# 3D Printing > 3D Printing News, Interviews & Editorials Supplied by 3DPrint.com >  The Dangers of 3D Printing

## Brian_Krassenstein

Among the changes that come with major technological advances are potential misuses and dangers, both physical and property-wise. With the growth in 3D printing, there arise certain concerns. 3DPrint.com took a look at some of the major impacts on 3D printing, particularly those that might affect governments and law enforcement operations over the next several years. Taken into consideration are the production of undetectable weapons, 3D printed drugs via advanced delivery systems, and intellectual property (IP) concerns. Drawing from experiences such as those in the music industry, which faces IP pirating, we can look ahead into some issues confronting 3D printing. Read about them here: http://3dprint.com/81526/3d-print-dangers/

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## sweaving

Ok, this comment will probably stir things up a little! but I disagree about 3D printing giving people the opertunaty to print weapons! The equipment to manufacture weapons has been publicly availably for hundreds of years! what has stopped people from making weapons in their own homes you may ask??? the lack of knowlage of the weapons design. The real future danger is not the 3D printer....its the open ness of the design files for the weapons. This is where control and oversight is required! 

if you banned 3D printers today, people can still go out buy a lathe or a mill, and make a weapon. because the design files publicly are available. 

let me know your thoughts! Be gentile its my 1st post..lol.



Steve

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## curious aardvark

The difference is that No technical engineering skill is required to make a gun via 3d printing. 
And the equipment to make a plastic gun from someone elses designs cost as little as $250 for a kit and $400 for a ready built machine.

THAT'S the difference. 3d printing puts the ability to make complex objects in the hands of people who lack the skill and education to make them any other way. 
And the printers are now cheap enough for anyone to have one. 

So people who wouldn't have considered making their own zip gun. Might happily print a 3d gun for a couple of dollars and a few hours print time. 
No skiill required. 

The whole lathe and engineering argument is spurious as you are not comparing like with like.

Okay printing metal gun components will cost you a lot more in initial investment. But once you've installed a metal printer you can print full spec firearms - again with no technical knowlege needed other than how to run the printer and put the components together properly. 

It's actually not as big an issue as people supposer. In the usa - where guns already outnumber people - why bother printing what you can already buy in a general store. 

In the uk printing a gun is somewhat pointless as you need a firearms licence to buy ammunition. So you'd have to obtain the ammunition liiegally - at which point you'd probably buy an illegal gun. 

It will be an issue - but not as big an issue as most people think.

Also I'm pretty sure that all the known repositories of plastic gun files are most likely being monitored by gchq. And anyone in the uk who downloads such files will probably get a swift visit from some fairly unpleasant gentlemen.

Someone else can test this theory - I'm not going to :-)

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## sweaving

CNC lathes and mills don't take that much skill...as with 3D printing all you need these days is a model. upload to the control of the machine pick a few tool paths and you are away!!! modern CNC has very little difference to that of 3D Printing..i know this as I am an engineer who uses high end machines on a daily basis, and who has a cheap CNC lath/mill in his garage that didn't cost that much more than my UM2! the enabler is 3D model availablily. the skill is in the design of the item to be made..

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## Wolfie

> THAT'S the difference. 3d printing puts the ability to make complex objects in the hands of people who lack the skill and education to make them any other way. 
> And the printers are now cheap enough for anyone to have one. 
> 
> So people who wouldn't have considered making their own zip gun. Might happily print a 3d gun for a couple of dollars and a few hours print time. 
> No skiill required.



So by that same argument, the automobile should be banned as well, no?  Its now cheap enough for common folks to own one.  And they can be used to smuggle and transport illegal items like weapons, drugs, and undocumented/illegal humans.  Where is the outrage there!  And what about motorboats?  They should be banned too, because they are smuggling mexicans and cubans as well as drugs in massive amounts from offshore drops.

And, yes it takes a bit more than pushing the print button to make a gun.  You should know that.  Just downloading a thing off thingverse doesn't mean you can simply press print and get a perfect working copy even if its just a soap dish.  Now amplify that issue with the fact a typical gun has a chamber pressure exceeding 20,000 psi and apply that thought to 3D printed parts and you can see rather quickly that a printed gun isn't simply a copy of an existing design.  It can't be, not in plastic.  And as you noted a true metal printing printer costs many thousands of dollars.  An AR lower receiver is only hundreds if that (used and aftermarket are pretty cheap).  

The same is said for CNC milling machines.  Most of them are pretty much like 3D printers.  Upload some gcode, load a block of metal and watch it grind it into a gun.  Yea, no.  There is more to it than that but not much.  And these tools produce REAL solid metal gun parts, not layers, extrusions and other weakly made constructs.

In fact, there is a device called Ghost Gunner that is a self contained CNC mill designed to produce finished gun parts.  It costs way less than my Taz 5 did and its bench ready and takes LESS skill than a 3D printer or a commercial CNC machine.  And, they are sold out.  That alone ought to tell you something about the demand.

Guns are not evil.  Some people with them are.  And some people without them are too.  The gun does not make someone evil.  We should spend less time trying to control an inanimate object and more time rooting out the evil people who will use any weapon at hand (including biological, chemicial, nuclear or technological) to achieve their goal.

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## cadpro78

> CNC lathes and mills don't take that much skill...as with 3D printing all you need these days is a model. upload to the control of the machine pick a few tool paths and you are away!!! modern CNC has very little difference to that of 3D Printing..i know this as I am an engineer who uses high end machines on a daily basis, and who has a cheap CNC lath/mill in his garage that didn't cost that much more than my UM2! the enabler is 3D model availablily. the skill is in the design of the item to be made..


So true, the average 'joe' , (Sorry all the Joes out there), can use a 3D printing probably ABS to get a durable product that can shoot bullets. I don't condone this at all...but I don't want to say to all the designers and creators out there on thingiverse or the internet, that 3D printing must go. Like it didn't even exist 10-20-30 years ago.

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## modal

I find it hard to argue that 3D printer is currently or in the  foreseeable future easier to use than a mill or lathe.  Same codes,  same  offsets, same feeds and speeds, same CAD/CAM considerations* but*  now you have to add all kinds of plastic or metal adherence, thickness,  and compression factors.  If you can 3D print, you can make a barrel on  a lathe or a firing mechanism on a mill.  To prove it, education level  of an average Chrysler Corp. worker turning out engines, 7th grade. Once  that STL or cad file is available, it's all over.  You import that into  Bobcad or your favorite CAD/CAM program (and just like kisslicer or Cura) and it  spits out an optimized CNC program.  You download it to your machine,  move tool to the indicated tool start, and hit the go button.  Machine  some air.  When you are sure the machine isn't about to eat itself or  your clamps, you clamp down a piece of steel or aluminum as indicated in  your BobCad or CAD/CAM program, and you hit the go button again, it  machines the steel, machines the part.  It's as easy or easier than Cura  or Slicr3D, fewer variables, fewer headaches, and after a little sand paper and edge breaker time, you've smoothed up the  part and you're done.  This lesson brought to you by a PhD in science and  an automated manufacturing teacher with almost 40 years experience!  Enjoy.

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## DBFIU

> CNC lathes and mills don't take that much skill...as with 3D printing all you need these days is a model. upload to the control of the machine pick a few tool paths and you are away!!! modern CNC has very little difference to that of 3D Printing..i know this as I am an engineer who uses high end machines on a daily basis, and who has a cheap CNC lath/mill in his garage that didn't cost that much more than my UM2! the enabler is 3D model availablily. the skill is in the design of the item to be made..


Hi, I disagree. CNC operation requires skill and experience. To operate a basic 3D printer, even if it takes a few tries to make a gun, is something that anybody with an IQ above 95 can do. 

Can you get a CNC machine at home depot? No
Can you get a 3D printer at home depot? Yes
Can you get all the designs of a milled or lathed gun on the internet? Probably, but it wont be easy and you would need to be an experienced machinist to get it to work.
Can you get all the designs of a 3D printed gun online? Yes, easily.
How much does a cheap CNC/mill machine cost? Thousands
How much does a cheap 3d printer cost? 300-400

Assuming all variables above are met by the CNC machine as compared to the 3D printer for gun making ability ONLY, what if I ask you this. How much time would it take to make a gun then, on a CNC machine or a mill, many hours of time and work before you get anything usable. 

For the perpetrator to go out of his way, to buy a mill, a lathe, dial gauges, bore gauges, calipers, micrometers, feeler gauges, square blocks etc... to make a gun, then I can promise you that I am correct, it just isnt worh it? Do you know how I know this? Show me what % of people that commit gun crimes make their own guns using mills and lathes. Point made.

Right now it is so easy to acquire a gun illegally, that even the super easy and cheap way to make a gun, 3D printing, is still not tempting for the perpetrator. If guns ever become more difficult to find, then criminals will find easier ways to get them, and I can gaurantee you that 3D printing will come way before milling and lathing your own gun.

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## DBFIU

> I find it hard to argue that 3D printer is currently or in the  foreseeable future easier to use than a mill or lathe.  Same codes,  same  offsets, same feeds and speeds, same CAD/CAM considerations* but*  now you have to add all kinds of plastic or metal adherence, thickness,  and compression factors.  If you can 3D print, you can make a barrel on  a lathe or a firing mechanism on a mill.  To prove it, education level  of an average Chrysler Corp. worker turning out engines, 7th grade. Once  that STL or cad file is available, it's all over.  You import that into  Bobcad or your favorite CAD/CAM program (and just like kisslicer or Cura) and it  spits out an optimized CNC program.  You download it to your machine,  move tool to the indicated tool start, and hit the go button.  Machine  some air.  When you are sure the machine isn't about to eat itself or  your clamps, you clamp down a piece of steel or aluminum as indicated in  your BobCad or CAD/CAM program, and you hit the go button again, it  machines the steel, machines the part.  It's as easy or easier than Cura  or Slicr3D, fewer variables, fewer headaches, and after a little sand paper and edge breaker time, you've smoothed up the  part and you're done.  This lesson brought to you by a PhD in science and  an automated manufacturing teacher with almost 40 years experience!  Enjoy.


See thats the problem. Someone with 40 years of experience and a PhD can easily tout about how easy it is to mill gun parts out of metal. Your average criminal doesnt see it that way, he has no idea how to work a lathe or mill, or what CAD/CAM is or what side of the end mill goes in the chuck. You guys make it seem like its easy as cake, for the average joe, it is not. 

3D printing is not easy, but it is easier then having to through the industrial process you are describing. Why? Most people do not have the knowledge of a 40 year veteran or engineer. Be realistic. It's not that easy.

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## Bobby Lin

Interesting article! You're definitely right that we have some legal issues to worry about for the future of 3D printing. I personally think the technology will become ubiquitous, similar to regular printing, and that governments will require certain licenses or regulations to print certain objects from 3D printers. But, still, focusing on the good of 3D printing is important.

You might like this article, as well: https://mylocal3dprinting.com/blog/3...hs-vs-reality/ It explores the internet-based myths you have to watch out for with 3D printing.

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## curious aardvark

> *3. 3D printing is expensive and inaccessible.*
>  Although an in-home 3D printer may cost a couple thousand dollars,


fully built and ready to go machines can be had for under $400.  Kits for $250
Surely the article writer isn't deliberately trying to get people to use his printing service ;-)

Oh wait - yes he is. 

Other than that - pretty basic article, but not bad.

lmao just noticed that it's bobby's article for his service :-)

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## ServiceXp

> fully built and ready to go machines can be had for under $400.  Kits for $250
> Surely the article writer isn't deliberately trying to get people to use his printing service ;-)
> 
> Oh wait - yes he is. 
> 
> Other than that - pretty basic article, but not bad.
> 
> *lmao just noticed that it's bobby's article for his service* :-)


True, but I don't think that equates to a biased article. It's seemed fairly unbiased to me.

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## Sebastian Finke

The whole 3D printed gun argument... seems to be more of an American/European issue. Here people resort to good, old-fashioned necklacing to get the job done...

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## Wolfie

> Interesting article! You're definitely right that we have some legal issues to worry about for the future of 3D printing. I personally think the technology will become ubiquitous, similar to regular printing, and that governments will require certain licenses or regulations to print certain objects from 3D printers. But, still, focusing on the good of 3D printing is important.
> 
> You might like this article, as well: https://mylocal3dprinting.com/blog/3...hs-vs-reality/ It explores the internet-based myths you have to watch out for with 3D printing.


Bobby, I am sorry but your "Myths" article is full of them itself.  Or at least are incomplete or half truths.

*1. 3D printing is complex.*
Well.  It is.  There is a heck of a lot going on to make a 3D print.  And the statement "_Also, only one simple material “ink” is needed to 3D print something._".  Only partially true.  Many things can be printed from a single material.  However, many things can't or aren't.  Different materials can and are used in printers with multiple extruders.  For example, you could print something using ABS for the structure but also extrude Ninjaflex to provide flexible areas such as grips or hinges.

*2. 3D printing is bad for the environment.*
Subtractive manufacturing is only a small part of manufacturing.  The vast majority of manufacturing of products is done by injection molding which is NOT subtractive.  And you only speak to SLS type 3D printing here.  Extrusion type printing (common home 3D printers) do produce waste in the form of support structures and such.  So there can be waste here.  Injection molding does produce some waste (spues and trellises for example) however this waste can be kept to a minimum when producing large volume.  So 3D printing can be bad for the environment, but it can be, at times, better than conventional manufacturing when you factor in the need to transport individual parts/items from the plant to you.  It all depends on what you print, how you print it and what material you are printing with.

*5. 3D printing is dangerous.
*Only partially true bout printing guns.  And it depends on the gun, and the design of the gun.  3D printing a "traditional" design, I would agree is more complicated, or at least harder, than manufacturing it using traditional CNC methods.  That is simply because it was DESIGNED that way.  When most of these designs were developed, CNC or even hand milling was the ONLY method to manufacture the parts.  One of the most popular designs is the 1911.  Guess why it is called a 1911?  Because it was designed in the year 1911.  At that point in time CNC wasn't even a dream, let alone a reality.  And there were no 3D printers and no method at that time of deposition manufacturing.  However, since 3D printing is here and is mainstream and is widespread, new designs of firearms WILL be developed with these CURRENT manufacturing methods in mind.  Those designs may well turn the table here.  They may be impossible to make using traditional CNC and can ONLY be 3D printed.

Does that make 3D printing dangerous?  IMHO no.  But it scares the crap out of governments who seek to oppress, control and dictate and elates those of us who seek freedom and liberation from those governments and their meddling in our personal affairs.  So the government brands them dangerous in order to convince us that they are protecting us from ourselves.  What they are protecting is their domination and their offices.  Not us.  Politicians have guards and secret service.  We do not.  Do you have a Secret service agent hiding in the crowd when you are out at a conert or movie?  I certainly don't.  Who is protecting who here?

*6. 3D printers are new.
*1981.  Not 1984.  I suggest you research Hideo Kodama.

*8. 3D printers are magic.
*"_You still have to create a 3D model online, purchase the materials, and wait a few hours to print something from a 3D printer._"  Um, no you don't.  Not one design I have ever made, was made online.  I do put most of them online for others to use.  But NONE were made online.  With home extruders you can manufacture the materials yourself, or at least convert them into filament from a source (either recycled material or fresh resin beads).  And to use your "ink" analogy here, people don't make their printer ink or toner at home either so that point is pretty much moot.  Some designs print in second or minutes.  Some hours.  Some even days.  Depends on the design, speed of printer and method used.  There are now in-freaking-sane fast resin printing methods.  I suggest you google Carbon3D and Gizmo 3D.

Frankly they are magic.  To many, right now.  Think what television was perceived as when it was first revealed.  It was magic.  Google "Magic of TV".  Then color TV.  It was magic.  Xerox machines.  They were magic.  Computers.  They were magic.  Cell phones.  They were magic.  Email.  It was magic.  My God, you mean you can send a message to someone across the country in minutes instead of days?  How is that possible?  

Any dramatically new technology is pretty commonly refereed to as "magic" when they first appear.  3D printers are no different.  They can do something that has never before been possible for people at home or at work.  To many, its magic.  When you were a kid, it would have been magic.  Now, to your kids, they aren't.  To their kids .. it will be "What do you mean you don't have a 3D printer?  You live in a cave or something?".  Same sort of statement about a kid in the 70's.. "What do you mean you don't have a TV?  You live in a cave?".

They are magic.  Right now.  They will be common and ubiquitous in a few short years.

Personally, I can't wait for the next "magic" thing.

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