver as defined by the Gun Control Act -- generally requires no preliminary paperwork. You may still need to register the weapon once you've made it (depending on state and local laws), but, federally speaking, you're free to engage in the act of making it without any prior permission
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http://news.yahoo.com/you-don-t-bring-a-3d-printer-to-a-gun-fight----yet.html
the article is talking about 3-d printing making anyone able to manufacture a gun. i am not familiar with this technology. will this be realistically possible? if so, i can see a major crackdown on ammunition sales.
Right now, it's just making plastic firearm receivers, the part that requires the 4473 and an FFL if you don't make it yourself, and you mail-order all the non-regulated parts.
However, by the time printing metal parts like a workable barrel, metal springs etc. is commoditized to the point that home 3D printers can handle that too, I'm guessing printing ammo might not be all that hard either.
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Actually, he's stating the truth, as he explains further down:
You still have to go a little further down for a good explanation of why he said that.
http://news.yahoo.com/you-don-t-bring-a-3d-printer-to-a-gun-fight----yet.html
Title II-class weapons are the more heavily regulated firearms under federal law. Guns in this category consist of, among other things, machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, explosive devices, and what the U.S. government calls "Any Other Weapon." The latter includes pen, cane, and other gadget-type guns, and smooth-bore pistols. According to David Goldman, managing partner of Jacksonville, FL's Apple Law Firm, and publisher of the NFA Gun Trust Lawyer blog, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms would most likely put a 3D-printed plastic gun in that category.
Assuming your design does fall under the Title II Any Other Weapon classification, federal law mandates that before you make it, you fill out ATF Form 5320.1 (PDF), aka Form 1, aka the Application to Make and Register a Firearm. You then need to submit it and have it approved by the ATF.
As part of the approval process, an ATF spokesperson informed me that the agency will want to see the design for your homemade gun. This will help them determine its classification, as well as whether the weapon would be legal for you to possess in your state or municipality.
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However, a direct copy of an AR for personal use would not create any patent, trademark, or I would guess ATF issues, as it, by design and definition, is identical to already produced items that are title I items. I'd like to see them try to cross THAT bridge since it would have literally none of the qualifiers for title II or iii.
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www.cnczone.com has a lot of good information about DIY CNC machines. With a lot of CAM software you don't need to know too much about machining. You can also learn pretty easily online. $2000 will buy a pretty decent CNC setup for home use. I would look into converting an X3 or similar mill to CNC.
It wouldn't take too big of an investment to make complete high quality rifles from scratch, pistols would take even less. CNC machine, lathe for rifle barrels, wire bending rig for making coil springs (easily to make yourself, one of the AGI videos explains it pretty well). Plenty of people on the various DIY gunsmithing forums have made guns from scratch. You could even make a business of selling 80% receivers and parts kits and avoid any regulations at all.
The various AGI videos are pretty good for learning many gunsmithing and gun building skills.
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Meh, kids these days. I'll be at my anvil. =D
Coal or gas fired forge?
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3D printing won't turn the next revolution. Hacking might.
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First thing I would make with my 3D printer is a reproduction of Malkovich's two shot special. Then I would go duck huntin' =D
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Coal or gas fired forge?
I am slowly setting up to do both. Right now the biggest roadblock is a roof to put it under. Going to get gas for knives, might also have to go electric to get the heat treat I want. I have everything I need for a coal set-up now.
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Let freedom ring.
And by ring, we mean shatter.
Wired: 3-D Printer Company Seizes Machine From Desktop Gunsmith (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/10/3d-gun-blocked/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Top+Stories%29)
... less than a week after receiving the printer, Wilson received an e-mail from Stratasys: The company wanted its printer returned. Wilson wrote back, and said he believed using the printer to manufacture a firearm would not break federal laws regarding at-home weapons manufacturing. For one, the gun wouldn’t be for sale. Wilson added that he didn’t have a firearms manufacturers license.
Stratasys’s legal counsel wrote back: “It is the policy of Stratasys not to knowingly allow its printers to be used for illegal purposes. Therefore, please be advised that your lease of the Stratasys uPrint SE is cancelled at this time and Stratasys is making arrangements to pick up the printer,” stated the letter, which Wilson posted to Defense Distributed’s website. The next day, contractors hired by the company arrived at Wilson’s apartment in an Enterprise rental van and took the printer.
Almost enough to make my tin-foil itch. [tinfoil]
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Wilson visited the ATF field office in Austin on Monday to ask about the legal and regulatory issues surrounding the Wiki Weapons project, he tells Danger Room. Instead, he was brought into a room, questioned and was told the agency was preparing to visit his apartment this afternoon for an “investigation,” he says.
"Which is what happens when you call the Feds..."
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Frankly, I see this as a sign of SUCCESS.
THE FUTURE (insert 1950's Theramin music here) is a scary place for teh Fedz.
Good. =D
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I'm not sure I can blame the company for at least wanting some time to look at the legalities before they end up tangling with the ATF
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I'm not sure I can blame the company for at least wanting some time to look at the legalities before they end up tangling with the ATF
Who wants to bet the ATF leaned on the equipment rental company to put a kaibash on this, via the private rental contract?
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Does the company not offer the printers for outright sale?
How much does anyone want to bet the lawyers are even now modifing the lease agreement with a "do not print weapons" clause?
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http://www.3ders.org/articles/20120120-stratasys-uprint-se-3d-printer-got-$1-million-order-from-department-of-defense.html
The uPrint SE and SE Plus 3D printers are the replacement of the original uPrint and uPrint Plus and has been packaged with price starting at USD $15,900.
Stratasys uPrint SE 3D printer? ---$15,900
downloading printfiles to make a gun? ---free
using the government "STARBASE youth program" to print a gun? ---priceless
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Who wants to bet the ATF leaned on the equipment rental company to put a kaibash on this, via the private rental contract?
Yep.
Granted, the company is probably freaking out. Because their lawyers probably explained it is entirely legal. At the moment. So there is no way to stop it. But they are worried about reputation and what it will do for future laws and regulations. They don't want to have to deal with gun control type regulation nightmares. At the moment, there are essentially no regs on making 3D printers.
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A presentation by the company’s Direct Digital Manufacturing Group dated to January 2010 also determined that the company’s main “selling focus will be to the Aerospace and Defense Markets,” and discussed building closer ties to the military and defense industry at various Defense Department, Army and Navy expos, including an “unmanned vehicle conference.”
In addition, Stratasys has become a regular exhibitor at the annual Shot Show in Las Vegas, which promotes itself as “the largest and most comprehensive trade show for all professionals involved with the shooting sports, hunting and law enforcement industries.” Stratasys is also listed by Shot Show in a January 2012 exhibitor webpage under the categories: ammunition, firearms, “firearm parts/gunsmithing,” and “scopes, sights telescopes and accessories.”
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/10/stratasys-followup
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Various articles state that Stratasys either "canceled the contract" or "pulled the lease" and took their machine back. IANAL, but it must have been a month-to-month lease or contract, since one party to a contract normally can't cancel or terminate the agreement unless the other party violates the terms somehow, for example, by failing to make a payment.
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Various articles state that Stratasys either "canceled the contract" or "pulled the lease" and took their machine back. IANAL, but it must have been a month-to-month lease or contract, since one party to a contract normally can't cancel or terminate the agreement unless the other party violates the terms somehow, for example, by failing to make a payment.
As I understand it their excuse is "it's illegal," and even though it isn't, they've already repo'd the 3d printer. It probably wouldn't hold up in civil court, but they've already brought the project to a functional halt, the result desired by various malefactors.
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As I understand it their excuse is "it's illegal," and even though it isn't, they've already repo'd the 3d printer. It probably wouldn't hold up in civil court, but they've already brought the project to a functional halt, the result desired by various malefactors.
Unless the terms of the lease/contract explicitly allowed it, I wouldn't have allowed the contractors in; if I had a valid lease or contract, by gosh, it would take either mutual consent or an order by a genuine court for me to give up my interest.
This almost makes me think the wikigun people were more interested in publicity than in actually 3D printing a firearm . . . now they can portray themselves as "victims" of a conspiracy between big manufacturers, the BATmen, and anyone else they can think of. [tinfoil]
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Unless the terms of the lease/contract explicitly allowed it, I wouldn't have allowed the contractors in; if I had a valid lease or contract, by gosh, it would take either mutual consent or an order by a genuine court for me to give up my interest.
This almost makes me think the wikigun people were more interested in publicity than in actually 3D printing a firearm . . . now they can portray themselves as "victims" of a conspiracy between big manufacturers, the BATmen, and anyone else they can think of. [tinfoil]
They get the issue and some press without the risks of being locked up by the Feds. Not sure I blame them.
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They get the issue and some press without the risks of being locked up by the Feds. Not sure I blame them.
IMO, the WikiGun project was always more about raising awareness and with the story coverage I'm sure there's a lot of people who are now aware of the concept of "printing a gun", not now, but for the near future when these devices are sufficiently commoditized, than it was about actually producing guns.
It's kind of like saying all personal PC architecture would always be based on the Altair because it was the first kit guys were playing with at home in their garages and basements back in the 70's.
Heck, it's not even really about GUNS, it's bigger than that. The idea that someone may someday be able to make stuff at home to a high quality industrial standard that Uncle Sam want's to regulate, whatever it may be, is the bigger picture here.
People want to see a clear progression of succession inventor-A through to ubiquitous end product B. It does not work that way. Merely getting the idea out there in the general population is what's key. It's like the embryonic stateless digital cash idea. It doesn't matter if BitCoin is the one that does it, or succeeds. It's just the idea that's important. The marketplace will take care of determining which one is best.
It was once said "The Revolution will be Televised".
We're past that. Now it's: "The AnCap/Libertarian Minarchist future will be digitized."
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IMO, the WikiGun project was always more about raising awareness and with the story coverage I'm sure there's a lot of people who are now aware of the concept of "printing a gun", not now, but for the near future when these devices are sufficiently commoditized, than it was about actually producing guns.
Agreed.
These guys took a bunch of ATF goons off their regular tasks and made them sit up and say "huhwhat?" and have no answers. Then their bosses had no answers. And those bosses had no answers. And so on.
The goal here, was to expose that the visceral-gut reaction of government is to say "No!" And when they can't find a justification for "No!" then they look around for one. When they can't find a justification, then they either operate without one (and put guys like these into jail for bullscat trumped up victimless and specious charges), or create a bedwetting panic with the moo-cow public until they can justify an "emergency" law.
The point of this was to expose the drive for control for the sake of control. Guns just happened to be the vehicle, not the goal.
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We're past that. Now it's: "The AnCap/Libertarian Minarchist future will be digitized."
Or did you mean "open-sourced"?
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Or did you mean "open-sourced"?
That too.