Posted on 12/28/2012 10:51:03 AM PST by marktwain
The Wiki Weapon project is an initiative undertaken by Defense Distributed, a non-profit headed by University of Texas law student Cody Wilson aimed at generating a freely-distributed, open source design for a 3-D printed firearm--an idea that has come under serious fire from proponents of increased gun control in the U.S., particularly in light of last week’s tragic shooting of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The idea behind the project--embraced by some, absolutely detested by others--is that technology will soon make regulating firearms virtually impossible. That is a very polarizing idea. But to say the very least Wiki Weapons is also a technologically intriguing project, one that forces us to examine some very relevant--some might say ominous--questions about new technological capabilities and where they are taking us, as well as what happens when technology gets way out in front of the law. We spoke with Wilson briefly this week hoping to address some of these questions. Below is an edited transcript of that conversation.
Popular Science: It would be pointless for us to ignore the context in which we’re speaking today, given the tragedy that unfolded in Connecticut last week. Defense Distributed has committed to creating a shareable, freely-distributed design for a working 3-D printed firearm--a way for anyone with a 3-D printer to quickly produce a working gun. Does an incident like this one in any way alter your conviction that this is the right thing to do?
Cody Wilson: No, not at all. If it did change what we thought you’d be right to recognize that we’re not serious. I don’t want to be confrontational about it, but I will say it this way: understanding that rights and civil liberties are something that we protect is also understanding that they have consequences
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
There’s a difference between the alleged ease of a competent machinist making a gun vs any of us yahoos buying Mr. Maker from Amazon.com, downloading a free M4 file, dumping in a bag of powdered steel, and having a decent functioning full auto carbine fall out needing little more work than a jigsaw puzzle.
The regulated part being printed, which is what BATFE classifies as the "firearm", is the lower receiver frame. The bolt, barrel, trigger group, etc, can be purchased without paperwork. The plastic frame got tested, and it held up for six shots before breaking. 3D printers that work with stronger materials will be coming.
Indeed so.
There’s a decent little video here that covers some of the history of the Girandoni air rifle.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=252_1298914330
Read it a couple of times. Gave copies away, kept a couple. Thought provoking. I think a restored Republic, with a less intrusive federal government, might do well.
Been reading Eric Drexler? He was extremely far sighted.
There are also people working on hand-held Gauss weapons. There’s a guy in Russia that has a pistol that fires a steel pinball magnetically at 300 feet per second and can fire once every 30 seconds. This is only improving as controllers and capacitors get better - and there’s no propellant. Ammunition is anything steel that will fit in the bore.
The wet dream of every democrat and many republicans - As stated repetedly by their leaders - a nation where only the police and military are armed.
As technology evolves, the public will gain access to new kinds of information gathering and distribution systems. For example, if there was a real time public database of every government vehicle, and where it was located so you could see them overlaid on a google map, then the ability of any government to do much of anything against the interests of the public would be minimal. Obviously such a collection and publication of data would undermine some of the legitimate functions of the government, so few citizens today would or should support such efforts. But the technology to do so is here today, and won't go away.
Similarly, real time video uploads and images from phones record many events as they occur, as do private security cameras. Within a few years real time information about just about everything will be readily available, and many platforms will exist to publish that information widely.
That technology will have far wider implications than 3D printing.
The only part that ‘is’ the firearm and needs to be made is the lower receiver — the other parts can be bought freely. It isn’t necessary to machine the lower receiver — in fact many are either stamped (AK-47) or built from glass-filled polymer (akin to fiberglass). And the 3-D approach is not as simple as you think.
An excellent suggestion if the ultimate aim for the weapon is meat for the pot or maybe some intermediate range sniping. I'm afraid that the pace of modern warfare demands a rate of fire unsustainable by an externally pressurized gas system.
Let's suppose a rate of one shot per second for thirty seconds. How big must the gas reservoir be to maintain that rate while maintaining a pressure high enough so as not to affect point of aim? How long would it take to restore the reservoir to full pressure with a hand pump?
A reasonable answer to these questions will define a practical combat weapon. If, however, the reservoir is the size of a brace of scuba tanks and takes and hour to recharge I would question its utility.
A spring/piston design is essentially a single shot and would suffice for hunting. A design of either type that minimizes muzzle report and was reasonably compact would be useful to eliminate pests without waking up the neighbors.
Regards,
GtG
I would look into some high end portable framing guns, they use a butane cartridge and a combustion chamber, up the pressures say by using acetylene gas and oxygen....?
I used to have a carbide cannon when I was younger.
Even if the feds swooped down and took ALL primers off the market there are other ways to work around or to advance, and thats the goal to advance.
Have a care when playing with acetylene gas. If I recall correctly it detonated under modest pressure. What follows is a quote from MSHA regarding safe handling of acetylene gas:
Acetylene is the most common gas used for fueling cutting torches...many users may not be aware of the unique characteristics of acetylene itself that create special hazards compared to other fuel gases.
Chemical Composition: An acetylene molecule is composed of two carbon atoms and two hydrogen atoms. The two carbon atoms are held together by what is known as a triple carbon bond. This bond stores substantial energy that can be released as heat during combustion. However, the triple carbon bond is unstable, making acetylene gas very sensitive to conditions such as excess pressure, excess temperature, static electricity, or mechanical shock.
Storage: Because of acetylene's unstable nature, it must be stored under special conditions. This is accomplished by dissolving the acetylene in liquid acetone. The liquid acetone is then stored in the acetylene cylinder, which in turn, is filled with a porous (sponge-like) material.
NEVER ATTEMPT TO STORE OR INJECT ACETYLENE GAS INTO ANY TYPE OF VESSEL, TANK, OR ENCLOSURE. IMPROPERLY STORED ACETYLENE GAS IS UNSTABLE.
ACETYLENE GAS REGULATORS SHOULD NOT EXCEED A SETTING OF 15 P.S.I.G.
FLAME ARRESTORS AND CHECK VALVES SHOULD BE INSTALLED AT BOTH THE TORCH BASE HOSE CONNECTIONS AND AT THE REGULATOR HOSE CONNECTIONS.
ACETYLENE CYLINDERS SHOULD BE PROPERLY SECURED AT ALL TIMES. MOVEMENT OF CYLINDERS SHOULD BE DONE WITH CARE. CYLINDERS SHOULD BE PROTECTED FROM FLAME OR HEAT.
When exposed to excess temperature, pressure, or mechanical shock, pure or less than pure acetylene gas can undergo a violent, explosive decomposition reaction. Additionally, if this reaction, or an ignition of acetylene occurs within the torch base or supply hose, it can propagate back into the storage cylinder causing it to explode violently.
Because of the very fast reaction rate of burning acetylene, it is not generally possible to design an enclosure to safely vent the explosive pressures. Furthermore, because of the ease of ignition of acetylene, premature ignition is very possible.
Very bad JuJu!
Mixed with oxygen it's the ignition energy of acetylene is almost 100 times lower than it is in air. The lower flammable limit (LFL) is typically listed as 2.5% and the upper flammable limit (UFL) is listed as 81%. Although acetylene will not undergo combustion at concentrations above the UFL, it can undergo an explosive decomposition reaction, even at concentrations of 100%.
Messing with acetylene with pressures as low as 15 psi can result in a nasty explosion. Stick to the propane, it's safer by far.
Regards,
GtG
I’m of the opinion that the most practical use of this technology would be the casting of the metal parts via the lost wax casting process. The printer could print the metal parts is wax to be cast and the non-metal parts could be printed directly.
I have been messing with oxy acetylene torches for 44 years mate.
If i had to make a weapon without regular ammunition I would want some nasty stuff.
Well you've got some real nasty stuff to work with there. If the idea is to replace double base powder (nitroglycerin/nitrocellulose) acetylene will get you there. You have the credentials for the job, let me know how it works out.
Regards,
GtG
PS The government answer to the printable gun will be to remove ammunition from the civilian market.
***Ammo might be one of the best investments in the next decade. It would basically be a bet on the continued downward cycle of civilization. However, other countries would step in and produce ammunition, wouldn’t they? If the guvmint creates a whole new black market out of something that was once a right in our country, then global tyranny, the antichrist & Armageddon are just around the corner.
Just for shits and giggles I spent yesyerday answering a call for help from a professional fireworks operator, he owns a business up here in Alaska and every New Years eve he builds five trailers with angled launching tubes that will initiate about 700 rockets, his transmitter would not marry with some receivers. We are talking about a radio controlled firing device that can fire several hundred electro matches individually or in series, each receiver has 18 firing ports for the wires. The transmitter has I think 24 channels, so you can fire 24x18 or in packets.
Anyway it was basically some bad arming switches, the gear was over 20 years old.
But this stuff is available to anyone, imagine during a revolution people with set ups like this. The 3D printer is indeed the genesis of a replicator such as we see on Star Trek. Why I bet if you had a soy based freeze dried block you could adapt a printer like this to duplicate say a hamburger, a steak, a hot dog.
And, from 'their' perspective, what's the down-side of this?
FUBO. FMCDH and in a pile of spent brass...
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