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Being a novice in the 3D-printing world, I was once somewhat skeptical of what it would and could accomplish. I saw Makerbot CEO Bre Pettis on the cover of Wired in late September, and while the novelty of the process incited wonder in my inner 10-year-old, I didn’t think much about it after the fact.

Enter Cody R. Wilson. Wilson is a 25-year-old University of Texas law student who is working to build semiautomatic weapons using a 3D printer. His name first came up in conversation with a colleague after he posted an Indiegogo pitch video demonstrating his intended use for a newly acquired Stratasys 3D printer, which Stratasys subsequently repossessed.

I was intrigued; Wilson seemed to be an articulate and tech-savvy mouthpiece for a movement that a large portion of the country would deem dangerous and off-limits. To find out more about his fight against gun control, I flew down to his home base of Austin, Texas, with a Motherboard film crew.

I first met Wilson at his apartment. I wasn’t sure what to make of him. He checked his phone every ten seconds and had a hard time making eye contact. Every other sentence ended with “Do you know what I mean?” and he spoke on topics ranging from progress in the 3D-printed gun movement to American politics to the inherent revolutionary nature of bitcoins.

He showed us the CAD file for his lower receiver on his computer, while a five-foot American flag hung in his bedroom as a self-described ironic  statement. He’s a knowledgeable guy, and spoke at length about the development of Defense Distributed’s lower receiver, telling me that failure was a part of the scientific process. As he said, every time one of his designs fails, it offers more insight into what designs work.

As time wore on, he became more relaxed, treating us more like peers than journalists. That line can often be very fine; it can be toungh to integrate yourself into an unfamiliar social circle while still keeping a professional distance. So I found myself riding around Austin in his older BMW as he constantly checked his phone, which was somewhat unsettling.

But social niceties aside, we were there to watch Wilson build some guns.

Read the rest at the new Motherboard.VICE.com.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/click-print-gun-the-inside-story-of-the-3d-printed-gun-movement-video

Hosted by Erin Lee Carr 3 days ago

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Shroomey Toons said:

When this technology is affordable 10-15 years from now (maybe sooner) it's going to be badass.

I saw a video where they made a bicycle. The possibilities are only limited by imagination. Seems anything like that though (INTERNET) can be used for both good and bad.

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King Klick said:

For a couple grand you can get small 3d printer that can make you some iphones. Make your money back bootlegging that shit.

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robbyberto said:

King Klick said:

For a couple grand you can get small 3d printer that can make you some iphones. Make your money back bootlegging that shit.

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Link?

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psi said:

Are you sure they were talking about counterfeits that would actually function?

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psi said:

You mentioned "bootlegging" yourself, working or not the devices would be counterfeits in the scenario you mentioned. I'm not convinced that a $3000 device available today can print off a working CPU (or screen etc) for a device like that. Not saying you're wrong necessarily, just that it sounds unlikely from what I've heard about this stuff.

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psi said:

It definitely would be cool if that is doable with a 3d printer today.

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King Klick said:

Shroomey Toons said:

When this technology is affordable 10-15 years from now (maybe sooner) it's going to be badass.

I saw a video where they made a bicycle. The possibilities are only limited by imagination. Seems anything like that though (INTERNET) can be used for both good and bad.

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For a couple grand you can get small 3d printer that can make you some iphones. Make your money back bootlegging that shit.

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