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by meowface 2895 days ago
One concern is that it's now cheaper, easier, and faster to mass produce weapons which will evade metal detectors. I don't think any of this should be illegal, but the concerns should be considered.
3 comments

It’s still illegal to do it, and if you’re making a run of them you’d use a mill, not a 3D printer.
The saving grace, such as it is, is that these firearms are single-shot, and the rounds themselves are still metal and explosive-residue-detectable. While 3D printing has changed manufacturing methods, it's not like the method of deposition changes the strength of the material that much, so it's improbable that these plastic firearms will ever be able to withstand more than one or two shots.

It strikes me as likely that a 3D-printed gun will not be the most effective way to accomplish almost any kind of harm for almost any kind of perpetrator, no matter how situated. And that gives me a little comfort, even if I wish my countrymen were less fascinated with weapons.

The 3-D printed guns are single shot, but the new ghost gunner machine is a CNC mill and I believe uses an aluminum alloy which can handle multiple shots.
The ghost gunner is used to finish metal parts that are fully functional, they will last for thousands of shots.

But they also won't pass metal detectors.

it should be illegal.