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 ...
I'll be mightily impressed when I can print springs.
You can now.
Some possibilities exist using designs engineered for these new methods and processes. Using them to build replacement springs for equipment based on preexisting technologies may be another matter.
We shall see. But things are advancing nicely.
I've seen shape memory alloys mentioned in the past day or so but can't find the source off hand.
Shove a pellet into the front end of a cylinder, meter acetylene into the center of that cylinder at 10 psi, then abruptly slam a piston into the back end...
Sounds promising, you'd probably need cast iron piston rings to contain the gas pressure and a spring mechanism like the single shot spring/piston air guns at least for "proof of concept". It might be possible to let the spring piston rebound, cocking it for another shot. Full auto may even be possible. The characteristics of acetylene are such that you don't need air or oxygen if you can get it to detonate reliably from heat of compression it makes for a much simpler mechanism.
I remember a long time back the old Science and Mechanics magazine had a cover story about a rocket powered go cart. The exhaust gas from a single cylinder two piston engine was ported through a nozzle along with steam from the engine cooling jacket. The two pistons were not connected to any output mechanism. They ran a two cycle porting with bounce chambers to return them to top dead center. It ran on acetylene and reached something like 20,000 cycles per second. The inventor called it "loud mouth". Hmmm
Regards,
GtG
Yes. I’m thinking a structural plastic frame and piston with a steel spring, brass (or steel?) tube sleeve and cap on the piston.
Regards,
GtG
You are entering entirely new territory here so remember to stay on the safe side. Do not hold your little monster in your hand when test firing as one handed typing would slow down future posts. It's better to make haste slowly.
Myself, I'd go with steel frame and piston until I could debug the mechanism and make sure everything works before lightening things up. Acetylene Is unpredictable and without knowing peak pressures (we are talking detonation not ordinary combustion) it's better to make your prototype as robust as possible then carve away until something blows up. Stay safe!
Regards,
GtG
Purely a speculative exercise. I know the limits of my skills.
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