First 3D Printed Metal Gun Produced

CNN
November 9, 2013

A Texas company says it has made the first metal gun using a 3-D printer, taking the debate over people’s emerging ability to create their own firearms to a new level.

Solid Concepts, a specialty manufacturing company, said in a blog post it has fired more than 50 rounds from the handgun, even hitting a few bull’s-eyes at more than 30 yards.

The pistol is a version of an M1911, a handgun designed by John Browning and first used widely in the latter stages of combat stemming from the Philippine-American War. It’s built from 33 mostly stainless-steel parts and has a carbon-fiber handgrip carved with a laser.

“The 3-D-printed metal gun proves that 3-D printing isn’t just making trinkets and Yoda heads,” the company said in the blog post.

Solid Concepts went out of its way Friday to point out that producing the metal gun isn’t meant to advance a trend that worries law enforcement and some politicians. As 3-D printers become more widespread and affordable, some envision a near future in which criminals can crank out untraceable weapons without having to leave their homes.

“Let me start out by saying one, very important thing: This is not about desktop 3-D printers,” Alyssa Parkinson, a spokeswoman for the company, wrote in the blog post.

The metal gun wasn’t a move toward making firearms with a 3-D printer cheaper or more accessible, she wrote.

Basic 3-D printers, such as the MakerBot Replicator 2, can be bought for around $2,000. But Solid Concepts used a specialized, high-end printer whose cost would be out of reach of most people.

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