Posted: 1/6/2013 11:00:52 PM EDT
| I've heard and read several news stories about how 3D printing is becoming more affordable, and in the next 5-10 years the average person could afford one that could replace an entire machine shop. What applications could you envision for making gun parts and accessories? |
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Many great ideas are brewing in my head for 3D parts. The problem with 3D printers is not price, as the service is quite affordable actually. The problem is the material. 3D printing plastics are very weak in comparison to the polymers used in injection molded products like what magpul uses. One cool thing about 3d printing is that because you can have complex internal structures you could have ribbing on the inside of parts (either open on one side or structure within a completely walled off area) giving them a very high strength to weight ratio. You can even mix materials so you could have small laser sintered aluminum rings in the holes (so nothing keyholes) and for the threaded areas, and they would actually be fused into the plastic with their own support. This video explains it best,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpOGmZzQOtw (Go to :25) So yeah I am waiting for stronger material. |