Sep 24, 2014 | By Alec
Support it or loathe it, but it is happening once again: Members of the FOSSCAD community, which is short for Free Open Source Software & Computer Aided Design, are working on another 3D printable firearm. The anti-gun control blog thethruthaboutguns.com reported that the FOSSCAD members in question – who go by the usernames Warfairy and Frostbyte – are working on a .38-caliber Zig-Zag Revolver.
Some of you will recall that in May, a 27-year-old Japanese student named Yoshitomo Imura was arrested in Kawasaki, Japan, for producing and owning five 3D printed firearms. Imura's creations were 'Zig-Zag' Revolvers as well, which refers to the grooves in the barrel. His arrest followed the posting of video that proved that at least two of Imura's guns could actually fire rounds, though the writers behind thetruthaboutguns.com are adamant in their belief that he only fired blanks.
His arrest has sparked outrage in the pro-gun communities online, and it apparently inspired these FOSSCAD members to develop this new Imura revolver, named after the man thetruthaboutguns.com call a martyr. Like their namesake's guns, their Imura revolver works on the Zig-Zag principle, though they have added several other features like a steel barrel liner and chamber sleeves. Furthermore, it's a one-touch-only gun, meaning that one pull of the trigger will do everything: it will rotate the cylinder, cock and release the striker, and thus also fire the weapon. Worryingly, this means the Imura gun can fire very rapidly.
Of course, the revolver is still in its developmental phase, though the various images illustrate that several parts have already been printed. Various twitter updates also reflect the progress the designers are making. Supposedly, all this was done with a simple desktop 3D printer.
If, however, we can believe the guys over at thetruthaboutguns.com about the functioning of guns (and at least in that respect, we can probably take their word), there are still some flaws in the design.
There is very little tensile strength in the proposed design. Convention revolvers use a metal frame to contain the forces generated by firing a charge. The chambers contain the pressure at right angles to the barrel, but the frame, chamber, and case, if one is used, must contain the pressure to the rear. The projectile contains the pressure to the front, where the force is used to propel it out the end of the barrel.
We will therefore have to wait and see if a workable Imura revolver will ever see the light of day. But even if it doesn't, it will surely reignite the heated controversy over 3D printable guns. More will therefore doubtlessly follow.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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I so sick of Andre... lol.. just play'n buddy. I know it's hard to understand as a pussy ass foreigner completely brain washed to live n die like a monkey... but OUR ancestors came here to advance the the human race... Any Heresy like... FLYING, CARS, WIRELESS Electricity for ALL, N YES! I have been drinking... BITCH! Ya'know, FREEDOM to LIVE like I SEE FIT!!! N, Your here cause 1. You don't have to Pay-Back/Owe/Be a slave for the 6-8 year room, board and commodities that took generations of people to build. Those that won't have the luxury you've been hypnotized by! And 2. ergo position of POLICE-Y in our government to en-house-slave what used to be a free country... N, NNOOO! OBAMA wouldn't legalize marijuana/overthrow DEA/risk his life to look like a hero to the masses that have seen a little girl fight and CURE CANCER... with something his BOSSES say is a NO.. no no n no some more... NO.. NO... NOT in trade of sum pot so, sum hippy votes his way.. N Yes. BITCH! I, like the our first president, fancy the GOD given world, TERRORIZED by IGNORANT, SCARED, SPOILED, BITCHES LIKE YOU! my final ranting truth is.... YOU have/will NEVER be bullied with a gun by cops that just want to see to obey their twisted perversion of any law. If your a foreigner that made it here... Your parents probably made alot of money doing something bad for the government they came from and decided to have a couscous beyond a fiduciary mentality.... Or they just sent you to enforce it??? u-who..known's... PS.. If you know when n which county called for U.N. policy for WORLD WAR for TERRORIST action from the U.S. I'll respond... till then your just a terrorist sent by my own government to enslave ME, the "product producer/poor. And ergo.. GO FUCK YOURSELF! BITCH!
Nicola wrote at 10/23/2014 9:29:40 AM:
You should ask yourself: how many civilians are murdered by "terrorists" each year? And How many civilians are murdered by other average people? Here avg annually homicides number by gunshot: Less than 50: Japan Less than 150: Germany, Italy, France, etc. Less than 200: Canada More than 10,000: USA Source: IANSA (International Action Network on Small Arms of the United Nations) So in USA (300 million people) there are 10.000 killings by gunshots each year. In Italy (60 million people), the country where come from, there are only 150 killings. If you compare the numbers (let imagine Italy has 300 million citizens) you have 750 people killed in Italy while in USA there are 10.000!!!! Do you still "fear living in places without large number of average people with concealed weapons"?
rusty shackleford wrote at 10/10/2014 11:04:21 PM:
You can't stop the signal. If you are free men, act like it.
Andre wrote at 10/2/2014 4:23:55 AM:
yeah...that's what we need. More idiots (=average people) with firearms. Paranoia everywhere.... If that religious nut blows himself up without warning what is your firearm good for then? This is so stupid. I grew up in a virtually gun free country and did not have to read daily news about 5 year olds that accidentally kill their toddler brother because these stupid guns are in every freakin' closet. Anyway...keep bashing me and loving your firearms. Can't blaim you...that's how you grew up and you don't know it any other way. I do.
Jim-Bob wrote at 9/28/2014 5:17:34 PM:
If anything, what the world needs is more average people with firearms. You want to stop some religious nut from beheading a co-worker who refuses to convert? The easiest way is for another employee to have a gun. When used for defense a gun is a wonderful thing. I fear living in places without large number of average people with concealed weapons for this reason. If a terrorist is going to go after a soft civilian target, the only way to stop them will be if the civilians are armed. Government forces won't get there until it is too late and too many people have died.
3dprintingpartner wrote at 9/28/2014 4:22:07 PM:
wonder when people will begin to 3d print Ballistic vests
Alfredo wrote at 9/28/2014 1:11:24 AM:
I"m not. I'm so sick of this big overbearing government addiction, like the EU, Putin and Ob*ma. I say everyone should print a firearm. It's a pro-freedom move.
not_a_crybaby wrote at 9/25/2014 5:06:27 AM:
I'm sick of Andre
Andre wrote at 9/24/2014 2:20:19 PM:
I'm so sick of it this firearm addiction.
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