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joether -> RE: It is all in the name.... (2/26/2015 6:07:38 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: MercTech
I ran across an article that got me thinking. Horror and regulation based on what you call an item.
FedEx is refusing to ship a CNC bench top lathe. (computer controlled lathe.. you use software to control how it cuts to make something)
Why? Because the advertising says you can use it to make parts for a firearm.
http://www.wired.com/2015/02/fedex-mill-untraceable-firearms/
Obviously the small table top unit could not stand up to the volume of production from an industrial size machine.
http://www.smithy.com/AutomateCNClathes?gclid=Cj0KEQiApbunBRDs0fba3dz484cBEiQAMsx-p_o0VCBCF_SSXrLW2cHBOxDXhIKtW0Rw7xTOGX7B-e8aAqCw8P8HAQ
But, if you want to manually do the cutting, you can save $500 and no problem getting it shipped.
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-x-12-inch-precision-benchtop-lathe-44859.html
I'm reminded of the fact that the original Uzi submachine pistol was designed so simply it could be made with pipe fitting tools in a basement shop.
And the cost of a 3D printer is now less than you paid for a hard drive for a computer back in the early 1980s.
http://www.makershed.com/products/ultimaker-2-3d-printer
Yep, the times they are a changing....
For mass production, 3D printers are not quite 'there' yet. I've seen a few companies testing with harden plastics to create some and/or all the parts to a pistol. The results have been 'lame' to 'mediocre'. Not quite a stable platform, but the technology is still 'new' and will be improved upon. While its curious to see what all this new technology can accomplish, it does bear some consideration.
That if a 'honest and law abiding' citizen can manufacture parts or the majority of a firearm and create a stable platform for it to operate. Could a criminal do the same?
That a firearm that is untraceable, made of plastics, and only needing to fire 1-6 shots semi-accurately at a target; who would this be used upon? There was an old 1993 movie with Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich: "In the Line of Fire" that had a very rudimentary firearm.
Likewise, if 3D printing became possible to create firearms; how fast would we see regulation come down on it? Particularly from the Gun Industry whom stands to loose sales?
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