Now For 3D Printing: Poison-Dart Gun

Now For 3D Printing: Poison-Dart Gun

This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

Several weeks ago it was made public that the United States, headed by President Obama, is working on a new legislation according to which companies will be forbidden to distribute blueprints which can be used for 3D printing weapons. The American Ministry of Defense claims that this restriction is meant to prevent any possible leak of valuable technical knowledge to any hostile elements, but that was not enough for the American weapon industry, who began to cry out and claim this was nothing but a lame excuse.

The counter-reaction was not late in arriving: Peter Alaric, one of the 3D drawings artists available online has created a blueprint for printing an air gun which shoots poison darts. This printed gun, which can be used as a weapon by any standard, can pass metal detectors. Alaric explains that he created the blueprint because according to the American law, an air-gun is not considered a weapon. Along with publishing the outlines for printing the device, the creator has also added a manual and instructions for the kind of printer to be used, for the way to treat the poison on the arrow heads as well as how to put together the pieces into a useable, working gun.

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This obvious act of defiance notable in the artist’s words as well as his pointing out that an air-gun is not considered a weapon in the U.S. expresses more than anything this heated debate between law enforcement agencies, who oppose to weapon distribution in the country, and the businessmen and citizens who support it. It seems that this debate will stay in the American discourse for a while, as each side tries to cope with the difficulties raised by the other side. A wise man once said that need is the father of invention, so it’s safe to assume that more interesting developments are expected in the future.

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