I don’t think it’ll be long before one can print every single piece of a gun including the barrel.

 

For now, I'm happy that we're able to print the serialized parts and just mail order the rest.

There's several builds that I'd like to try that have 3d printable receivers and frames that have proven to be reliable. The ruger 10/22 for one and the AR-308 for another.

Recently, they've come out with this carbon fiber filament that's pretty strong and heat resistant, able to print a Glock frame with little issue (other than the typical problems with warping and finish while printing). While they're not as strong as Polymer80 frames, they'll still do the job.

Innovation is far outpacing the government's ability to regulate, and that puts a huge smile on my face. 😝

 

Niiiiiiice!

 

Get ready to hear from "plastic is for kitchen" crowd in 3, 2, 1...

People these days shoot designated 3D printed gun matches. Not my thing but still cool.

https://gunmakersmatch.com/

Before I subscribed to this, I'd want to have some validated structural testing protocols for those polymer grips available.

 

That was my first thought too after I saw it. "Good Lord, if you thought the ones with 'Tactical Tupperware' had it bad..."

On a more serious note, it is amazing where technology is going. If you had told me 10 years ago there would be a printer capable of printing a firearm that would go off without blowing up in your hand, I would have been incredulous at best, at worst I'd have been curious how much Bacardi you'd had just before our conversation. It makes you wonder where we'll be at 10 years from now, assuming we survive that long. I'd say the next major innovation would have to be a nonmetallic cartridge, because if you weigh a magazine, 8-10-15-20 rounds of 9mm/38S/45 pick your poison still weighs a lot by itself.

 

A nice 3D frame, with space for glock mags, and allowances for steel-inserts on the sides, would be fun ;-)

(I wonder if I can get the family machinist to learn to 3d print as well? ;-)

 

A steel insert for both the slide and slide stop would be awesome! Both lightweight and durable.

I've actually been thinking about that very thing for a while now. Just haven't had time to study my frames to see how it can be done.

Man, I really hate being a truck driver.

 

There already has been pistols entirely 3d printed, but my impression was they were .22lr, couldn't hit anything past 10 yards and lasted 3-6 shots at most.

I can't imagine plastic slides, let alone barrels are feasible with current technology. Plastic, how does the rifling last or withstand the heat? Even 3d metal printing, the product is too brittle and inconsistent to safely constrain the forces on a chamber and barrel.

I have had some mostly cosmetic things 3d Metal Binder Jet printed, by a big company, not by myself, 3d metal printing still requires $100k machines, its not something you can do at home. And the Binder Jet printing is very sloppy, with lots of inclusions, inconsistent density and strength. They dimensionally shrink during the bronze infusion to replace the binding agent, and inconsistently, so subtractive machining is going to be necessary. They warn it is not for structural or critical components because its likelihood to break under stress is high. Check my "Project: M45A1 Clone" and "Project: Warhawk" threads.

Laser Sintering is a huge improvement over binder jet, but even more expensive. And even the Laser Sintering that produces a smoother, stronger and more reliable component, I still don't "think" its consistent enough to be high stress like barrels and slides. Nor do I think its precise enough to produce slides and barrels without final machining.

So my prediction, 3d printing entire firearms at home, to make a "practical" firearm, is still decades off.

So that video, I can't imagine the 3d printed frame is all plastic, the rails and slide stop has got to be a steel insert in the plastic frame. Probably a steel insert for the feed ramp, or it uses Ramped barrels.

 

A 1911 frame made of plastic, woopee. How about a GE M-134 MG receiver. The owner is an 02 SOT so perfectly legal for him to make.

Bill

 

Here's the guy doing the development: www.twitter.com/Freeman13372

And here's the people who made the rails: Welcome to Aves Rails - Your source for the most affordable DIY and 3D Printed firearm components!

Unfortunately, they're not available yet to the general public.

And here's a picture of a much prettier 3d 1911:

And in case anyone is wondering, I'm on Twitter as Glockleg01 with Chuck Norris as my avatar.

 

Good he does not live in a Woke Blue State.

 

I have run into enough issues building on 80% Arms and Lone Wolf frames. I have worked with only 7 or 8 of these but the 80% Arms frames are spongy and flexable. I don't know yet what it will shoot like, I used a Lone Wolf frame and GGP slide and WC barrel for one and it is a very accurate and smooth shooting pistol. The precision components made all the difference, and it is very tight. No light loads welcome. The 80% lowers I did are in alum and came out way better and more rigid in form . I refuse to work on anyones ARs with the synthetic lowers due to slack tolerances and mis fit take down and trigger group pin holes and issues at the buffer tube junction. Just plain junk all the way around, 7075 aluminum is all I can work with, no patience for cheap anymore. You younger ones can look to the 3D printing future. and there is a super future coming and right soon for this. Even the alum lowers need captured trigger group pins to keep them from walking out under sustained fire if hand drilled with a jig.

I remember when Glocks first hit the scene and everyone thought it was a totally plastic gun right down to the barrel. To pass X Ray scanning and plastic projectiles and caseless ammo. I am still waiting on this too get the bugs worked out. I wish I was still young to see where all this is going to go in the future. I will go down with my old fashioned steel 1911s and aluminum/steel M4s and cased ammunition I make myself in my Laboratory. Can't you hear the echo of the cackle I make when I cavort in my armory? LOL

Carry On!

 

There is another 3d printed, 1911 type gun, and I mention it only for entertainment value, because, IMO, it's a travesty of a sort.

The 3011:

It uses an AR trigger group, which is left open to the elements, and it's... uh... interesting.

Built by Ivan the Troll (quite the appropriate name), he wrote a post about it called The 3011: Like the 1911, only it doesn’t suck (and it’s 3D printed).

While I'd agree that it's like the 1911, whether or not it "sucks" is a matter of semantics. I can't really see the benefit of doing away with the fantastic 1911 trigger and replacing it with an AR trigger group. Yeah, I actually like the AR trigger, but the 1911 is still obviously superior.

Good news is that there are 2 benefits to this build:

1) it allows the user 4 points of contact and the use of an optic, increasing its accuracy for the average person.

2) it helps with the other builds that will be more traditional, i.e. those that aren't hideous, with the production of parts due to the increase in popularity, however slight.

Anyways, please don't hate me for posting this. Also, for goodness sake, don't tear out your eyes after seeing it. You need them to shoot with after all.

 

Well, they finally managed to do it!

This is soooo fricking cool!

The G1911. A 1911 frame that takes Glock mags.

The only thing I don't care for is the way the bottom of the Glock mag is at a different angle than the grip. Throws off the aesthetics.

Man, I can't wait to get a 3d printer!

 

All but two of the photos came out as black boxes.
Are they still selling this with the new ban on unserialized 80% frames?
The Reg Changes were advertised as banning the plans for 3d printing, BUT, I haven't seen that in the regulation changes anywhere. So are the plans available and you 3d print it yourself?

The problem with the RIA double stack frame is the magazines, finding reliable well made ones, and the highest capacity versions of those, 15 or 16 rnd are sold out everywhere.

 

Pretty cool

 

So nice to see people talking about my work!

There's a ton of progress made since y'all were discussing over the summer. Aluminum rails are finalized, and I have testers verifying results in other calibers. Currently, we're doing extended testing with 22tcm, 10mm, and 45acp. We've got 500+ rounds without failure on the 45 acp test frames that have been printed, and 85+ pages of documentation has been written. I had to delete the grip safety for reasons, hopefully people don't care too much about that. Hopefully early next year it'll be avalable for people to 3d print, shoot, and enjoy

 

The main man is here!

Welcome to the forum!

Quick question- Is Ivan's Hi-power frame ready to go? I ask because I can't find it.

I'm not in any hurry, got 10 projects on hiatus and gotta make room for a 3d printer. But I'll be rocking and rolling this summer for sure.

As for the grip safety, lots of 1911/2011 guys just pin it anyways, like The Honest Outlaw. I don't think anyone who's wanting to print this frame is going to think much about it.

 

Welcome to forum.

Best of luck with your effective trailblazing!

 

Rock on.

 

Enough said.

watch

 

It's basically done, but not yet officially released. You can hop on RocketChat and ping Ivan to get into the beta if you're interested and have a parts kit though! Def make way for a printer, the future is now

Hi there, could someone help me a bit with contacting Ivan on Rocket.Chat, I'm not well versed in it

 

I'm just seeing this thread for the first time.

Go easy with the 3D printed firearms guys. We did plenty of testing at our shop for several years. The idea is awesome but the technology isn't quite there yet. We messed with several designs, some were better than others. Some were just absolute trash.

Materials were a huge issue. Basically everything you will be buying is made in China. As such, those materials have zero quality control. Documentation is worthless for those materials as well. Only true lab testing will give accurate results. Consistency of the materials is also a huge issue.

Quality of the prints are also an issue. And it's not just the printers or environment of a shop (temperature/humidity/ventilation) that are problematic. Prepping the files and running the printers are another factor to consider. Not everyone can buy a printer and be able to use it any easier than someone buying and using a mill...

The return on investment is pretty close to zero as well. If you can use a print once and not be injured you are ahead of the game. Getting them to work multiple times is a game of pure Russian roulette. Even storing them will be a problem. For example, lay one on a table in front of a window where the sun shines in and see how long before the sun warps or melts it.

The best future right now for 3D printed firearms will be sintered metal 3D printing. Think of it as 3D printed MIM parts.

Jon.

 

Oh well!

 

I'm just seeing this thread for the first time. Go easy with the 3D printed firearms guys. We did plenty of testing at our shop for several years. The idea is awesome but the technology isn't quite there yet. We messed with several designs, some were better than others. Some were just absolute trash. Materials were a huge issue. Basically everything you will be buying is made in China. As such, those materials have zero quality control. Documentation is worthless for those materials as well. Only true lab testing will give accurate results. Consistency of the materials is also a huge issue. Quality of the prints are also an issue. And it's not just the printers or environment of a shop (temperature/humidity/ventilation) that are problematic. Prepping the files and running the printers are another factor to consider. Not everyone can buy a printer and be able to use it any easier than someone buying and using a mill... The return on investment is pretty close to zero as well. If you can use a print once and not be injured you are ahead of the game. Getting them to work multiple times is a game of pure Russian roulette. Even storing them will be a problem. For example, lay one on a table in front of a window where the sun shines in and see how long before the sun warps or melts it. The best future right now for 3D printed firearms will be sintered metal 3D printing. Think of it as as 3D printed MIM parts. Jon.

what materials did you use? Many have had success with many different materials and many different Firearms. I myself have used pla + with great results

 

We used a large amount of PLA+, nylon and carbon fiber. Literally not a single resin was worth trying even once. Even magazines were a complete waste. Actually, the sheer cost in time and materials ruled out magazines of any sort. And that didn't account for springs which you can't print.

Jon.

 

I can't imagine plastic slides, let alone barrels are feasible with current technology

I just can't get this outta my head and I'm a fan of polymer pistols. However they still have steel blocks/rails, slides and barrels of course.

 

It's crazy what you can do now, just depends on the caliber, a guy called fosswerks is working on a printed 22lr conversion slide for the 1911

 

To be fair I should probably mention other 3D printed items were great. Percussion cap makers, grips of different types, magazine loaders (especially for 12 gauge) and lots of different press parts. De-primer tubes, side trays, die holders, shell feeders, handles, knobs, funnels, even novelty sights.

Jon.

 

Those are hilarious😂
About your other comment tho, that's so interesting. I've been wondering if you could do resin, that makes sense though. As far as fdma, I think it just depends on what the part is and the stress it has to undergo

 

We tried 9mm, .223/5.56 and .308. No dice. I'm not saying it isn't possible or it won't become a fair option down the road but for the cost, the work involved and the end result, right now, you are better off getting a chunk of aluminum or steel and making something by hand. Or keep buying existing products.

The desktop mills may catch on at some point too. And the price point is about equal to a decent desktop 3D printer.

Ghost Gunner

ghostgunner.net

Beyond that, you'll need to get into a more serious mill. Most people testing those waters will be limited to single-phase machines too. Price point will be noticeably higher...

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Jon.

 

It seems like the goal of most people interested in 3D printing guns is making lowers. Probably for privacy reasons which I understand. And with enough added bulk in critical areas, a print might last a little while. But it would be a range toy at best and every shot fired would be considered the last time it will work. Even so, those prints will still require internals manufactured by common practices (metal parts). The 3D printed components will in essence become nothing more than a stylized cover. You could probably make a nicer lower out of a good section of clear hardwood.

For me, if I were to actually make my own parts (3D printed or traditionally), I would also be serial numbering as much as possible and keeping records. Worse case scenario it would be for insurance reasons. If I'm really going to make monetary investments in equipment, materials and my time/labor, I want everything covered in case of theft or a fire etc.

Jon.

 

The first I heard of 'printing' parts was when Jay Leno needed a replacement part for one of his old cars and none were available. He used the broken part as a model and printed off a new one!!! I will not fire a gun that came off of a printer. Thank you.

 

We made tons of parts for the automotive industry. Test gauges for quality control were pretty popular and cheap. Chassis parts were fairly common as well. We would print the same part two, three or four times and the would use them to test fitment etc. Then when they were happy with design/part they would send the final version out for tooling. Speedo gears were a major part needed for motorcycle restorations...

The guns are actually cool to look at and they are great conversation pieces. Beyond that, eh...

Jon.