First Ever 3D Printed Metal Silencer is Tested

An unnamed metal parts manufacturing company has used Selective Laser Sintering to 3D print North America’s first metal gun silencer. The gun and firearms news blog TheTruthAboutGuns.com was allowed to test it out and said that while not as quiet as traditionally tooled parts it still worked quite well. The silencer is not currently being made available to consumers but was only created as an example of the technologies capabilities, but now that it has been made someone is going to do it. Read the entire article for more details: http://3dprint.com/56493/metal-3d-printed-gun-silencer/


Below is a photo of the silencer:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...1-1024x684.jpg

"But any gun enthusiasts should rein in their excitement a little bit as at this point metal 3D printed suppressors are not being sold, and in fact no one has currently even explored the feasibility and legality of doing so."

Two incorrect statements in one sentence. There's at least two companies commercially selling DMLS printed suppressors - Tronrud Engineering in Norway (http://www.titandemper.no/product.php?id_product=47) and Oceania Defense in New Zealand (http://oceania-defence.com/index.php...index&cPath=41).

As for the legality of doing so, there's nothing new to be explored - 3D printing is just another manufacturing process and is treated no differently in terms of legal issues concerning suppressor manufacture. The Texas company that made the suppressor in the article has a type 07 federal firearms license along with a class 2 SOT (allowing Title II firearms like silencers to be made), and they are fully aware of the legal issues.

This is all pretty old news anyhow - 3D printed silencers have been on Thingiverse for years: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6808 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:23947

It does make you wonder how many actual guns have been made on metal printers.

Who'd know ?

Designs for guns like the kalishnikov are pretty much readily available.

So just how many, un-serial numbered 'ghost' guns are there out here ?

Never really understood the issue with silencers in the states. If you're already carrying a concealed hand gun, how much more dangerous will a silencer make you ?
It's an odd thing.

'hell yeah you can have a gun - just make sure it's a loud gun !'

Americans are weird :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

It does make you wonder how many actual guns have been made on metal printers.

Who'd know ?

Designs for guns like the kalishnikov are pretty much readily available.

So just how many, un-serial numbered 'ghost' guns are there out here ?

Never really understood the issue with silencers in the states. If you're already carrying a concealed hand gun, how much more dangerous will a silencer make you ?
It's an odd thing.

'hell yeah you can have a gun - just make sure it's a loud gun !'

Americans are weird :-)

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At least two guns have been made on DMLS printers, both by Solid Concepts, and they said they'd sell up to 100 of the original DMLS 1911s (but at $12,500, I don't think they'll sell many). I'm sure they've made many more, as they do prototyping work for the likes of Glock and Sig. As for unserialized DMLS made guns out there, I'd guess hardly any - the only people who can afford a DMLS machine at this point are companies, and it's much cheaper to just bend a receiver flat for an AK or machine the FCG pocket on an 80% AR lower than to try to print an equivalent part.

As for silencers in the states, we don't really understand it either - it's part of the 1934 National Firearms Act, and the intent was supposedly to reduce poaching. A silencer is practically useless for concealed carry/self-defense, but they're great for range use, as it makes shooting a lot more pleasant. We have to pay a $200 tax, get sign-off from a chief law enforcement officer, submit photo and fingerprints, file the Form 4, wait 6-9 months for the background check and paperwork to clear, and then we can finally have one (repeat all steps if you want another), while New Zealanders can buy them over the counter.