3D Printed Bullets?

By on May 22nd, 2013 in Usage

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A new video has surfaced of experiments with 3D printed bullets. The video, produced by popular gun video enthusiasts Taofledermaus, shows three actual firings of said bullets. 
 
One firing involves 1/10 of an ounce (3g) of powder, another is 1/2 an ounce (14g) and the third shows a very unusual shape, which fails miserably. The first two appear to work very well, to the surprise of the experimenters, who seem to have not seen 3D printed items previously. 
 
The “bullet” is mounted on the a shotgun shell and fired from a shotgun. It does contain a small bit of lead because the bullet would not otherwise contain enough mass to work properly. The experimenters also suggest that firing in a rifled barrel (spirally carved) would dramatically increase the accuracy of the bullet. 
 
While this development is not totally unexpected, such ammunition would be easily detectable as gunpowder residue would be significant. Another issue is the production time for these would be hours per bullet; no one is going to mass produce ammunition using this technique. 
 

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!