Texas-based company Solid Concepts reported it has manufactured the world's first 3D Printed Metal Gun using a laser sintering process and powdered metals.
The gun, a 1911 classic design composed of 33 17-4 stainless steel and Inconel 625 components, is able to fire 50 rounds successfully.
"We're proving this is possible, the technology is at a place now where we can manufacture a gun with 3D Metal Printing," says Kent Firestone, Vice President of Additive Manufacturing at Solid Concepts. "And we're doing this legally. In fact, as far as we know, we're the only 3D Printing Service Provider with a Federal Firearms License (FFL). Now, if a qualifying customer needs a unique gun part in five days, we can deliver."
The announcement was released amid a controversial debacle that stands on whether 3D printing could become a hazard tool in wrong hands letting criminals to print untraceable metal guns in their own homes.
"Let me start out by saying one, very important thing: This is not about desktop 3-D printers," said Alyssa Parkinson, s spokeswoman for Solid Concepts. "We completed it with a Selective Laser Sintered (SLS) 3D Printed hand grip, because we are kind of crazy about 3D Printing."
"The industrial printer we used costs more than my college tuition (and I went to a private university)," she added. "And the engineers who run our machines are top of the line; they are experts who know what they're doing and understand 3-D printing better than anyone in this business."
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