Printed AR-15

[Hobbes]

They wouldnt know what it was if you didnt tell them.

There's also the problem of acquiring or creating a suitable CAD drawing file to print from.
I'm not sure where they guy in the OP story got his drawing from.

 

[CHenry]

There's also the problem of acquiring or creating a suitable CAD drawing file to print from.
I'm not sure where they guy in the OP story got his drawing from.

shouldnt be hard I don think.

 

[CHenry]

No dimentions but those wouldnt be at all hard to produce.
http://www.biggerhammer.net/ar15/cad/ar15_receiver.pdf

 

[Werewolf]

One wonders why the toy industry hasn't jumped on this 3D printing technology. Seems like it would be a perfect fit if printers had a high enough output rate.

 

[rhodesbe]

One wonders why the toy industry hasn't jumped on this 3D printing technology. Seems like it would be a perfect fit if printers had a high enough output rate.

Because it is very expensive. No one wants to buy a $300 GI Joe.

 

[farmerbyron]

Just a reminder. New technology that changes the world is always written off as inferior, unpractical, too expensive, cheap parlor trick or a fad that will fade away. Think electricity in the 1890s, automobiles at the turn of the century, and computers in the late 70s-early 80s.


You naysayers may just wake up in a decade or two printing off some Christmas toys for your grand kids without a second thought.

 

[poopgiggle]

It's written off as "too impractical" and "too expensive" at first because it usually is.

There's no conflict between the statements "it's impractical for mass-producing parts NOW" and "we will be using it for everything EVENTUALLY."

 

[rhodesbe]

Just a reminder. New technology that changes the world is always written off as inferior, unpractical, too expensive, cheap parlor trick or a fad that will fade away. Think electricity in the 1890s, automobiles at the turn of the century, and computers in the late 70s-early 80s.


You naysayers may just wake up in a decade or two printing off some Christmas toys for your grand kids without a second thought.

No one, and especially not me, has claimed 3D printing a cheap parlor trick or an impractical fad. I wholeheartedly agree with the potential, and can think of nothing cooler.
However, there are several boneheads who claim the future is here 'n now, and they are mistaken.

It's kind of like bragging about great your cake tastes before you buy the ingredients... there are a heckuva lot of details and problems to pay attention to between points A & B.

 

[Hobbes]

I don't see it as a means of mass production. That's not its purpose.

The uses of 3D printing really fall into 3 areas:

1. Prototyping and testing on a fast turnaround schedule.

2. Re-Creating one of a kind parts that haven't been produced in years or are otherwise unavailable.

3. Creating items that can't be manufactured in any other way.
If you look at that titanium jaw on the previous page that is not a solid piece of titanium.
It would be far too heavy if it was solid.

The interior of that jaw contains dozens of hexagonal honeycomb voids that make the entire jaw only slightly heavier than real bone.
Think of the hollows inside of real bone and you can see why 3d printing is the only viable way to make a practical artificial jaw.

 

[Old Fart]

There's also the problem of acquiring or creating a suitable CAD drawing file to print from.
I'm not sure where they guy in the OP story got his drawing from.

They are already available for most of them. Most guns are currently manufactured using CNC technology. Most use some form of a solid modeler to create from. A lot are floating around out there.