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The End of Gun Control, or Anarchy? See The Chilling Possibilities Created By 3D Printed Guns

Jan. 18, 2013 7:20am Mike Opelka

“America, is this guy a hero or a villain?”

That was one of the questions asked by Glenn Beck during a fascinating and potentially frightening interview with Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed, The WikiWeapons Project. If you are not familiar with them, Wilson’s group claims to be “A non-profit collaborative project to create freely available plans for printable 3D guns.”

In a segment during Beck’s TV program about The Singularity, a technology-evolutionary jump, Wilson was talking about his success in using 3D printers to actually make plastic guns. (Cody Wilson has actually fired these printed components — see video below.) Beck also showed a functional, high-capacity magazine that was made by the WikiWeapons project using a 3D printer.

Printable Guns Could Mean The End Of Gun Control

Image: TheBlazeTV.com

While it is illegal to print an entire gun, parts can be printed and guns assembled with relative ease. Cody Wilson explained to Beck that the file for the high-capacity magazine has been downloaded more that 150,000 times since President Obama’s announcement of his Executive Orders on limiting guns.

The cost of creating weapons in your own home is coming down very rapidly. Just as with any technology, as it becomes more popular, the price to own it drops exponentially. Both host and guest agree that 3D printers will soon be as cheap to own and operate as ink-jet printers are today.

Is the 3D printer a “game changer” in the gun control debate? Would access to this technology create more bad than good?

Watch the fascinating back and forth between Beck and Wilson on the possibilities (both good and bad) created by the use of 3D printers to make real guns:

The full video showing Defense Distributed’s printed magazine in action can be seen here:

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (257)

Flyingfish
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:43am
You guys are missing a few key points. First off weapons like the AR platform are essentially open source. The gov’t bought up the designs and made it into a mil-spec. Anyone can get a copy of a mil-spec and produce a product so you are not really stealing anything. If the gov’t pulls back it’s designs then someone else will come up with a similar open source spec and the modern modular rifle lives.

Second, these are the first wave of printers to hit the public. They are small, cheap and can make small cheap plastic parts, but they can be used to make things to make much higher quality molds to make much higher quality plastic and metal parts. The machines the manufacturer’s have now and the public will have in the next decade can make high quality plastic parts now and make fairly decent quality metal parts now. Throw in some CNC milling machines and you don’t need 95% of what manufacturers have to offer.

Of course everyone always points to the barrel. Sure without a forge you can’t make a nice, durable light steel barrel that will last for 50 years, but if I could make cheaper heavier one out of plastic or metal that I could throw away every 1-6 months that cost me $5-10 then who cares. If the design is effective/cheap enough you may print an enitre gun that is good for maybe 500 rounds. More than enough for an easy day at the range or a home defense situation.

People are arguing over 30 rd mags, just wait until they are arguing over throw away guns

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- scarydave
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 3:54pm
  Flyingfish…
  Will this technology work on liberals? There’s quite a few million of them that I would like to ‘THROW AWAY”.
  
  Report this comment
- Cavallo
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 3:58pm
  Weapons without serial numbers, or purchase history. I LOVE IT! The Tech just needs a few years of trial and error to be perfected.
  
  Report this comment
- DarkJello
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 4:37pm
  WikiWeapons is one more step forward in our technological era.
  
  Bravo!
  
  This guy is trying to stand for freedom. He has my support.
  
  Report this comment
- BODYBAG
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 5:22pm
  While I must admit I find the technology fascinating, in the realm of weaponry
  I think I’ll just purchase the “old fashioned” variety since they’ll outlast me anyway.
  
  Report this comment
- LeoNine
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 5:40pm
  The human mind is a terrifying, yet wonderous thing. I’m thinking a very slim, lightweight steel (or other hard metal) barrel liner that could be supported by a heavier (replaceable) plastic sleeve, and maybe sear, springs, pins,(including firing pin) and extractor claw would pretty much be all one would need to keep for re-use,Hmmm, perhaps include a part or two of some sort of ceramic? I don’t see anyone refusing to use disposable butane lighters because they’re not good old Zippos. A plastic battle rifle that lasts long enough for a battle, before making a new one ? Hmmm.
  
  Report this comment
- Trigus
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:55pm
  Whoa there Kingfish!!!
  
  The lower they made for the AR on the 3D printer failed.
  
  I will ask this simple question – how is that plastic spring working out on the magazine?
  
  Report this comment
- Trigus
  Posted on January 19, 2013 at 12:03am
  I wondered why we only got to see part 2 – Did you see part 1 Glenn? Maybe if you saw part 1 then you would have seen all the problems they had with the magazine:
  
  http://defdist.tumblr.com/post/40315167419/defdist-printed-ar-mag-part-i
  
  Report this comment
- Trigus
  Posted on January 19, 2013 at 12:03am
  I wondered why we only got to see part 2 – Did you see part 1 Glenn? Maybe if you saw part 1 then you would have seen all the problems they had with the magazine:
  
  http://defdist.tumblr.com/post/40315167419/defdist-printed-ar-mag-part-i
  
  Report this comment
- Levi Joshua Kell
  Posted on January 19, 2013 at 12:15am
  This guy is awesome!
  
  Report this comment
- Quester55
  Posted on January 19, 2013 at 4:09pm
  I Like GUNS. I Like Cars. I Like Bats & Balls. I Like Flowers. I like Spiders & other Insects. I Like Snakes. I.Like Planes. I Like JETS. I Like Rockets. I Like Cross-Bows. I Like Catapults. I like Rocks. I like Sea Life. I Like Gases. I Like Bleach & other Cleaners found in most Kitchens & Homes.
  ————————————————————————————————————————————————–
  Now think for a moment, What does All of My I Likes Have in common?
  If Used for their Intended Purpose, They can Bring Joy , Happiness, and Longer, Healthier,Lives.
  However their is a Common Dark Side they all Share as well, If Used Improperly, THEY ALL CAN KILL YOU DEAD!!!
  Now it’s your Choice, DO WE BAN ALL OF THESE THINGS for the INSANE Reason that they Could be Deadly if Misused???????
  
  Report this comment
Plutos_Pal
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:41am
This guy is just looking for his 15 minutes of fame. You can’t make a functional firearm entirely out of plastic. When I see him make a functional barrel and chamber out of plastic, I’ll re-evaluate my stance, but until then he’s got nothing.

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- Motorsports-X
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:56am
  you are correct, BUT anyone with a lathe can make a barrel/chamber. and everything else can be made out of plastic. so your 90% of the way there.
  
  Report this comment
- rangerskippy
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:03am
  motorsports
  
  Negative my friend. Anyone with a lathe cannot make a barrel.
  
  Study barrel making and it is a very difficult process to make a rifle barrel. Just drilling a hole in the blank is difficult. Cutting rifling, via carbide button, cutting tool, or hammer forging is very difficult. Go check out some sites like Krieger Barrels, Heart Barrels, and Douglas….. and you will see the process is expensive and difficult. Chamber cutting and such all takes specialized tools and knowledge.
  
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- dublinthewagons
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:11am
  They have 3D printers that do metal. On market within the decade.
  Kinda makes you want to give up your guns and have stricter gun control. Huh
  Definately not.
  
  Report this comment
- sister1_rm
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:15am
  Actually, it does function for a few shots, but obviously in plastic it is not viable for repeated use. Now there are 3D printers that use metals and can effectively reproduce fully viable firearms, but they cost millions and are probably not going to be commonplace any time soon.
  
  Report this comment
- CLEttinger
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:19am
  You can’t really say that, I’ve seen homemade firearms using plumbing pipes for barrels etc., usually one shot or two. They can’t fire endlessly and will eventually fail, but it can be done. Combine the plastic with house hold materials and you could have an easy single shot or even with a little more ingenuity a multi shot firearm.
  
  Report this comment
- LAR15
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:20am
  You’e right, entirely out of plastic isn’t feasible right now.
  
  Except for the AR-15 lower receiver, you can have the rest of the parts kit delivered to your home. That includes trigger group, a barreled upper receiver, stock group.
  
  The lower receiver is what has to be transferred via a FFL – Federal Firearms License holder.
  
  I haven’t watched the video but if the photograph is accurate and I interpret it correctly they have printed a stripped lower AR-15 receiver.
  
  Report this comment
- kadster01
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:58am
  They’re not talking about literally making guns out of plastic. They are talking about making plastic replicas to create ceramic molds, and then taking those molds to a blacksmith/metal worker to create the guns.
  
  Report this comment
- JonQ
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:37am
  most people now can hardly use a cordess dill much less a metal lathe! and how are the hordes of idiots gong to figure out how to run a 3-D printer!
  how many cycles are these printed pastic magazines good for? the commonly used plastic used in these extruders isn’t very strong. I’d like to see how long a printed AR lower lasts until it fails.
  
  Report this comment
- RogueRequest
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:19am
  Watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ6Q3BfbVBU and it will explain everything that the WikiWeapon is about. That it has less to with the weapon and more to do with the implications of the technology.
  
  Report this comment
- Frederick_Douglass_Republican
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:22am
  It was odd that neither Glenn nor his guest really know the details of what they were presenting. They presented the components including a lower receiver as everything needed to make a gun except the “registerable” parts. The lower receiver is the only thing serialized and requiring an FFL to transfer, but the lower receiver was right there so. . . Of course whether or not that lower made of plastic will actually hold up is very questionable at best. Maybe since its a non functional its not of interest to the ATF.
  The whole premise that in the not too distant future anyone with some decent technical ability may be able to make a gun in their living room without machine tools etc. is what he was presenting. And he is correct. Will it be in 2 years? doubt it. In 10 years? Quite possibly so.
  
  Report this comment
- Dishevel
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:34am
  Barrels, Upper receivers and such are not a firearm and not controlled.
  Only the lower receiver is considered a weapon and only that part is controlled and tracked by the government.
  Print your lower. Buy the upper you want with the barrel length you want and all the accessories you want made by the companies you want and you have a weapon.
  
  Report this comment
- HYPNOTOAD
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 12:48pm
  The vietcong were making crude one shot guns out of bamboo and bullets out of melted down toothpaste tubes. I think a resin gun will at least shoot a clip of ammo.
  
  Report this comment
- RogueRequest
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 1:08pm
  Imagine a world where you can print pretty much anything with a 3d printer, including another 3d printer to give away to a friend. Where all it takes is a blueprint being seeded by a couple hundred people and anyone can have access to anything. Suddenly no government can stop you from owning anything. The world is changing and a printable weapon just happens to be a good starting point.
  
  Report this comment
- heavyduty
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 4:16pm
  The thing is that if they ban the 30 round magazines you can print your own! Still works in an AR-15. But they will get better as time goes along!
  
  Report this comment
- RaydocX
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 4:23pm
  bushmaster’s carbon lowers are a polymer.
  if you have a 3d printer, and ready material, you would only need a magazine to run it’s rounds through once… think of Malkovich in the Eastwood thriller.
  and as to manually working a metal lathe, the printer controls that… you tell it what you want… point and click machining, if you will.
  
  i still say the manufacturers need only pay lip service and leave us units that can be easily modified/ upgraded/ adapted to the standard AR platform.
  
  Better, some gunsmith out there will use this as a springboard… it may mean caseless rounds, it may mean multi magazine ports… there will be some means by which a semi-automatic weapon becomes available that can continue to fire while changing out the limited magazines, whatever limit is ‘acceptable.’
  
  of course, the whole idea that my $50 magazine is now ‘illegal’ without the government making any process to make me whole for a legal purchase is just one of the myriad problems with Cuomo’s baby… his advisor, stating no cop with more than 7 rounds will be in violation. ever. period. is demonstrating the elitist attitude that our forefathers chose to stop tolerating in forming this country.
  
  Vote with your feet… make a gun friendly city or state your business hub. Move your family and save on taxation and realize freedom. Those who can’t , vote the bums out in 2014.
  
  Molon labe
  
  Report this comment
- Flashydave
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 5:05pm
  People could make a double barrel zip shotgun from parts available at Home Depot today. It wouldn’t reload as fast as a breakdown but it would be throw away and not have any serial numbers.
  
  Report this comment
- Dawgnabox
  Posted on January 19, 2013 at 11:34pm
  This is very innovative. Everyone is thinking of the bad and not the good. I see a 30 round magazine with 20 rounds and a power source in it. I see a magazine you can load the top half with regular ammo, turn it over and have armor piercing. I see a 25 round magazine with the ability to make my gun unable to function if I’m more then 3 feet away. The magazines are only limited by lack of imagination. I want a piece of this action.
  
  Report this comment
ohiograndma
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:39am
I don’t see this as a problem now, but certainly can imagine a time in the future when, using this replicator, a person could make a well-functioning metal gun.

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- wtd
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:40am
  One wonders if the technological development of replicators and 3D printers will grow (and be accepted) as rapidly as compared to the development of the mini computer of it’s time, the Sinclair ZX80 from 1980?
  It’s overwhelming to simply imagine the possibilities and the potential for progress/disaster on the horizon.
  
  Report this comment
- Myron_J_Poltroonian
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 1:49pm
  Not to take this lightly and I’m not actually, but while scrolling down the comments section I was just thinking of how the concept of “Replicator” technology, as used in the Star Trek series and films and which is on the verge of becoming reality, is proof yet again of the value of the genera of fiction called “science”. Look around you and see how many things that are commonplace today were (and far less than 100 years ago) once relegated to the land of “Thats impossible, they’ll never be able to do, map, build, store, create, whatever, that!” Looked at in one way, science fiction is for those who can’t wait for the future. “Beam us up, Scotty.”
  
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OBAMALOG
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:31am
He who has the tools rules a plastic ar lower will work

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SpankDaMonkey
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:27am
.
Now Obama will Ban 3-D printers thanks Glenn………..

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- Ripped
  Posted on January 20, 2013 at 1:22am
  Beck is on the same side as 0bama. this Cody Wilson guy sees right through him.
  
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Bermuda Onion
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:22am
I’d like to see some crook try and use one of these 3D made guns. The chamber pressures will blow up in their faces and do a lot o personal damage.

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- DonaldH
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:35am
  Bull.. guns that are all plastic have been around for 25 years– that’s a fact
  
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- jcldwl
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:15am
  @ donaldh
  Really? How come I’ve never seen one in the gun stores? Are they high powered rifles? At this point and time some parts have to be made of metal. Unless you are a gun dealer or manufacturer what would be the need to invest in something like this other than spare plastic parts. It would be interesting to have a polymer lower receiver for the AR if it would work. It would reduce a bit of the weight. But I can’t seem to find anyone that sells them like that I am assuming that it doesn’t hold up. I am sure it has been tried and tested and still is.
  
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- TEOTWASWKI
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 1:20pm
  JCLDWL
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:15am
  @ donaldh
  Really? It would be interesting to have a polymer lower receiver for the AR if it would work.
  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Google is your friend…….New Frontier Armory LW-15 GENII Complete AR15 Polymer Lower Receiver-Black
  
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- daxbrady
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 1:33pm
  ever heard of a glock. mostly plastic
  
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- AnimalsAsLeaders
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 1:39pm
  JCL
  
  That’s because all plastic guns are illegal (bc they can’t be detected in metal detectors).
  
  Report this comment
- VRW Conspirator
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 3:25pm
  @Animals..
  
  umm..no they are not..the Glock was really popular when it first hit shelves because it was a 90% ceramic and plaster polymer gun…I believe most of them still are. The metal detectors at airports could not detect them which freaked the police and government out. There is footage somewhere of “tests” done by security firms showing their people walking onto planes with a Glock and nobody was the wiser. Even the magazine didn’t register. Obviously since then they have upped the threshold because I used to walk onto planes with my pocket knife all the time, right through metal detectors but now even shoe nails set the things off and a good metal ballpoint pen.
  
  Point being…they are not illegal.
  
  @Dax – see above…Glock’s were ceramic and polymer…not all plastic….
  
  Report this comment
- RogueRequest
  Posted on January 19, 2013 at 8:04am
  Glocks were never invisible to radar. No one really freaked out about that. The whole bit in Die Hard where Bruce Willis described that, well everything he said during that was wrong. The barrel, springs, trigger, slide, hammer, clip, and ammo are metal and easily identified. Use common sense.
  
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- Inlightofthings
  Posted on January 19, 2013 at 9:15am
  SONOF: I think we could all agree on the term “propellant”….would that make sense? I know the history and used the term gunpowder in a general sense. Lots of anal folks but the point was, there will be another development in propellants just as there was from conventional gunpowder to smokeless powders.
  
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- Lt_Scrounge
  Posted on January 20, 2013 at 10:15pm
  JC, There are a number of manufacturers who have made and sell polymer AR lower receivers. Plum Crazy is one with a good track record of building a good lower. From what I have read, they knew that the receiver may fail at the point where the **** stock tube screwed into the lower receiver. They say that another brand of printer uses a stronger plastic that should withstand the recoil better. Another option would be to simply increase the dimensions to allow for greater strength in that area. Some parts will almost always have to be made of metal, the lower receiver isn’t one of them. When it comes to magazines, plastic/polymers can be used to make the majority of them. I would personally opt for a stainless spring. Pmags are some of the best magazines for ARs on the market, and they are polymer with steel springs. The Canadian military issues Thermold brand magazines which are also polymer.
  
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sparkyrules
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:21am
My bestest friends in the World.Thanks so much Glenn. and the Blaze.

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Uechi
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:20am
A tempest in a teapot. 3D Plastic guns are just mock ups they won’t work. Even if the receiver functions it would not be necessarily safe to use. Any barrel made out of plastic would be incapable of withstanding the pressures generated by the ignition of powder in a cartridge. Until someone can come up with a polymer/plastic that can function as a barrel it is just a nice experiment. Current polymer technology allows the manufacture some plastic parts in firearms Glocks for example but there are no plastic guns in production at least for now.

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- DonaldH
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:33am
  Are you people for real!! Plastic guns are tried and proven weapons– why do you think there is a 25 year ban on them in the U.S. that is set to expire NEXT YEAR— A french company were the first to at least market them but they were quickly out-lawed in the U.S. almost 25 years ago.. You people that keep saying the plastic won’t handle the muzzle pressure are blowing smoke
  
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- DonaldH
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:38am
  that’s because the’ve been banned for the last 24 years,,, a 25 year ban that is due to expire next year.. guns made of ALL Plastic are a actuality,,
  
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- woodyee
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:40am
  Uechi – the model produced and tested failed after 3 rounds…
  
  BUT, it wasn’t the receiver that failed, but rather the ring where the receiver and stock are joined. Won’t take much to fix that. Visit and support their website is
  
  ‘jes mah opinin’…
  
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- Xiccarph
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:05am
  I seem to recall that in plastic firearms, the barrels/chambers (the only part that really needs to handle the firing stresses of the cartridge) have been made from ceramic material. There are dozens of materials in use and being discovered that will handle making firearms or anything else, out of 3-D printers. Remember, 3-D printing will not be only about squeezing a liquid plastic into a form and milling it to shape. It is also about laying/feeding a solid metal, ceramic,a blend of materials, any material, on a suitable “printing” surface/bed and shaping it. 3-D printing is really just extremely cheap automated production of a product without needing a factory and/or assembly line. Just think of it’s technology as being similar to how the computer developed from vacuum tube monstrosities to IBM PC/Commodors/VIC 20/Apple II/ all the way to today’s powerhouses. Wail until optical computers become commonplace and then quantum computers…all in current research/development (and already in Gov’t's hands – they’re always 1st!). 3-D printing will follow the same road. Sci-Fi is pulling into the driveway.
  I am sure the gov’t, in its infinite wisdom and gluttony for power and squeezing what they can out of the citizenry, will make endless laws that forbid everyone from making a lot of things by 3-D. Enforcement might be tricky, but gov’t always finds a way to manufacture new criminals it can go after and bleed of resources (money), and for that, they DON’T need a 3
  
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- VigilantGuardShark
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:24am
  Two words, steel inserts.
  
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- BleachedWhale
  Posted on January 27, 2013 at 8:42pm
  @DonaldH – I know it’s called a Glock 7. It’s made in Germany and costs more than you are in a month.
  
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OBAMALOG
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:17am
He who has the tools rules. Yes an AR lower made from plastic will work

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EngineerPatriot
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:02am
A 3-D printer uses multiple layers of plastic to form the object. The reason there are no commercial handguns made entirely of plastic is because plastic cannot withstand the chamber pressures generated when a cartridge is fired.

Good luck using your printed gun, it will blowup and take your hand off.

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- Trigus
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:12am
  @Engineer – please do not confuse Glenn. Why would he not do a little research on this subject? Maybe he seen this 3d printer being used on CSI NY as one poster stated and it was “Scary.”
  
  It really cannot get any better then this. All I can say: We are witnessing True Colors.
  
  “Et tu. Brute?”
  
  Report this comment
- khandahar&jalalabad
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:13am
  How much further can a cnc machine take it? Probably couldn’t rifle the barrel with it but could do about everything else.
  
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- Flyingfish
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:26am
  They have 3D printers that work in metal too, it’s just the plastic ones are the first to get into the hands of the public.
  
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- Doctor Bulldog
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:30am
  In a rifle, the chamber pressure is mostly contained in the barrel where the shell casing sits. If the barrel is steel, I don’t see much of a problem except accelerated wear on the moving plastic parts in the receiver vs. metal parts when firing more than a few rounds. Of course, you are an engineer while I’m a physicist. Practical vs. theoretical.
  
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- Inlightofthings
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:32am
  It seems to me a bit naive to think an explosive (gunpowder) is or will be the only impetus for discharging a projectile. I’ve seen these 3-d machines in use for prototyping models for hand tools etc and they are quite amazing. Who knows what the combination will look like 10 – 20 years from now. A 20 year old Harvard drop out wrote a program and is now worth $20 billion 7 years later.
  
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- country_hick
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:33am
  First steps. I would imagine that the carriage manufacturers said the same thing about cars when they first came out. One step at a time…
  
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- gordo3di
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:41am
  For those who say you can’t 3d print a gun, that is a bit shortsighted. Sure with plastics available today it would be a stretch but give it 5 years as many new plastics / composites (or even old ones) become available to the average consumer. Just in the 5 years I’ve followed home 3d printing I have been amazed at the advancements. Heck even the usage carbon fiber is becoming more commonplace. To say this wont trickle into the hands of hobbyists is ignorant. As for metal printing, who is to say someone won’t devise a way to powder print and heat treat later (at home not commercially).
  
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- environmentalandawake
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:12am
  Actually there are plastics capable of 1200F already out there. They are very durable. Even built a piston ring out of some, just to try it. To the other points—They built fully plastic guns a very long time ago, and banned them until they could detect them easily. That ban should end soon
  
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- Ricochet007
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 4:02pm
  I agree that all-plastic guns aren’t viable, either metal or ceramic are needed to make it a viable gun. Metal detectors can detect them, if they are correctly calibrated and used properly. That exposes the whole fallacy of the knee-jerk liberals’ attempts to ban (non-existent) plastic guns several years ago, plenty of stuff passed through due to incompetence and poor training. They have a tendency to not stick to facts and truth when they argue for gun control. There are four kinds of liberals: those who are ignorant, those who are indifferent, those who are illogical, and those who are just arrogantly obstinate. Of course there are also combinations of those four traits. I think most of us can think of a number of liberals with a combination of those traits who are unfortunately in office in D.C.
  to “Inlight of…” you should know that gunpowder isn’t technically an explosive. It doesn’t explode when your fire ammunition in a weapon, it only burns. That’s pretty a basic fact for anyone who’s ever taken a hunter safety course. The resulting gasses expand, but that’s not the same as saying the gunpowder actually explodes. Truth and fact doesn’t stop the government from classifying something however it wants either. Don’t be like the liberals who let put their mouths in gear while their brain isn’t engaged yet, check the facts, and check your sources. If your source is wikipedia or the liberal media, keep looking for a credible source.
  
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- Inlightofthings
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:32pm
  RICOCHET:
  I won’t argue semantics. For your education though, I understood explosives to be broadly defined as materials capable of a “instantaneous” release of gas or heat. I have a hard time finding articles related to gun powder (descriptions, definitions, articles, history, chemistry etc) that DO NOT include the word explosive. All this time I thought the material was a “high explosive”, but
  
  http://www.periodni.com says differently than you…
  
  Gunpowder (black powder) is a low explosive composed of potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal. Typical proportions are 6:1:1.
  
  As does Websters:
  an explosive mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur used in gunnery and blasting; broadly : any of various powders used in guns as propelling charges
  
  As far as the liberal stuff…I’d say my research is better than most…could even be a 1%’er…
  
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- sonofgalt
  Posted on January 19, 2013 at 12:30am
  this comment is not in sync but modern firearms do not use gun powder which is an explosive we use smokeless powder which burns very fast it is less damaging to firearm parts leaving less residue behind and is not explosive much better for plaster,polymer or ceramic parts
  
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jackact
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:58am
Exceptionalism takes all forms.
The Chinese invented gunpowder and bombs when much of the greater world were still living in abject filth like cavemen.
Obama and Cuomo have accomplished nothing except establishing an even more dangerous socialist left wing agenda for the 2016 POTUS election.
Anarchy is fed by hubris. and revolution levels the playing field.

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resme
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:58am
I enjoyed this interview. Cody Wilson is right on almost all issues.

Beck = “spooooooooky dude”

State = unorganized crime.

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Metallicat
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:53am
Im suspicious of this. I think this could be used to destroy the gun industry. once they are out of business and people settle for cheaper but inferior guns made with this technology,they pull the plug on the technology and stop supporting it,or the government buys up all the components,like they are doing now by buying up all the ammunition so its not going into the publics hands,while bribing business not to provide it to the public with exemptions from obamacare. ( speculation but plausible with this administration) This technology isnt being developed to provide us with easy access to firearms,its to destroy the firearms industry.

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- Trigus
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:06am
  Next Glenn will be calling for a ban on Shovels – Yes I said “Shovels” – someone made a Ak from a shovel –
  
  Glenn, Glenn, Glenn, the “Sky is not Falling.” The Giant is awake and he sees thru all the smoke and mirrors. It is okay.
  
  Really Glenn, did you see the 3D printer on CSI, as someone commented below? Where is MacGyver when you need him.
  
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- 000degrees
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:19am
  Either way the genie is out of the bottle. This is a bit mind blowing….I am in favor to freedom at any cost. That being said I do believe there are always caviots (sp)…Maybe order comes from respect but how do we insure all are respectful??????
  
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- Metallicat
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:20am
  Just trying to figure out WHY? Why spend lots of money on R & D to give easy and cheaper access to a product another industry makes far more money from? the only answer I can come up with is to destroy the original industry with an inferior product that has no guarantees of functional use and its manufacturing process can easily be sabotaged by numerous outside sources.
  
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- Metallicat
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:46am
  or maybe its just to make guns so easily obtainable by anyone that they are impossible to regulate who has them so the government has no other choice but to ban the possesion of firearms by anyone.
  
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macpappy
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:51am
Don’t let the dog wag the tail. This technology is many years away. A useful gun, wll need metal parts, until the printer can melt, lathe, and distribute molten metal, no gun worth more than one use will ever be “Printed”. Maybe some kind of plastic magizine, or clip can be printed, but the receiver, bolt, firing pin, barrel, ect will all have to be metal.

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- DexterPG
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 1:02pm
  But it is the Mags they are going after, and if you watch the video of him using the polymer mag he printed, it looks to be working, after all P Mags are polymer as well, and they are pretty good.
  
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JimCS
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:51am
This will simply give progressives the impetus they need to begin banning the freedom of information that flows via the internet. You can watch the most vile forms of pornography and the government says “that’s your right.” Begin to print-off your own firearms….. the gov will shut it down.

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- woodyee
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:34am
  Remember, Clinton’s Attorney General and fall-guy for the WACO massacre and Ruby Ridge murders, Janet Reno, and his Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders had no problem with Kiddy Porn…
  
  ‘Lest We Forget.
  
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Mil-Dot
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:44am
Physics is physics. Plain and simple. While one may be able to make a few of the plastic parts with that thing, you need STEEL to make the real parts. No way around it. I have yet to even contemplate a 3D printer that will be able to use a laser to harden a pool of liquid metal. Not gonna happen. That is how these plastic “rapid prototypers” work. By hardening one thin layer of a plastic liquid at a time and then raising it up and repeating for each layer. Maybe some dumb ass would shoot real cartridges in a plastic gun. Not me. I value my cranium way too much for that nonsense. But, it may work for some of the less stressed parts.

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- Trigus
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:55am
  Glenn, are you practicing for the lead in “A BOY WHO CRIED WOLF”?
  
  Hmmm, did not the lower failed when they tried to make a 3d lower? to make the shell of the magazine is plausible but you still need the guts (spring, follower, floor plate.)
  
  there is a big difference between shooting a .22lr and a.223 rem.
  
  I love the TV/hollywood comment – yes, that makes it real. How is that Death-star coming?
  
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Willik
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:43am
This printer was featured on a CSI: New York episode a couple of weeks ago. Scary!

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- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:36am
  Ooooooh, what happened, did they kill all the children, puppies, and kittens? Don’t scare me like that, it’s bad enough with all the name calling hurting my feewings.
  
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- WillG
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:35am
  Not the puppies and kittens! Get em Anon!
  
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DonaldH
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:43am
I like Beck but sometimes I do wonder what side he is on.. Why bring more attention to this– it is old-

I have known of this for 10 years but by using compu. programs,, computer programed plasma cutters and typical machining tools found in my garage as well as 3d printers—- A person can make 2 amonth and earn a pretty good living…

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- macpappy
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:54am
  The Liberal Media coming to you from a supposed Conservative site. The left have become masters at this.
  
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:41am
Interesting, it will depend on how the technology is used in the end that matters on the good/evil matter for the future.

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- The_Almighty_Creestof
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:03am
  True enough…a company I invested in (bought 500 shares of stock) called Organovo has created a 3D Bio-printer. You put donor tissue in and it can make arteries & skin right now. The goal is to be able to make organs on demand for surgeries. No more waiting lists. No more chance of tissue rejection (so no more drugs) if the patient donates the tissue themselves. Traded under the name ONVO.
  
  Had its IPO last February for $1.00 a share…went to just under $10.00 a share within 3 months…then crashed back to $2.00 a share in early June, when all the early investors sold their stock in a greed frenzy (they had to wait 90 days before being able to sell)…now it is back up to almost $5.00 a share.
  
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ares338
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:38am
Beck used to actually present ideas and things that mattered to this country. He is now the man behind the curtain.

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Eastinfection
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:38am
The video only shows a magazine from the printer being used. What about an entire weapon?

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- DonaldH
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:28am
  Follow the link onto Youtube– CNN Money and others have given it more coverage and air time then this one– CNN seems and congress seems to be all over this
  
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- woodyee
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:29am
  visit the websites and see/read more vids, analysis.
  
  ;-)
  
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- resme
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:56am
  Don’t doubt, East!!!
  
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SaturdaysWarrior76
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:38am
Amazing technology! It’s hard to wrap my head around it though, but then I remember a time when I thought I would never need, or use, a computer! So, who knows? It’s fascinating stuff..

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woodyee
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:37am
NO DOUBT, in part due to Glenn Beck, some of the 3-D plans have been pulled from the website. They are currently looking for a mirror site.

Glenn – you’re unbelievable…Please, tell me where I’ve misunderstood you.

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- SaturdaysWarrior76
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:16am
  @Wood: Glenn has always been out in front, warning us of what’s to come. He is showing us the direction technology is going, and WARNING us about the pitfalls/evils such technology can bring, along with the good it can bring. He is telling us to be very careful of falling into the dark side of technology (as the government will no doubt do). He is teaching and warning us, as he has always done. Nothing to misunderstand, unless we put Glenn into a box of our own making, and get upset when he steps outside of that box and acts like the free man he is, to think and dream and create as he sees fit. Just my two cents anyway… God bless.
  
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- woodyee
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:26am
  Thank you, Warrior. God bless you, too.
  
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woodyee
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:32am
Tools in the hands of the People terrifies Glenn more than weapons and “stroke of the pen – law of the land” attitude of government? The last 4.5yrs isn’t enough to steer you from wanting government to regulate anything but themselves?

What’s you’re problem, Glenn? Thanks to you, Glenn, many people don’t want government regulating anything until WE get them to regulate themselves. Gun-Runner; Fast & Furious, Benghazi, just to name a few.

Writing laws against our will and then exempting themselves and friends and family from those same laws; writing their own pay-raises and stealing the working man’s money to buy votes with, just to name a few…

…and now YOU are CHIMP-SCREAMING for GOVERNMENT REGULATION?!?!?

Don’t be surprised to see the “F-U’s” pile up.

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- Trigus
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:42am
  @Wood – Glenn, has made the turn to the left and has been sipping on kool-aid for a while now. Maybe why the wedding ring got dumped down the toilet?
  
  Hmmm, did not the lower failed when they tried to make a 3d lower? to make the shell of the magazine is plausible but you still need the guts (spring, follower, floor plate.)
  
  Glenn, maybe you should have your armed security team test this 3D printing before crying the “sky is falling”
  
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GuruMeditation
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:24am
I call it hype.

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- AlwaysPissed
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 7:43am
  Obama is nothing but media hype, but very successful!
  
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- GuruMeditation
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 8:12am
  He is only successful because we are outnumbered by apathetic morons who fulfill their roles as useful idiots for the boy king.
  
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- SpankDaMonkey
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 9:05am
  .
  They are called Free Lunch Slaves……
  
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