13 replies to this topic

[LilysDad]

Man uses 3d printer to make AR 15!

http://www.huffingto...nk2&pLid=190464

[Toolpartzman]

After viewing 3 of the videos ,and some of the comments, my conclusion would be that Huffington Should Publish more cartoons, because if this presentation has anything relevant to the headline, I've missed it. 3, 4 and 5 axis digital tooling control, whether a printing stylus, a paint gun or a CNC cutting tool has been with us now, at least since 1978. 3-D laser modeling is more recent, but a 3-D image in G-Code is actually no closer to being a gun than a match and a box of gun powder.
This, of course is my opinion, only and should not be tried at home.

[KC9KAS]

If you want gun control, Use both hands!

[Kurtee]

Gun control is when you hit where you're aiming. Being as political as this topic is, can a mod get rid of it before it gets ugly?

[LilysDad]

Sorry! I was into the technology. If it's that offensive, by all means pull it.

[marlboro180]

Yeah, the Tech Is neat, so I agree there LD. But this post could go wayyyyy off track. I live in the MKE area, and there is a lot of stuff concerning guns here at the moment. 3D is neat, and been around a while now for modeling. Huff post ( Ariana ) can take her bent all sorts of ways, quite a smart lady IMHO.

Edited by marlboro180, August 09, 2012 - 10:27 PM.

[Reverend Blair]

Well, I have my own thoughts on gun control, however impractical (nobody should have a gun but me, because I trust me), so lets not go there. Given the fab skills apparent around here, I'm pretty sure we have a couple of members capable of making guns using old technology too. Let's stick to the cool technology...we can make tractor parts this way too.

That's the thing about technology, it's not political, it's multi-purpose, and it can't be controlled.

The implications of technology have always seemed staggering. We adapt and adjust as best we can.

I don't see the 3-D printer as being huge just yet though...he still had to buy the precision metal parts and use his gun-smithing skills to assemble them. When nano technology becomes developed enough to be cheap, that will be the real tipping point. Theoretically, you'll be able to program a computer, toss some raw materials into a bin, and have a fully working machine (no assembly required) come out the other end. Gun control, including nuclear weapons, becomes truly irrelevant at that point. So does our economic system, our social norms, and pretty much everything else.

I know it sounds like science fiction, but the reality is people are working with nano technology right now. It's in its infancy, but it's advancing. It might take century or two to happen, but technology tends to take leaps so it might only be a decade. We just know. All we can be sure of is that it'll be cool.

[MH81]

I think we can leave the topic an title stand. The members have enough decorum to not let a discussion get out of hand and to acknowledge the technology as it is.
New innovations have always been sensationalized... Even the CB radio was going to be the end of us all as criminals finally had a way to communicate on the fly. I remember one radio personality saying something about being glad Bonnie and Clyde or the James Gang didn't have them...


As for GT's... I was staring at that rcvr and thinking that the technology would be pretty cool for making the little trimmings on our babies that are getting so hard to come by.

[skyrydr2]

Personally speaking, I would rather see things go the other way, nothing wrong with a decent days work. All this technology is making everyone lazy and stupid. I see it every day

[jpackard56]

Personally speaking, I would rather see things go the other way, nothing wrong with a decent days work. All this technology is making everyone lazy and stupid. I see it every day

And to continue that thought one more step: Lazy, stupid, and thinking they entitled to their every wish...
That is why this is such a great site !! Ingenuity abounds and gives me hope for the future

[LilysDad]

As for GT's... I was staring at that rcvr and thinking that the technology would be pretty cool for making the little trimmings on our babies that are getting so hard to come by.

I wonder how the 3-d printer would be for making a precision pattern for making a casting?

Also, I'm sorry for the poor choice of title on this thread. That seems to be where this thread made a hard left. I was just trying to be tongue-in-cheek, ironic and it didn't go over as expected.

[twostep]

huffington post is a rag. that piece is loaded with propaganda

I'm sure there are many of us on here that could make those same parts with a mill and a lathe... last I heard no one was worried about people using those to make firearms...

btw, we call that "rapid prototype" at my work... here is a picture of some parts that is sitting across from my desk right now.

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[Reverend Blair]

Personally speaking, I would rather see things go the other way, nothing wrong with a decent days work. All this technology is making everyone lazy and stupid. I see it every day

I think the right technology might have the opposite effect. Imagine people being able to get into gardening or woodworking or the million other useful hobbies out there without having to make the large investment.

Consider digital photography, for instance. I'm not sure how many tens of thousands I spent on cameras, dark room equipment, film, chemicals, paper, etc.. Now you can buy a reasonably good camera for about $1k and a good computer program for a couple of hundred. If you want additional lenses they are cheaper than ever due to computer design and manufacturing. The result is that there are a lot of people taking up photography as a serious hobby that never would have before, and they work at it.

The downside, of course, is that it's much harder to make a living as a professional photographer, and the entire photo-finishing industry is a shadow of its former self. Former giants like Kodak are disappearing. That doesn't mean that all those new digital photographers aren't working at what they love, or coming up with great photographs.

I think the coming technologies will bring about a lot of that kind of thing. Want a tractor (or a camera, or a gun, or whatever)? Buy a design off of the internet, or design your own; add the necessary raw materials; push a button; wait for the program to run. Now you can go and use whatever it is that you built.

Before that happens, consider what it means to small-scale manufacturing. I work for a large tractor manufacturer. I pick up parts at several small machine shops. The smallest of those is a single man working in his garage. He also has contracts with another tractor manufacturer and at least one bus maker. I've never seen this guy in a bad mood, and I seldom take reject parts back to him. Judging by his house and truck, he's making more than most people in his industry. What if most of the parts the big companies use were made that way?

What if that guy got together with two other guys and they built the best GT ever, because they'd all be working at something they liked and understood? The new technology makes that possible.

Patent law is going to become a nightmare, and the economy will be far different, but people will continue to work and may even work harder because they will have more options.

[wilberj]

I work in a CNC shop mostly Haas stuff you can do about anything with them.