This past week, 22-year-old Cody Wilson did something no one else has accomplished: he built a fully-functioning gun using a 3-D printing machine. Now many people are worried at the implications this new technological development may have.
3-D printing has been around for a few years now, and for the most part has been used to create relatively tame objects. The printers work by laying down layer after layer of a material (usually plastic) according to downloaded instructions. The resulting object will be a three-dimensional representation of whatever has been programmed.
"There is currently a proliferation of 'home 3-D Printers' coming on to the market. The level of precision detail that they can achieve and the poor engineering quality of their own plastic materials would make it suicidal to attempt to print and fire the gun made from any of these machines," London-based 3-D printing firm Digits2Widgets explained.
To date, 3-D printing is still a long way from becoming a household phenomena, but that will not always be the case. Already the printers can be bought for $8000-$10,000, and as is the case with all technology, the price is sure to drop.
That fact is what has experts worried. While Wilson was working on a much more advanced piece of machinery, what if someone got a hold of the instructions for his gun and tried to print one off using a 3-D printer that was not as accurate or reliable?
"We fear that the next story will be about a child blowing their hand off while experimenting with a 3-D printed gun ... This type of accident is the immediate danger of the project and will happen long before anyone is deliberately killed by one of these tools," the Digits2Widgets blog explains.
Digits2Widgets isn't the only one that is scared of what may come from this new advancement in the possible production and distribution of weaponry. A couple of New York congressmen have already proposed legislation that would require 3-D printers to be registered as per the U.S. Undetectable Firearms Act.