Defense Distributed fires 600 rounds from a 3D printed AR lower.

You may remember my earlier post regarding Defense Distributed, the group behind the Wiki Weapon project. So far, Defense Distributed has successfully produced magazines and AR lowers using 3D printers. However, until now, their lower could only fire several rounds before it shattered. Their newest edition is much more capable, and has been tested to over 600 rounds!

To most people, this is not a major accomplishment, since the lower receiver is only one part of the firearm. However, it is the most important part, since AR-15 lowers are the only part of the weapons that are actually legally considered a "firearm". The lower is the only part that is registered and serial-numbered. Therefore, by 3D printing a lower, one can create a gun which is not "in the system". Defense distributed has a video, as well as many other interesting photos of their magazines and guns on their blog.

Daniel Defense DDM4ISR 300

The DDM4ISR, Daniel Defense's new integrally suppressed rifle chambered in AAC .300 BLK will be released April 1st. The firearm was first introduced at SHOT Show this year, and features a permanently attached sound supressor on the end of its 10.3" cold hammer-forged barrel. The neat thing about the DDM4ISR is that even though it has a short barrel, the supressor is considered part of the barrel, therefore increasing its length to 16.145 inches. Because of this, the rifle is not considered an SBR, but will still need one NFA tax stamp for the suppressor.

The baffle core of the suppressor can be removed for cleaning with a tool that is included with the rifle. The rifle includes a 12-inch Daniel Defense Modular Float Rail, Magpul MOE stock, and a QD swivel point in the rear of the receiver.

The entire length of the rifle is 34.5 inches with the stock fully retracted, and it weighs 7.6 lbs. The MSRP is currently set at $3199.00.

12-gauge AR Shotgun

If you were getting tired of the Saiga-12, there is now another option for a semi-auto, box mag-fed shotgun. Intrepid Tactical Solutions has released the AR-12, a 12-gauge AR-15-style upper that fits standard AR-10 lower receivers. A larger, 8-round magazine has also been developed to fit the shotgun shells. The rest of the AR remains unchanged, aside from requiring a stronger, stiffer buffer spring.

The only main problem with the AR-12 is the requirement for specialized ammo. Standard 12-gauge shells do not work well in box magazines, primarily because the rims on each shell make them difficult to stack. Therefore, Intrepid Tactical Solutions actually designed a new, proprietary round just for the AR-12. The full-polymer construction shell features a "retracted" rim, and a round nose cone. While this is a great idea, I'm not sure how well this new ammunition will fair. Intrepid Tactical Solutions has stated that it has formed a partnership with a major ammunition manufacturer to produce the "RAS-12" shells, but the requirement of proprietary ammo is a bit of a setback in my opinion, and we all know too well that it's not easy for a new type of ammunition to catch on.

3D printing could nullify magazine bans.

You may have heard of the latest advances in the field of 3D printing. If not, here is the basic rundown: 3D printers are machines that function like a CNC machine for milling metal or wood. However, instead of milling out the object from a solid piece of material, 3D printers form the object from scratch by melting plastic, and "printing" a 3D object. By printing separate parts, one can produce entire assemblies of parts.

There has been increased interest in 3D printing in the firearm community, especially because of one organization known as Defense Distributed, or the Wiki Weapon project. The ultimate goal of this project is to produce a fully functioning AR-15 rifle from 3D printed parts. Defense Distributed has already succeeded in producing a functioning AR lower, but the component broke after several shots, due to the weak plastic it was constructed from. While current hobbyist printers are restricted to plastics, we can assume that as this technology matures, we will begin to see printers capable of constructing significantly stronger plastic parts, or even printing metal parts.

While the printed AR may have been failure (if you want to look at it that way), the Wiki Weapon project has successfully produced a completely printed 30-round AR magazine, which survived a full unload of its ammunition.

If this technology further matures and becomes more and more affordable, magazine and gun bans may become completely useless. Defense Distributed used a very expensive high-quality printer to produce the AR mag, but they are currently working on a design that can be produced on cheaper hobbyist/in-home printers.

Citations:
http://hackaday.com/2013/01/15/print-your-own-30-round-ar15-magazine/