from Hacker News

3D printer 'gun parts' found in Manchester raid

by jamesmoss on 10/25/13, 8:15 AM with 48 comments

• by adamcooke on 10/25/13, 9:09 AM

  The items shown here are just components of the 3D printer itself. I'd say they would struggle to create a gun from them!

  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:52838 & http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2013/02/22/replicator-2-extrude...

• by quarterto on 10/25/13, 9:52 AM

  As noted in the comments on The Verge's article[1], these parts actually seem to be replacement MakerBot parts. This feels like nothing but 3D printer scaremongering.

  http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/25/5027282/uk-police-seize-3...

• by mcantelon on 10/25/13, 9:13 AM

  I went to a protest once that featured, for some reason, a number of toy weapons used as props: a completely non-functional "crossbow" made with a bungee cord, etc. The cops seized the "weapons" and their statement in the media made it sound as if they'd seized an actual crossbow, etc.

  This raid story makes me think of this. It could be someone seriously attempting to fabricate arms or it could just as likely be someone having fun experimenting. At any rate, I am quite skeptical about the cop's grandiose announcement that "today will be an important milestone in the fight against this next generation of homemade weapons".

• by loup-vaillant on 10/25/13, 8:49 AM

  I guess the war on general computation has officially begun. I can't wait for someone to propose a ban on home 3D printers to prevent firearm proliferation.

• by timje1 on 10/25/13, 9:26 AM

  Charles Stross's 'Rule 34' features a dark near-future setting with organised criminals operating illegal, unlocked 3D printers that are used to print guns and child sized sex dolls. An interesting read for sure.

  I assume the authorities will lock down 3D printers before they get good enough to print functioning weapons. If you've got an IPrinter that only builds licensed IObjects from the official IStore, this problem goes away for authorities, and all we lose is our computing freedom.

• by intslack on 10/25/13, 9:16 AM

  >In theory, the technology essentially allows offenders to produce their own guns in the privacy of their own home, which they can then supply to the criminal gangs who are causing such misery in our communities.

  Meanwhile, anyone can create a (subpar) .22 machine gun in their garage.

  >If what we have seized is proven to be viable components capable of constructing a genuine firearm, then it demonstrates that organised crime groups are acquiring technology that can be bought on the high street to produce the next generation of weapons.

  Just like its namesake the Liberator is clumsy. Criminal intent or not, and aside from the plastic aspect, people are going to prefer a weapon that's actually reliable.

• by lwhi on 10/25/13, 10:19 AM

  Well - I guess we're going to have to licence use of 3D printers and make sure that DRM is used to restrict what can be printed.

  I suppose we'll also have to ensure that corporations have control, so they can liaise with law enforcement agencies - after all, our safety will be at stake without affirmative action.

  Of course, there'll also be tangential effects: e.g. the technologies for restriction will be able to be used to ensure that 3D printing IP can be monitised ..

  .. but of course there's absolutely no way in the world that could be anyone's primary concern. The powers that be are simply worried about our safety.

• by forktheif on 10/25/13, 9:55 AM

  I'll admit I know next to nothing about this subject, but aren't the parts of a gun which can be machine printed, also fairly easily manufactured using widely available metal working tools?

  Surely the hard parts of manufacturing a gun, would the the ammunition, where you'd need propellant and percussion caps?

  So, 3D printers don't really change things much, since they can only make the parts that can already be fairly easily made, and can do nothing about propellant or percussion caps.

• by tomp on 10/25/13, 9:06 AM

  Assuming that most organized crime groups exist either to facilitate prostitution, betting, or sell drugs, we don't we just legalize all of that and "price them out of the market"?

• by zimbatm on 10/25/13, 9:23 AM

  The article is really a stretched out version of a single piece of information: all we know is that somebody might be creating a 3D printed gun. How surprising !

  Citing a "police raid" and making links to gangs is just a dramatization that doesn't bring anything. Where's the evidence that there is a link to a criminal activity instead of just being a hacker who's curious and got busted because he order the wrong set of components from Amazon ?

• by 3838 on 10/25/13, 8:50 AM

  thought it was easy for some people to get real guns in manchester, unless those days are gone

• by qwerta on 10/25/13, 9:24 AM

  When articles like this pops out, it means that soon 3D printers will get regulated to oblivion.

  UK is crazy, even pocketknife or pepper spray is forbidden. And this country has one of highest violent crime rates in Europe.

• by veganarchocap on 10/25/13, 9:45 AM

  Of course it would be in Manchester wouldn't it... I promise it wasn't me.

• by veganarchocap on 10/25/13, 9:46 AM

  Wait... I hope that wasn't my dealer :(

• by TausAmmer on 10/25/13, 10:00 AM

  You silly, organized crime have guns, they are not playing with 3D printers...

• by Apocryphon on 10/25/13, 9:14 AM

  Begun, the clone wars have.