Just saw the video.
The First 3d printed bullets (working).
When they show the two working together, that's the final step.

What a world.

BATFE is interested in one thing only: stopping a trend that could have inexpensive firearms available to large numbers of people on the ground. You wouldn't even have to "run" those guns on any flight. Just shoot the file to anyone having one of those additive factories ("3D printers") hooked up to his computer, and that person instantly can become his own gunsmith.

So the threat is not to aircraft, paassenger or freight. It's to the "jackbooted thugs" on the ground when the John Galt-style collapse comes. And by some accounts, that collapse will come WITHOUT John Galt's help.

What would John Galt, or Ragnar Danneskjöld, have thought of this development? Just imagine the sort of militia Ragnar Danneskjöld, or any of his black-market customers, could have raised.

I haven't made any 3D printed firearms yet, but I am making 3D printed rocket propellant. If you're interested in 3D printed firearms and nonmetallic ammunition, I recommend you e-mail me at jbrenner@fit.edu about my university's 3D printing camps this summer. I won't print the firearms or the ammunition, but I have no problem teaching you how to do so.

I am starting work on 3D printing of metals now, but once again not for firearms.

Not to speak with any authority but I did hear things mentioned specifically in a few of the videos that I watched. Some of the more durable ones were printing with metal powders so definitely not something that could pass a metal detector.

I agree.

Do you have any information on the costs and which materials are being used?

Yes but my point is that they are much more than 1 shot weapons now. If you do a bit of searching you can most likely find one that I read about 6 months ago about a guy who is getting around 250 shots or so out of an AR-15 version he is making. Honestly any gun that can handle more than 50 rounds can last long enough to wreck total havoc.

Liked the documentary, but the subject admitted that he is still having problems with the durability of the lower (receiver). I love the concept, I'm just still thinking this isn't going to take off without better materials.

Thanks again for the link!

Sorry that I left the link out last time. Would swear that I put it in there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DconsfGsX...

Just read a very interesting article by an Israeli security expert. Apparently, they don't bother much with the intrusive scans used by the TSA and have passengers from disembarkment to curbside in <15 minutes. They instead focus on training their agents on body language and asking a few key questions of the passengers as they come through. No profiling necessary. And they face a whole lot more and constant threats than any terminal in the US.

Just an idea which would of course get shot down by the idiots in government...

I missed the link in your post, but would be very interested in seeing the information. My information came from the video released by the ATF study using the common materials available. Better materials obviously are going to change the matter (as I mentioned).

Would also be interested in the cost of the materials in your link, as the common resin plastic in current use means that a printed gun can be manufactured for about $400.

Check this link and you may change your mind about 3-D guns durability.

It is not difficult to make non-metallic ammunition. There are case-less cartridges, currently made by several manufactures and designed for specific guns types. The bullet itself can easily be made non-metallic - ceramic or from other hard materials. Such a bullet will have poor ballistics, but that is irrelevant for short distances. Commercial primers are enclosed in a cupper "cup," but it is so small that it will not be picked up by a standard metal detector. So, yes, ammunition can easily be made undetectable using standard methods. Most likely such a weapon will be capable of firing only a single shot (or 2 if it has two barrels). Given all that, the purpose of the law is clearly not to protect the citizens from terrorists, but to protect the terrorist government from the citizens.

there is a company making 3D printed all metal m1911 .45's. saw several gun industry press releases a few weeks ago. This IS all about citizen control.

He doesn't have to at all, but the detectors are going to pick up on trace chemicals. That's what they do.

I think the bigger gripe is why everyone is subject to TSA inspections for this nonsense when it is a very clear minority - easily visually identified - that perpetrate the vast majority of the problems with air transport in the first place. If your ire has a legitimate target, that would be it.

I mean good grief. Mothers can't take infants onto a plane with baby formula or milk to feed them, so the other customers get to listen to a screaming child for their flight. People have to wait to get to their hotels for basic toiletries such as toothpaste, etc. because the TSA won't let you carry them on.

I am in full agreement with the annoyances of "security" in air travel, I'm just pointing out that the detectors are just inanimate objects - it is the policies that dictate their use that are the obstacles here.

I just discovered that there's no real need to resort to a 3D printer (yet?). One can purchase an "80% finished" polymer/plastic AR-15 receiver from any number of online sources without showing an ID, without any sort of license, and without any restrictions on shipping (and it has no serial number). One can purchase an entire AR-15 or M-16, less the lower receiver, the same way. The total cost is around half of what complete AR-15s sell for.

"Semi-finished" AR-15 receivers have been around for some time, as have jigs to assist in finishing them. These essentially require a machine shop to complete them. The polymer receivers can be "finished" using basic hand tools and the jig is supposedly not required.

In other words, with a bit of time, basic skills, and an assortment of "gun parts", you can build your own AR-15 without having to let anyone know you bought it, or that you possess it.

There are nitrates in plenty of other innocuous locations, including barnyard dirt and most likely any agricultural land that has been fertilized or and body of water that receives agricultural run-off.

There are also nitrates present in a number of household products. One oddball that comes to mind is "instant cold packs".

I'm a avid shooter and reload all my own ammo. Add to that my power wheelchair and the end result is that I just don't fly anywhere.

Every time I go to the VA hospital I have to clean my wheelchair since spent brass can collect in the little nooks on it's base. Not only are firearms a big no-no in those facilities, but spent brass is too. Large calibers are pretty easy to find, but 22's are a pain in the butt. Picking up a person in the airport if you have spent brass in a pocket will also gain you a trip to the back room. How do I know? I was inline at the concession stand and reach into a pocket of my chair that I keep change in and pulled out a handful of change and two spent 22 brass with a TSA bum standing in line behind me. You would have though I was Ali Achbir or something. THAT FOOL made a entire day exciting. Some people need to be kept from breeding.

A small glass bottle, holding no more than the TSA-permitted amount of liquid, medicine, or what have you, could undoubtedly be turned into a nasty gadget by simply banging it against a hard surface in the lavatory.

The thing is: if we can think up stuff like this with such ease, just imagine what people who make a full time job out of making horrid plots must come up with.

glass ashtray, skilled flintknapper, 10 minutes in the lavatory - instant knife.

The 1" ball bearing probably would be detected, but what of a glass marble?

Opinion/mine: The objective in all this is NOT to protect Americans ... but to DISARM us. Totally. And when you become fearful of speaking out against overbearing, intrusive government, you have become a slave.

Uh, nitrates are the main composite in fertilizer and they can be concentrated and used to make bombs, so it is not surprising that the detector went off. A quick wipe of even a damp paper towel in the restroom should be enough to get rid of any residue.