Early Retirement Extreme Forums

This reminds me a lot of the filesharing sites. The argument is the sites don't control what is shared, but only host the sites.

The blowback of 3-D guns is the optics of printing an untraceable gun.

But on the side of the guy that wants the blueprints out, "How is this any different then buy electronics and parts from a hardware store and build stuff with bad intentions". The guy does have an interest of having the printable guns produced though as a story on this on a morning news program mentioned that he sells those machines to do the printing.

A huge chunk of STEM majors at universities have background knowledge and access to the equipment and materials required to make deadly weapons worse than this 3D printed gun. Additionally, if someone with a mind to share has the file, then everyone who wants it has the file. It's a farcical situation.

On side note, 3D printers have been heavily evangelized since I have been affiliated with post-secondary institutions, and I have yet to see them be used for anything other than making tchotchkes and mockups to wow the tactile-minded business people. They seem useless, or at least much less useful than people make them out to be. Anyone have a different experience?

ZAFCorrection wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:52 pm

On side note, 3D printers have been heavily evangelized since I have been affiliated with post-secondary institutions, and I have yet to see them be used for anything other than making tchotchkes and mockups to wow the tactile-minded business people. They seem useless, or at least much less useful than people make them out to be.

https://www.spacex.com/news/2014/07/31/ ... ber-crewed

That people seem to think 3D printers are useless isn't surprising. To make effective use of them requires creativity. Most people typically don't engage their creative nature to discover different ways of utilizing new or even existing technology. Let's take pens, markers, or pencils for example. Some people draw smiley faces, others draw phallic symbols on their friends sleeping faces. I look at a pencil and see wood and graphite. I can use it to start a fire, lubricate a zipper or gear. I can use a pen as a makeshift straw, focused blower, or perform a tracheotomy. Imagination, imagination, imagination.

I can't imagine up...

Just kidding - couldn't help myself.

When we had a cad course, my first impulse was to design a handgun. But they wanted us to make nut cracker.