I’m Australian, writing about a matter that’s gaining a lot of attention, and that is, printing 3D guns. I know that many members of the Makerworld and Bambu Lab Community Forum are American, where guns are legal, but in Australia there are very tight gun controls that ban every sort of handgun, and any automatic rifle and shotgun.
The Australian community doesn’t want guns and is happy for the government to take action.
My fear is that our government could legislate to block access to any website that allows the download of material that can be 3D printed then assembled into working 3D printed guns.
I’m a Bambu Lab X1C owner, and I love Makerworld. I’d hate to be without it.
I welcome comments
This has been discussed at length Guns on MakerWorld, MW doesn’t allow functioning firearms to be uploaded.
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I’m grateful to hear that, but when in Makerworld and you search for “Guns” you get a hit that displays 3D printable components. Is this just legacy stuff that will get purged?
Its a closed topic, but it came up as #2 (was a contributor so may be related). Anyhow.
from what i can see it’s all toys / replicas, if your government wants to censor that it’s pretty silly
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they also never talk about how extremely difficult it would be to even build out one of these in any ban country like how are you gonna get a slide or the parts kit it can’t even be shipped to them
This is the problem with the government, not MakerWorld. Also the political take of “oh noes 3d printers can print guns” is bottom tier stupid - it’s damn plastic. If politicians (and people supporting them) are so afraid of guns as to ban 3d printers, they should first ban far more accessible and sturdy ways of creating guns like say car parts, hydraulic parts, machine shop tools, woodworking tools…
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Like this Background checks for 3D printer purchases . You never know with politicians, the jury is out and I’m on holidays anyhow. Enjoy
It’s serious. Right now, we have a tobacco war. The cots of a packet of 20 cigarettes in Australia is $US26. It’s a strategy to make people give up because the price is too high, but no-one here looks at the lessons learned from US prohibition in the 1930s. Organised crime is now importing Chinese chop chop, and counterfeit cigarettes. The demand from smokers is high so that the crims are fighting each other for control. They threaten cigarette shops with firebombing if they don’t stock a particular brand of chop chop. There have been at least 100 firebombings in the past year. This involves ramming a stolen car loaded with accelerant into the recalcitrant cigarette shop owner’s store and setting it alight. 100 of them. The police and the government is trying to deal with outcries from the community who are demanding action on criminal violenc. At the same time, crime are finding ways of getting guns, including importing guns that don’t trigger metal detectors.
I think the government is keen to addresss the community’s concerns and as recently as this week, reports in newspapers show that the government is going to take whatever action is necessary
There is a group on the internet that is dedicated to provide plans that let you home build a complete automatic gun from basic hardware and 3D printed parts.
If someone is really motivated to make their own guns it is not that difficult to find the sources and plans to build them
But 3D printers are no different than lays or mills or a band saw or drill press and a file in that regard. They are just tools to build things.
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Politicians will do “whatever action is necessary” except anything that’s actually smart and makes sense. The “tobacco war” you describe is them imposing their tyrany “for the good” and C.S. Lewis said it perfectly:
I disagree with Lexi’s suggestion to banning specifically “3d printed weapons” as it makes no sense in a world where there are far easier, safer and more accessible ways of manufacturing firearms… And to even say that in a country where “right to bear arms” is in constitution… Anyway: indeed using CNC would be far better way do make a gun and nobody’s putting any prop for background checks on CNC machines… or drill presses…
And 3d-printed parts are just convenience pieces that wore out the fastest and if i remember correctly it’s recommended to instead do those parts from stronger materials than FDM printed plastic.
All one needs to actually build a working firearm is just a trip to hardware store away…
So to the main point: Dear australians, your politicians are stupid and need to be replaced with less stupid ones (there are no smart politicians). If they legislate to block access to makerworld it’s on them (and on you for not replacing them). Also, it would be very funny if some determined aussie would then go and make firearms from everything that firearms can be made out of and have government ban literally everything. And it’s doubly funny to note that 3D printers are allowed in china, which is very authoritarian country. Imagine being more authoritarian and freedom limiting than china 
Kitchen knives are pretty deadly too. Let’s ban them!
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