***We are aware the reactionaries at Thingiverse, owned by MakerBot Industries, have taken down all STL files related to 3D printing firearms. We are preparing an alternative upload site and mirror for the fugitive files at DEFCAD.ORG. Defense Distributed will no longer develop with the Makerbot in mind***
We recommend the Ultimaker if you are in the market.
Required:
>>3d Printer<<
>>AR lower .STL<<
>>CMMG conversion kit<<
Instructions
If you have access to a CAD package, I highly recommend working from the original IGES file and not an STL if you want to print a lower receiver. Firearms require a good deal more precision than a Bre Pettis bobblehead, and working from a proper CAD model will allow you to tweak hole diameters and add reinforcement in critical areas. In this case, I opted to add extra support to the front takedown pin lugs, added an integral trigger guard, and reinforced the area around the bolt hold. However, I’m still skeptical of how well the bolt hold crosspin holes will fare and will test without that feature to start with.
Justin’s original IGES file actually has the buffer tube threads as modeled features, so I output the STL at a very high resolution (hence the 46 meg file). Much to my delight, when I printed the receiver on my Stratasys, a buffer tube could be screwed right into the rear of the receiver with no touchup of the threads needed (a good thing, as the special 1-3/16″-16 tap for the threads is rather expensive).
As this is a rather complex part, I recommend printing it out at 75% scale first (you can see my original 75% stock lower next to the final full size reinforced lower in one of the pictures). You’ll save a lot of time and material this way and get a good idea of how well features will be preserved on a full size print. I used PP3DP UP! filament for the 75% model and switched to black Bolson ABS for the full print. I’d love to try a polycarbonate/ABS blend for this part, but I have no idea if my printer will handle such material.
I have not yet tried fitting the receiver with the trigger group and other components – I may need to ream some of the holes and then sleeve with brass bushings to maintain the needed accuracy. However, I’m very pleased with the receiver thus far and have a .22 conversion kit that I’ll be using once I’m ready for live fire tests.
CREDIT:
Michael Guslick, HaveBlue.org
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62 Comments
How can I get a copy of this file/model?
http://www.thingiverse.com/download:37581
Happy Printing.
This is a fantastic initiative. You guys really are pioneers. The concept itself is amazing, but doing it with weapons is even more brilliant. Keep up the good work!
Other than a few select pieces that absolutely need to be made from machined steel… it is entirely possible to create mostly printed firearms.
Realistically, you could create models for the magwell, magazine body/floor plate, pistol grip, foreward guard… hell, you could probably even print an upper.
My question is… when do we get THOSE models too?
@Mike http://www.cncguns.com/downloads.html
Make a facebook page please
Part of me wants to see this as a Nobel goal, it really does, but it more seems like either you are deluded or just want a cool printer and don’t have the funds. The technology to create a gun from easily obtained parts has existed for YEARS, infact the federal government has published material on creating one from a piece of wood, some pipe fittings, and scrap metal. and as an added bonus they can fire rounds that are more lethal than a pidly .22LR. The AR-15 gun only works because the lower is oddly enough just about the only piece necessary for function that isn’t under large mechanical and or heat stress.
you want to know what the government will think if people start being able to print a .22lr gun at home… Probably whatever an elephant thinks when they step on a bug they didnt see.
Before you start going off about my comments being anti gun etc realize this I love my guns, several of which are AR-15s, one of which was built from parts. I know how these things work, and know enough of the science and materials tech to know that you cant print ABS strong enough to be a chamber for more than a couple shots and even if we ignore that there would be no spin stabilization from rifling. If the barrel was rifled? well then you would just have a plastic covered bullet from melting it off. If you want an armed public post the information on creating pipe based zipguns. If you want to play with a 10k printer fess up.
Even if guns are illegal… I still can buy whatever I like. You know… just like weed.
Major applause design/quality engineer at a major American automotive manufacturer and am heavily involved in our Rapid Prototyping dept. We have a Stratasys Dimension series, and a Stratasys Fortus 400 & 900. I have done several builds in PC-ABS model material from stratasys and have noted MAJOR mechanical property increases. I am going to inquire having this lower made for myself from a local Stratasys distributor and test fit it to my RRA AR15. Please feel free to contact me at my submitted email as I would love to be involved in this effort. I’m skilled in and have access to: CATIA, SolidWorks, Magics by Materialize, and Catalyst and Insight by Stratasys. Keep up the good work!
I completely support this idea, but the problem is that even if you could build an arsenal of weapons in your basement with a 3d printer, if they’re still illegal, you go to jail for possessing them. I think we need a two pronged approach. DIY weapons plus legalizing them and liberalizing gun ownership even more. I live in Canada, we like in the dark ages when it comes to self-defense and gun ownership, thanks to scumbag far-leftists who’ve created our gun laws. The irony is that few topics are as polarizing as this. I used to be a liberal and I really hate them for a lot of reasons now, but conservatives have some stupid ideas too, so I’m centrist.
Dear Cody Wilson, we will get you and you simply disapear. God damn blinded crap….
Funny how anti gun comments get deleted here. Yes, great idea to make it easier for robbers to get a hold of guns; or even kids still.
Great job guys, job well done!
aahh.. good!.. i like it.. we in Kazachstan also 3D print whores and nukes so Kazachstan still greatest country in the world!
Borat..
oh metamurk, what a primative mind you have. Please take it elsewhere
WOW! American genius at its best! Seriously, this is a cool idea. The fact that the first thing that comes to your mind that should be evently distributed is a gun, is what is troubling, yet not astounding. The blindness towards your own cowardice is mind-boggling to me. And if your seriously believe, that spreading more weaponry into the population will make it safer, then you just prove my point. If anything you say is true, why do you try to keep others around the world from having guns, eh?
There is no Federal law against building a firearm for your own personal use. It must meet guidelines per the 1934 NFA legislation and further can never be sold or even given to anyone else. As for additional state laws, you’re on your own. Research your individual state.
recommedations:
1) use the mgi-military.com style lower(its uses only rear half of lower and a seperate metal mag well..so less to print and less to wear out.
2)make use of the drop in trigger boxes(like a http://www.timneytriggers.com)…will reduce stress on reciever(especially hammer pin hole)
3)consider a solid buffer(no spring)like on S&w M&P15-22. You will have to run an upper like on the piston/folding stock AR15′s(LR-300 or oa-93)but lower would be stronger. The 22 conversions would, of course, still work with solid buffer.
i’m excited about this technology, but what about the requirement of serial numbers? on an AR-15, the lower receiver is the only serialized part, so in most, if not all, states, this part needs to be registered with an FFL.. how do you plan to address this fact?
otherwise – super awesome tech, guys!
I have looked at the 3d printers quite extensively for parts production of my Fly reel prototypes. They can not hit the tolerances I need, and certainly won’t hit spec tolerances for a gun. I machine several thousand barrels in my gun barrels years ago, you need to be able to achieve +/- tolerances in the +/- .0000 “ten thousandths for reliable mechanism. A very cool project for sure, I am still waiting for a reasonably priced FDM that will hit spec for my prototype reels. My current prototypes have all been CNC machined.
Having touble with the file extention… certificate trust list?
is it possible to get this file in a .dwg format?
Your assumption that owning an M16 is illegal is incorrect. With the correct paperwork and tax stamp most citizens can legally own machine guns, silencers, and the like.
Your assumption that building an M16/M4 is illegal or must be documented with BATFE is incorrect. Two states have laws in place exempting firearms are built in these two states from any Federal regulation but the firearms can not leave the state they were fabricated in, States rights you know.
great idea. lets see some more ideas including other receivers please. yes may we get this in .DWG file format?
very easy …all else fails ,go back to the true law of the land …damn the so-called gun laws! this wave of socialism has no place in the land of freedom !
wow u guys srsly rock!
my dad has a 3d printer at work so maybe i could finaly use it to make a gun and mayb do somthing about that annoying teacher at school and all the stupid kids that pick on me!
thanks guys!
FYI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violent_Crime_Control_and_Law_Enforcement_Act
Federal Assault Weapons Ban
Title XI, subtitle A, formally known as the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, but commonly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban or Semiautomatic Assault Weapons Ban, barred the manufacture of 19 specific semi-automatic firearms, classified as “assault weapons” (a non-technical term), as well as any semi-automatic rifle, pistol, or shotgun that is capable of accepting a detachable magazine, and which has two or more of the following features: A telescoping or folding stock, a pistol grip, a flash suppressor, a grenade launcher, and a bayonet lug.
This law also banned possession of newly-manufactured magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.
This section took effect September 13, 1994, and expired because of a vote in congress and now it is, once again, legal to own or possess a military-style semi-automatic rifle and magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. This expiration occurred on September 13, 2004 through a sunset provision.
The National Rifle Association and other organizations argued that the ban was unconstitutional and violated the Second Amendment. See firearm case law.
Wow… pretty cool but to all the people saying it will make gun’s easier to access have obviously never lived in a big city or have lived a sheltered life. For about $75 you can buy a street gun with bullets and all much easier than printing one out if you ask me.
Someone said owning a plastic lower receiver is illegal. But then I point out Glocks or Plum Crazy lowers and that usually shuts them up. The glock is a plastic polymer, and the internals of both the glock and printable AR15 would be steel.
As for federal law, if the rifle is not under the NFA, you don’t need to register it. That would probably just mean making sure the barrel is longer than 16″ and the whole thing is longer than 26″.
As for the pistol, as long as it is rifled and not fully automatic, it should be perfectly legal to make for yourself (and isn’t an NFA weapon).
Of course state laws will differ some, so be sure to check with a lawyer before printing.
Good work guys. These new technologies show how silly it is to try to ban or regulate a object. Gov can only say what you can’t do with a object.
As a result of the “undetectable plastic gun” hysteria, there is probably some residual law regulating “plastic guns.” Glocks are radio opaque.
Caught the controversy over the project idea from reading the news, had to laugh when the printer manufacturer said and I quote.
Mr Goodman predicts that 3D printing could be the next battleground in the fight against organised crime and terrorism. And it won’t just be weapons that will be printed online.
“It will be the next frontier in IP [Intellectual Property] theft when you are able to manufacture a Rolex watch, Gucci handbags, Nike sneakers,” he said.
What absolute rubbish, clearly Mr Goodman has never been overseas, where cheap knock off Rolex watches or Gucci handbags along with nike trainers made in a sweat shop filled with children working for a pittance fill every street corner!
What’s up with that? Just try searching for ten minutes online with where to buy fake ray bans or fake gucci and see what you can find on sale in Bulk from Thailand or China exports.
Seriously I had to laugh, it’s almost as good as reading the terrorist handbook, the version published online which advocates making home made explosives in an ice bath at minus 20 degrees, then in a sharp turn around it advocates sticking that same explosive compound into a boiling hot bath of boiling water to purify it.
A word to the wise, if the crystalline element degrades rapidly and turns liquid at room temperature then you can guarantee a boiling hot water bath will kill not only it but you in the process.
But that information or disinformation is out there on the web.
I have both printed this using a mojo printer, and made this using my home build cnc milling machine. Make something illigal and we will find away around the laws.
Simple Caveats from the manufacture of Military Explosives.
N.B “It should not be used alone, since it can be set off by a not-too severe shock!”
Pour the mixture into a liter of crushed ice. Shake and stir the mixture. “Did I read that right did it just tell me to Shake an explosive that detonates at a rate of 8550 meters/second when it is compressed to a density of 1.55 g/cubic cm.”
Place the crystals into one half a liter of BOILING distilled water. Under no circumstances should anyone ever do so, it degrades and becomes as unstable as Nitro at room temperature.
Great idea, let people make there own unlicensed guns. genius.
I would recommend a CAD design for 3D coffins next, you’ll need them if people start mass producing these and getting them into teenagers hands.
LOL unlicensed guns? All my guns are unlicensed, as well as the hundreds that I have sold working at a gun store. Why don’t you do some reading before you spout such nonsense on a public forum, it’s embarrassing.
One would hope that Obama’s proposal rerfes to cases of obvious neglect. A gun owner is responsible for securing his or her weapon. To me, that means when you’re around it’s under your control and when you’re not around it’s locked up where nobody can get it. Guess it depends on how Obama would define “securely stored.” Unfortunately, I have to agree that in gun control parlance, “securely stored” probably means “always locked up where nobody can get it, including the owner.”I’m also wondering how many firearms used in crimes are actually burglarized from private homes, stolen from cars, or (the liberals’ favorite scenario) taken from their “overpowered” owners during self-defense situations. Anybody have statistics?
Ive found a website that offers CAD /IGES for a upper/lower AR rifle. It’s a exact copy of the HERA ARMS HLS . I’m dying to purchase the CaD / IGES but I cannot fing anyone to CNC the parts for me. If you can direct me in the right direction I’d appreciate it. Thanks Ray
This ingenious idea applied to open source manufacturing is going to allow EVERYONE to exercise their right to have and bear arms! Remember, it is your right and not a “privilege” to own a gun (amongst any other weapons one may want to print! lol). This may be the first great idea of the 21st century!
you guys are the pioneers of an undiscovered concept; i am excited to see what becomes of your research. this is amazing stuff. don’t let them hold you down! freedom of information, and the freedom to exist the way you want to is a fundamental belief we are being stripped of more and more each day. keep up the good work.
Recommendation:
1:use MGi-military style lower for maximum caliber AND magazine options…like using the AK47 magaine!!
2: use a side cocking ar15 upper. This deletes the charging T handle and would allow the 1″ buffer tube to be attached to the flattop of the upper giving the plastic lower increased strength. This (to be invented later)1″ to picatiny rail adapter could also be made of plastic in the printer.
3:this side charger/1″ bolt to picatiny recipe would be necessary to run a direct impingement system, which would only be necessary on a few select caliber who dot have a piston/bufferleaa option. Mainly the 300 blackout, 9mm, and 7.62×39.
Otherwise RRA makes a piston/bufferless upper…similar to the LR300.
You guys are really taking the second amendmend to the next level. Love it!
Just Think of all the acessories that you can print. rails? grips? light holders? Not sure what the law says about supressors
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now
each time a comment is added I get several e-mails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove people from that service?
Cheers!
After I initially left a comment I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox
and from now on whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the same comment.
Is there a means you can remove me from that service? Kudos!
To the comments about a single shot disposable device being useless and inconsequent, recall the Liberator.
Which Crypto shell Extension should be used to open?
Can anyone recommend a Crypto Shell Extension that supports opening this file?
Science sans conscience n’est que ruine de l’âme.
I love the idea of this project!
The democratization of firearms.
Henry Ford is heralded for democratizing the automobile, despite it killing thousands of people every year.
May the government fear its people once again!
Two thoughts occur to me. The first, that trying to get a Nobel for open source guns is a bit ironic, considering how Nobel himself felt about killing (The man was a pacifist), the second being that, second amendment aside, making it so that anyone with a small bit of cash to blow can make a thing designed with no purpose other than to kill seems a bit like it’s going out of its way to start a war. LETS GIVE EVER SINGLE DAMN PERSON A GUN, CHILDREN, UNHINGED LUNATICS ON THE RUN, PEOPLE ON PAROLE FOR MURDER, FUCK YEAH
I haven’t followed much of this. But, has anyone thought of using an electric arc to fire the bullet. Can an arc, say from a modified camera capacitor, be used to ignite the powder which would do away with the firing pin.
Also, in the hose industry you wrap the inner tube with yarn and then cover with another layer to maintain the preasure. Could you print a piece and then wrap with kevlar or nomex, then continue printing over this in alternating layers?
Just ideas…
The files have been removed! I am sure you are aware but thought I would let you know.
People, please. If you are worried about Al-Qaeda buying a bunch of printers to create firarms. Don’t. After the fall of the East Bloc the world was SATURATED with cheap, reliable, proven designs that could be bought for PENNIES.
And honestly, thousands of people are killed with knives every year. So, if we wanted to end murder should we outlaw a basic kitchen utensil?
this idea is quite revolutionary but how can a plastic material can stay longer and bear lots of heat. please tell me when this technology is available in India .
I’m wondering if you could 3d metal print this. I know they do stainless steel powder. Wouldn’t that be stronger than plastic?
Dear some guy. Nobel was a pacifist? He made all his money making explosives and war materiel. You are a brain dead idiot. Ironic that you said something stupid and look like a smacked ass isn’t it?
he was a pacifist, he felt so bad about creating an explosive that was used to harm people that he created the peace prize.
Thank you very much, just imagine the benefit to the narco or the mafia, they will not have to buy them anymore, only manufactured by themselves… lol
where is possible to download printable file 3d?
How about printing it one sheet at a time like they build skateboards or surfboards or samurai swords? Also why dont you just whittle one out of wood? Then you can artificially petrify the wood to make it polymer hard like stone?
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