3D printing a gun
A ‘printed’ gun is what has grabbed the headlines as this story has started rolling around the internet, but for me that’s just a detail, and certainly not the big story. I suppose it speaks to the current political climate where guns are concerned that this has become the big part of the story. It really shouldn’t be the focus. The gun is interesting for what it says about the technology, not because it is a gun.
3D printing is the future. And this 3D printed gun from Solid Concepts gives the latest shining example of why that is. The 3D printers that are available to consumers currently are interesting. They’re fun, and hint at great things to come. But this… this is amazing. The fact that Solid Concepts made this gun, and fired multiple rounds through it safely, is huge. It would be one thing to make a custom clutch lever for a motorcycle, or some such. But that is just going to have to withstand a few pounds of force in use. The 3D gun withstands 20,000 psi with every shot. That is remarkable.
The important thing to take away from this story is learning about the technology of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). This is the technology that takes us another step closer to the science fiction future of clicking a button on a console and having a finished product come out of the wall. Here’s a look at the Solid Concepts gun in action.
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Tags: 3D Printing, Solid Concepts
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