weapons
3D Printing & the Military: Squandered Opportunities
Previous articles in this series have explored the potential for the U.S. to leverage additive manufacturing to its advantage. However, this potential may be undermined by a propensity for creating…
Alleged NYPD Report on 3D Printed Firearms Leaked Online
An advocate for 3D printed firearms published a document allegedly from the New York Police Department (NYPD) on “ghost guns” made with 3D printed components. The individual claims to have…
3D Printed Guns Confiscated by Israeli Military in West Bank
Arrests related to 3D printed firearms are increasing alongside the emergence of additive manufacturing (AM) being deployed within areas of ongoing military conflict. This has been demonstrated significantly by rebel…
Sen. Gillibrand Spearheads Effort Against 3D Printed Guns with New Legislation
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand formally announced the 3D Printed Gun Safety Act, a legislative initiative initially introduced by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey in July 2021. The bill’s primary objective is…
3D Printed Anti-Drone Gun Demonstrates Potential for Improvised Weaponry
While the general public is concerned with the creation of 3D printed guns by petty criminals, arms manufacturers are turning to additive manufacturing (AM) for the production of advanced weaponry….
3D Printing Experiences its First Protest at RAPID + TCT 2023
At the 2023 RAPID + TCT event, the additive manufacturing (AM) industry experienced what may have been its first protest. On Wednesday, May 3, volunteers of an anti-war organization called…
Russia, China, Europe, the US and the Rest: 3D Printing a Fractious World
If we consider geopolitics as a game of individuals, we might perceive the following: One madman contemplates his own mortality and as he withers in the mirror, he wishes to…
US Military’s 3D Printing Cybersecurity to Be Improved with Stratasys ProtectAM Platform
As discussed in our recent 3DPrint.com PRO article, 3D printing is seeing increasing use in military applications, which is the obviously the largest sector for government spending in the U.S….
How Additive Manufacturing is Quietly Revolutionizing the Defense Industry
During the inaugural AM Investment Strategies summit, which was held virtually this September, I was fortunate enough to speak on a panel of industry leaders about trends in additive manufacturing…
Defense Appropriations Bill Secures Millions for 3D Printing
The House Appropriations Committee approved a $706 billion defense budget for the fiscal year 2022, which includes $31.5 million towards additive manufacturing (AM) initiatives in Ohio and at least $25…
De-Hyper: The US Military Is Not the Best Innovator in Manufacturing
When the United States entered World War Two in 1942, the planet would change in ways that now seem nearly irreversible. When the dust was settled, not only did the…
Metal X 3D Printer Begins Operations at U.S. Military Base
Markforged can happily claim to be a pioneer on a number of fronts in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry: 3D printing reinforcement fibers, low-cost metal 3D printing, unique quality control…
Should We Begin Preparing for 3D Printed Nuclear Weapons?
The large NC3 (Nuclear Command, Control & Communications) architecture, comprised of systems made up of many airborne, space-based, and terrestrial components meant to connect nuclear forces in the US to the…
University of Mississippi: How to Trace 3D Printed Guns for Forensic Analysis
Parker Riley Ball is a thesis student at the University of Mississippi, exploring some complex areas regarding 3D printing, outlined in ‘Development of a Dart-Mass Spectral Database for 3D Printed…
3D Printing Bump-Fire Stocks
Before the horrific massacre in Las Vegas, I, and I suspect most people, had never heard of bump stocks or bump-fire stocks. As shown below, they are after-market gun stocks…
UK Government Report Says 3D Printing is a Threat to National Security, and That Should Scare You
The Ministry of Defence is a government department within the UK that takes responsibility for managing the nation’s official defense policy and their various armed forces. However it also has…
3D Printed Nuclear Weapons are Coming! (But Not Really)
The history of newspaper publishing is rich with improbable doomsday scenarios that are hyped up beyond seriousness, especially when someone invents some new technology that is difficult to understand. Facts or…
Escalating Positive Outcomes with 3D Printing
Back in January 2013 we were planning the launch of 3DLT. We wanted to kick things off with a bang (apologies in advance for that). Crowdsourcing was an important part…
Could This 3D Printed Folding Knife be Cause for Concern? Looks can be Deceiving
If there is one issue that brings the technology of 3D printing down one notch, besides the potential intellectual property issues that could arise, it would be the 3D printing…
University Official Arrested For Possession of 3D Printed Gun – Claims ‘A gun makes power equal’
It’s just a matter of time before it becomes commonplace to hear of people being arrested for the possession of 3D printed guns. They exist, and the designs to produce…
