Arrout Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 3D printers are new tech, so it has almost no regulamentation. It is sure to affect our life a lot, since it, well, can print really complex shit, as a gun. How do you think it will affect our lives, and will the good that it brings compensate the risks that it may bring? I do imagine stuff like this in the future, printing (working) mechanical arms. Or homicides with printed guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 3D printers have been around for years, but are now becoming more popular because they are becoming more affordable. Anyway, as for implications, if a person wants a firearm, they will try whatever they can to get one; be it 3D printed or not. You would need to pay a hell of a lot of money for the equipment to print a metal gun, but it is possible. A plastic one will more than likely break after some use. It is definitely cheaper just to walk into a firearms store and pick up a quality gun there. 3D printers bring a lot more benefits than drawbacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrout Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 3D printers have been around for years, but are now becoming more popular because they are becoming more affordable. Anyway, as for implications, if a person wants a firearm, they will try whatever they can to get one; be it 3D printed or not. You would need to pay a hell of a lot of money for the equipment to print a metal gun, but it is possible. A plastic one will more than likely break after some use. It is definitely cheaper just to walk into a firearms store and pick up a quality gun there. 3D printers bring a lot more benefits than drawbacks. True, however. It is really hard to get a gun into your hands legally. Brazil's gun laws are harsh. So it IS easier to print a gun than to buy, I live in my city (it's a big city), and I haven't seen any gun store here, the closest to it are hunting stores with hunting rifles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 i think history will shed some insight here. research previous inventions, see how they were abused, and understand how we checked them after they were exploited. i don't think 3d printing will explode in our faces. it'll probably be regulated in some way to prevent people from becoming extremely dangerous to those around them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 (edited) I seem to remember hearing that printing jobs involving plastics gave off harmful fumes or something? (apropos of no single point here, just a thing I heard) Edited May 15, 2014 by Rehab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy_One Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 IMO, it's too early to tell what impact they'll have now. I've heard everything from 'It's a passing fad' to 'We can print burgers! We're only one step away from replicators!'. I think there is certainly potential in them but what they're actually capable of will take some time either way. The biggest step forwards will be when they become cheap enough to be in peoples houses or, at least, in common businesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ϲharlie Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 (edited) It's actually not that difficult to make a homemade gun without a 3D printer. All you have to do is Google "how to make a gun", and you'll be presented with an array guides and schematics for making simple firearms using common materials. It might take a little work, but it probably wouldn't be much more effort than printing and assembling the parts using a 3D printer. Also, don't forget that plastic is not the most durable material. Most of the 3D printed guns have exploded during test runs. Edited May 15, 2014 by Starman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrout Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 I do understand that it isn't the most durable material, however it is still lethal. When I said new tech I meant some years, it is still "new" since it's still undergoing much development. It is a good tech, I'm just saying it might have some consequences. I wonder if I could print battle axes, it would be really awesome. Anyways, all your points make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viyut Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 True, however. It is really hard to get a gun into your hands legally. Brazil's gun laws are harsh. So it IS easier to print a gun than to buy, I live in my city (it's a big city), and I haven't seen any gun store here, the closest to it are hunting stores with hunting rifles. I live in Brazil too and i don't think it makes any difference, the gun laws here keep normal people from getting their hands on a gun (which is a good thing, who knows how many people were saved by this law) but the criminals will find a way to circunvent this and get guns the same way they get drugs. The only drawback of 3D printers that i can think of is the plastic waste. Paper is easier to Recycle than Plastic, and plastic takes much more time to decompose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klokinator Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 · Hidden by eclipse, May 16, 2014 - Not funny, appreciated, or safe for work Hidden by eclipse, May 16, 2014 - Not funny, appreciated, or safe for work This is what 3D printers will mean to society someday. Link to comment
Snowy_One Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Honestly people are blowing this 'printed gun' thing way out of proportion. I do get where they're coming from, even with tight restrictions people can still download and print guns. But there is really no way to stop such a thing from happening. That is a picture of a gun someone made at home using totally legal materials. It's FAR from the only way to build a gun either since, all you REALLY need is a firing pin and a way to hold/direct the bullet (not even all that well) to make a 'gun'. If you really want to go old-school and make a black-powder charge with a fuse you could probably make a working gun with the stuff in your room, possibly within arms-reach right now. That's not to mention the whole PLETHORA of other weapons that can be printed. Are we going to have to find a way to ban the designs for printed knives and pointy sticks too? 3-D printing is a new technology with, possibly, a bright future. At some point down the road we may even find a way to keep it from producing at least some weapons. But we won't be able to do that if, at the first sign of something that might go wrong, we have to waffle away. Right now the people who can afford such a luxury item are not likely to go on a shooting rampage (and could probably buy a gun off the black market anyways) so we have time. But make no mistake. No matter how you dice it up, denying the potential of a device like this simply because someone will print a gun eventually and kill someone is foolish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alertcircuit Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Boy will it put a dent in the sex toy market. Yeah I mean you can't really stop someone from 3D printing a gun. But kids can already make weapons as it is. If you have any gasoline and some bottles you could make as many molotov cocktails as you like. I think we just need to teach kids not to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passionfruit Cappuccino Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 i just had to post this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatNothing Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 http://www.dorkly.com/post/71480/the-top-20-times-3d-printers-were-awesome I love this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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