Garth Tater has not the first idea of what he is talking about.
Sure I do. Unlike some people, I'm not stuck in the last century.
Rebuttal:
No one in gun manufacturing, nor in gun repair, speaks about “10x stronger than steel.”
Perhaps you missed the title of the original article shurmann.
An Author's look into the future but that's okay. Plenty of room in the past to stay in.
Lots of materials are “stronger” but cannot be fashioned into a gun that will fire more than one shot or have much chance of not injuring the shooter.
One shot? How about 600?
Cody Wilson, like many Texan gunsmiths, is fast-talkin’ and fast-shootin’—but unlike his predecessors in the Lone Star State, he’s got 3D printing technology to help him with his craft - 3D-printed semi-automatic fires over 600 rounds
And how about these guys? They are hosting an open source project that develops guns manufactured with modern techniques. Probably not something you would be interested in shurmann:
Defense Distributed's Wiki Weapon Project an online, open source, 3D printed weapon project. Join and contribute your time and skills.
Shurmann, when you said:
Nothing but steel - properly alloyed, carburized, and/or tempered - has to date demonstrated the requisite properties of toughness, hardness, and resistance to high-temperature erosion required in a firearm.
were you being serious, or am I missing a joke here?
I guess titanium doesn't count:
The TIKI-T Titanium Handgun
or maybe
Smith & Wesson 342PD Titanium Centennial .38 Special +P
As Smith and Wesson says:
Smith & Wesson has pioneered the use of titanium alloys in its revolvers, resulting in weapons that are much easier to carry concealed, without sacrificing strength. Titanium, when compared to steel, is lighter, tougher, and absolutely rust-proof.
but since no one is talking about anything but steel I guess someone better drop them a note and get them up to date on the subject.
And I guess you didn't follow the link I provided to the MIT lab that is 3D printing with graphene.
MIT creates 3D printed graphene that’s lighter than air, 10X stronger than steel
For those of you that are interested in playing today, my original post that schurmann is responding to included a link to a company selling all sorts of 3D printing media. Take a look at their catalog and give some of the newer materials a try.
Or maybe give these guys a try? They will be happy to deliver 3D printed titanium parts right to your door printed directly from your supplied CAD files.
i.materialise - 3D Printing Materials » Titanium
Did you catch that shurmann? Printed with TITANIUM. Not quite as strong and lightweight as graphene but it is at least a metal, so maybe you could ease your way into the future with that and work your way on to other materials later after you've gotten past your "nothing but steel" phase.
And did you note that it is available TODAY shurmann? We're not even talking "the future" which is what the original article was about. TODAY shurmann. Not last century.
As to your statement that:
"Springs cannot be built up by any 3D-print method."
take a look at this link:
3D Printed Spring Exceeds Traditional Manufacturing
Did you see where the article mentions,
"The spring created by TNO and LayerWise demonstrates the advantage AM has over subtractive methods in variable-density construction of parts.
Variable density springs. Cool stuff, huh? Not something you would be interested in though I guess.
I hate to say it shurmann, but you seem to be seriously stuck in the past.
Might be that's a good place for you.