“3D printing is a terrible technology for the working components of a gun. There is no tensile strength. It would blow up in your face. You can buy guns in Walmart — they are not a scarce product. And if you want a good barrel you can go and get a bit of plumbing from the store.” – Chris Anderson, CEO of 3D Robotics via Wired
This might be an accurate statement right now, but I don’t think the “printing guns” concerns can be pushed aside so glibly as the technology improves.
Very interesting – actually echoes the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s position:
http://www.nssf.org/factsheets/PDF/3D_Printing.pdf
I don’t think anyone will be printing usable barrels anytime soon — there are printers that can do durable metal parts, but they’re super-high end. The engineering requirements for those processes mean they are likely to stay high-end for a good while.
Printing high-capacity cartridges is… unsettling. But so is the fact that you can get a whole bunch of normal, off-the-shelf cartridges.