Glenn Beck teased his acquisition of a new, MakerBot 3D printer on TheBlaze TV Monday, but it was on Tuesday’s radio show that he really that he really started getting into the implications such technology will have in the near future.
On the Glenn Beck Radio Program Tuesday morning, Beck talked of what such a machine would mean for patents, original artwork, currency and more. He asked whether the world is philosophically, morally ready for the capabilities of mainstream 3D printing, but went to say “it doesn’t matter,” because the tech is already here.

Beck with the MakerBot 3D printer, one of the newest items added to his American Dream Labs.
“This is Napster. This is Napster for physical things,” Beck said, comparing the capabilities of the printers to the music pirating website that for a short time allowed users to illegally download music they hadn’t paid for.
During the program, the MakerBot replicator 2 was printing a miniature shark, the standard object it makes as a test print to show you that everything is working properly. The team scanned the skull that sits on Beck’s desk for 3D printing and a gun as well.
“Not a working gun,” Beck pointed out. “But you can make weapons with this. You can make anything with this. This is going to be highly, highly regulated. This changes everything. There are no patents anymore.”

Shark printed using the MarkerBot on the Glenn Beck Radio Program.
TheBlaze has reported frequently of late on the issue of 3D-printed guns. A group called Defense Distributed is working on a project called Wiki-Weapons that would create a workable, fully 3D-printed gun. Their plan is to test and refine the design and post the instructions for how to print it for free on the Web.
But, as Beck pointed out on his morning radio show, many websites where 3D printer designs are posted have begun banning gun and gun component designs. Defense Distributed, in response to such designs being banned on MakerBot’s Thingiverse, began hosting such files on its own website DEFCAD, which the founder told TheBlaze Tuesday has seen heavy traffic since its creation in December.
As for Beck’s printer, now that it is part of his American Dreams Labs, we can expect to hear more discussion about the implications of such technology, as well as see more of what he intends to make with it.
Watch Beck talk about the 3D printer on Tuesday’s show:
You can see Beck’s debut of the 3D printer in his American Dream Labs in this clip from Monday’s show on TheBlaze TV (skip to 1:28 to see it featured):

























































































































Comments (49)
namron52
Feb. 11, 2013 at 1:58pmThe possibilities are literally mind-numbing! Anything and everything from A to Z. Children’s building blocks, absentee voter cards, even marital aids! Phoney evidence for phoney campaign charges. Every man a Nobel Prize winner. PHDs from anywhere will adorn our walls along with hair samples from history’s finest. I can have Glenns signature, and I won’t have to ask!
Gee, I just can’t wait.
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RamonPreston
Jan. 11, 2013 at 1:27amI’m sticking with my Star Trek replicator. Much simpler.
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zapparules
Jan. 10, 2013 at 11:07pmHere is a piece covering two of Glenn’s ‘big new’ ideas – a new town, and 3d printing — as presented on Stephen Hawking show: Brave New World.
Town idea: Found on two parts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KermUqHFEs
3D printing – Actually, the idea is called Additive Manufacturing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNA9Pn6eCmE — first part starts at 9:35 – then finished here at start… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWiilO8N_ZE
But many of you science non-believers might want to skip such an informative show since, well… it does come from god non-believer Hawking.
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zapparules
Jan. 10, 2013 at 10:34pm“There are no patents anymore.”
Glenn – just because you steal so much of your material and so many of your ideas doesn’t mean those with a 3D printer can simply ‘print’ patented items (without legal implications). Besides… Even without / before a 3D printer…. Besides patent laws and the like… What stops someone from purchasing the original manufacturing equipment used to make any item?
There are indeed a great many implications (and possibilities) for this type of technology but… patent infringement may well be one of the ‘lessor ones’ to be concerned with.
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Kemo Sabe
Jan. 10, 2013 at 5:46pmSo Glenn buys the Socially Progressive Sharing 3D Printer????
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gbgreta
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:57amGlenn hasn’t been paying attention. Fer gosh sakes, they’ve been using these printers on “This Old House” for many years, to fabricate architectural models of homes…a pretty useful application.
But a resin model of a “thing” is not a reproduction of a “thing”. Fun, with limited practicality.
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dalebrendan
Jan. 10, 2013 at 9:11amI’ve looked at these machines for awhile. …I think the point is that they are becoming more mainstream and the trend with technology is that it gets cheaper, better and more available to the public–this was simply an example of another cross-over in technology.
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OperationNorthwoods
Jan. 10, 2013 at 8:47amCan it print gold bullion ?
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