This is America, wouldn’t it be easier just to buy a gun? I get that 3D printers can make ghost guns that aren’t traceable but how many crimes have occurred where that is the murder weapon?
this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2026
727 points (99.3% liked)
Technology
85274 readers
4846 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
One CEO. More important than every dead schoolchild.
They asked about crimes.
Agreed. Every time I've looked into printing one I look at the process and just buy it. All the ghost guns I've made were from hollowed-out 80% lowers. And one time a hardware store slamfire shotgun.
I fully support one's right to print a gat, but it sure ain't for me.
Thats the neat part: they can make weapons the same way I can theoretically make a bomb from enriched uranium in my backyard.
Not as much as you think. The thing is even in countries with strict gun laws 3D printed firearms are a negligible part of firearm crime.
This isn't to say that they don't exist. I saw images of criminal gun factories in Australia (which have been around well before 3D printing) that had integrated 3D printing into their stuff, but they still do a lot of metal work, too.
What does this accomplish?
In the USA it's easier to buy an ar-15 than configuring a multi material 3d printer to print a fidget spinner
And btw if someone really needs to 3d print a weapon they would CNC a receiver from a metal block using a $500 AliExpress contraption rather than making a single use plastic thingy that will probably amputate your fingers at first shot
What does this accomplish?
Spies on people who are printing large quantities of whistles.
They really must take every single last one source of joy from everyone who hasn't turned into sheep at this point.
We need an international industry of dis-enshittifiers
view more: next ›