A Californian engineering company says it has produced the first metal gun made on a 3D printer, releasing a video showing the firearm scoring repeated bullseyes in successful tests.
But Solid Concepts, which describes itself as a world leader of 3D printing services, said making the classic 1911 shotgun did not come cheap, requiring a lot more than a souped-up desktop printer.
The gun comprises more than 30 3D-printed components, including stainless steel and other metal parts.
The 3D printer they use does not come cheap.
The use of 3D printing technology to manufacture weapons is not new. But making them out of metal is.
Earlier this year computer files allowing someone to make a single-shot Liberator gun were downloaded more than 100,000 times from Defense Distributed, an open-source website dedicated to 3D printable gun components.
The State Department, which oversees US weapons exports, ordered the blueprints to be taken off the Internet in May — but by that point, users had already reposted them widely on various file-sharing sites.
But Solid Concepts said its system is legal, claiming that they are the only 3D printing service provider with a Federal Firearms License.
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