They already can. It has been possible and within reach for anyone who ever took a real shop class for as long as you can imagine. Not only is it possible, but it is in fact done in practice. A particularly famous example (of many): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khyber_Pass_Copy
People are losing their marbles over this particular gun because it was put out there with the intention of being provocative. People fear what they are told to fear.
This is possible already on a on a larger, better quality scale.
You can legally make and own unregistered/unserialized AR-15s or other firearms as long as it’s for personal use; you can’t sell, gift or distribute them in anyway. It’s easier and more economical (for now) to buy a BATF compliant 80% finished AR-15 lower receiver then drill/machine the last 20%. You’d have a commercial quality firearm. I think it would be a lot easier to get your hands on a drill, jig and mill than a high quality 3D printer too. There are even build parties where a group of people bring/buy their unfinished lowers and an experienced machinist helps the group finish their firearms.
Again, these guns are unregistered (not in any database) and have no serial number (unless you decide to stamp it with an ID mark in case it gets stolen). There's also no record of the 80% lower sale because its unfinished and not considered a firearm yet.
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/firearms-technology.html: “For your information, per provisions of the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968, 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44, an unlicensed individual may make a “firearm” as defined in the GCA for his own personal use, but not for sale or distribution.”
Correct, but you actually can sell them as long as they are not manufactured with the intent to sell. So you can't make a lower, take it to the range for a day and immediately sell it, but if you have one that is several years old it's probably fine to sell it or give it as a gift.
And my understanding is that it is generally considered a good idea to add a serial number, even if it's not legally required. It can make interactions with law enforcement easier if they're not aware of all these details.
I would wager that right now, in the US, there are more people that know how to use CNC machines and have access to one than people who know how to use 3d printers and have access to one. Consider that damn near every mid-sized shop these days has a CNC machine, while 3d printers are still very much a hobbyist's toy (your regular Joe can always pop down to the local hackerspace to get access to one, but I doubt many hackerspaces would be amused at regular Joe printing out his own Liberator. I would expect to see more leeway given to people who work in shops with CNC machines though, mostly due to the lower visibility).
With any luck 3d printers will become more ubiquitous in the next few years, and this will all clearly be no longer the case.
3d printers that people can afford can only produce garbage guns. 3d printers that professionals use (i.e., that cost tends of thousands of dollars) can produce slightly less crappy guns. In either case, you end up with a product that is substantially lower quality that mass-manufactured equivalents and costs substantially more.
What kind of idiot would pay more money for a lower quality product that could easily blow up in your hand severely injuring you? I mean, it is not like there's a shortage of mass-manufactured firearms.
I can purchase a laser sintering printer that can print 3D metal objects for a few thousand dollars. I would argue this is a low enough price point that your average person could afford it. I could also print a gun with a laser sinter, that while not as smooth and refined as a cast weapon, will still fire.
Sure, ABS plastic weapons are still somewhat laughable. What happens when you can print a metal gun in your own home with some metal powder, with a machine purchased for less than $1K?
Note: Boeing uses laser sintered parts in their new Dreamliner; this isn't just for prototyping.
I wasn't arguing that manufacturing tech turns people into murderers. I was arguing that the cost of rapid prototyping/manufacturing tech is dropping extremely rapidly, and to attempt to regulate it will be a fool's errand.
SLS fabricators don't actually produce equivalent quality to real guns. Real guns are made with precision machined metal components that are extremely strong. SLS "guns" are made with tiny bits of metal and binder fused at much lower temperatures than metal forging and thus have much weaker bonds. You can't really compare the two.
It's already really simple, and has been since time out of mind?
Anyways, no, I don't think that it will make a huge difference--the materials in use and the resolution in printing is just comical compared to even a simple throwaway zipgun.
is this a problem?