#DeterrenceDispensed

The 3D printing community never ceases to amaze me. With recoilless launchers appearing a lot in the news as well as here on TFB, I think it was only a matter of time before someone found a way to 3D print such a device. However, what the CANzerfaust does that a lot of other recoilless launchers don’t do is convert itself from a shoulder-fired launcher into a mortar without any additional attachments.

It is our unfortunate duty to report that the creator of the FGC-9 3D-printed gun has passed away this last week following a police raid on his home by German police. Known only as JStark, many consider him to be the father of 3D firearms printing and a hero in the 3D printing community. JStark does speak fluent English (although it has a slight accent) and this helped him communicate with 3D printers stateside to spread his ideas and files to all who were interested. His death was reported on October 9th via Der Spiegel (a German news magazine).

The FGC-9 is a 3D-printed firearm designed by JStark1809 of Deterrence Dispensed that is easily made even in countries where firearms gun control is extreme. A recent “crackdown” from New South Wales (NSW) Police resulted in two Australian FGC-9 guns being seized along with a smattering of other items that were reportedly stolen.

Jake Hanrahan, a British journalist and filmmaker known for his project Popular Front, recently published a new 26-minute documentary called ‘Plastic Defence’ on ‘Illegal 3D Printed Guns in Europe’. The documentary see Hanrahan travel to an undisclosed location in Europe and interview JStark, a prominent individual involved in Europe’s 3D printed firearms community.

Police in Sydney, Australia have seized a partially 3D printed Glock 19 pistol after a raid on a Newtown home, the gun believed to have also been assembled with illegally imported parts. As only the slide, barrel and trigger components need to be smuggled in through the postal service (which are unregulated and freely available online, at least in the US) such a route offers much less of a hurdle for those in places such as Australia where 3D printers, at least for now remain unregulated. A similar seizure occurred in Winnipeg, Canada last year.

Famed 3D Printer and firearms manufacturer Cody Wilson and his platform DEFCAD are back online after a long stint of legal battles. This time the plan is to filter out users so that the online repository does not run afoul of United States International Traffic in Arms Regulations(ITAR) rules.

The latest ARES report published March 30 examines emergent technologies currently enabling further ease in the production of DIY firearms, including (but not limited to) advances in 3D printing. The 54-page report covers a wide range of production methods and firearm types currently being experimented with in the growing DIY gun sphere.

Deterrence Dispensed has been hard at work refining their designs for the FGC-9 and their 3D printed Polymer framed pistols. In the background, Deterrence Dispensed member point9cmbenis has been pouring his efforts into a new piece of hardware that harkens back to the origins of 3D printed firearms. The hardware in question is the PolyPlinker.

There is no question that Hi-Point firearms have made a name for themselves by providing law-abiding citizens with affordable and functional firearms. With an average out the door price of about $150, the pistol can provide those in dire need of a self-defense weapon with a working solution. However, 3D printers may have just undercut the budget firearm manufacturer with their new 3D printed Hi-Point clone.

Back in March 2017, I reported on a proof of concept attempt to create rifling grooves, essential to ensure stabilization of bullet, in a length of steel tubing using a process known as Electrochemical Machining (ECM). This was achieved using a simple jig designed using a 3D printer combined with copper wire laid into the ‘mirrored’ groove channels through which salt water is continuously passed through using an inexpensive electric pump and bucket set up. Essentially this process is the reverse of electroplating, instead eroding away an exposed surface, in this case, a series of shallow channels usually produced using a rifling cutting tool or by having a ‘button’ forced through.