We've already seen that it's possible to print parts of a gun--and have it work--using a 3-D printer. The project was highly controversial, but now a group wants to make sure that anyone can print a working gun at home.
The "Wiki Weapon Project," by a group called "Defense Distributed," is trying to raise $20,000 to get a plastic, 3-D printed handgun on the market. The chosen printer is the RepRap, which can be bought by anyone for less than $1,000. If the design works, an owner could upload the CAD blueprint and have the gun instantly.
A member of the group, Cody Wilson, told Forbes that the group is gathering the money to buy or rent a $10,000 Stratasys 3-D printer for prototyping the design, then offer a $1,000 or $2,000 prize to whoever gives them the best model for a 3-D printed gun. (They claim they've already received entries.) Once they build one, the design will be made open-source and RepRap-compatible.
The group's Indiegogo campaign was shut down for "unusual account activity" Tuesday after raising $2,000, but they're still collecting funds from their site and via Bitcoin. Here's the Indiegogo video:
[Forbes]
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