this post was submitted on 24 May 2025
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Uhhhh my friend you can print a 9mm CZ scorpion that shoots as well as the real thing. Same with an MP5. You can find videos of them being tested and shot on the internet. A lot has changed in the past few years with 3D printed guns.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kucefQ6sYbo there are silly videos too
Of course, they are not 100% plastic, but that's irrelevant. They can be made at home with little effort using a 3D printer and from simple materials anyone can buy at a hardware store, without any registration or serial numbers.
A lot of "real" guns are made from plastic, too, btw
Ngl I was hoping for The Glong lmao, close though!
Only the non critical to function parts can be plastic. IE, the barrel can't be plastic. And you can use literally anything else other than 3D printed stuff.
So why is 3D printed even an issue. Anything... A CNC, scissors, metal, a grinder, wood, springs, screws...can be made part of or be used to make anything else. Making things is not magic and a 3D printer is not magic either.
The highest pressure rated plastic has a Ts or just maybe 28ksi. But with 15% elongation and a really weak modulus. So you can make toys basically.
This just isn't reality. For .22lr, nearly 100% of the gun can be plastic, including the barrel. Here are two real examples where the only required metal component is the firing pin:
https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/the-3d-printed-gun-controversy-everything-you-need-to-know/
https://3dprint.com/107062/worlds-1st-3d-printed-revolver/
For more reliable and more powerful guns, some critical components must be metal, of course, like the barrel might at least require a liner, but the majority of the gun and internal mechanism can still be plastic, not only non-functional or cosmetic parts.
Idk, I didn't say it is. I'm just informing you that 3D printed guns are real, not a "fallacy", some function very well and reliably, and can actually be made with almost no or minimal metal parts
But the issue at hand is about regulating 3D printers. So how about HF CNC machines? Or lathe mill combos? What about resin?
What about meat? It has vitamins and proteins to make some people really really strong.... Enough to choke people with their bare hands! And they are allowed to freely walk among us and even ride the bus, train our plane! Protein is very dangerous stuff. I hear you can even 3D print it!
I don't support regulating 3D printers