3D printer used to create a Railgun

[Kyriakos]

If you think the image above looks frightening, you’re right. The crazy contraption pictured in the image is the first portable railgun, a futuristic projectile launcher associated most commonly with the military or NASA. The man in the image above isn’t in the military, and he’s not a NASA engineer. Instead, he’s a civilian who used some engineering smarts, some widely available parts and a 3D printer to create a functioning weapon that can fire graphite, aluminum, tungsten and even plasma projectiles at speeds of more than 560 mph.

From https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/3d-prin...134325053.html.



This is quite ominous, cause he may even 3d-print a Crowbar. And everyone is killed by those.

[ccllnply]

Couldn't he 3D-print a crowbar to fire from his railgun? I was pretty terrible at Physics in school but I think by calculating the mass of the crowbar, multiplying it by the angle of the shot and then the velocity of gun, that would probably equal one dead mother

[gaunty14]

A crowbar has a slightly awkward shape to it though.

[Killerbee]

Yes, better a katana

[Hetman Khmelnytsky]

That's completely amazing! No wonder why 3D printing is changing the world.

[Kyriakos]

Couldn't he 3D-print a crowbar to fire from his railgun? I was pretty terrible at Physics in school but I think by calculating the mass of the crowbar, multiplying it by the angle of the shot and then the velocity of gun, that would probably equal one dead mother

[Phier]

Its quite impressive from a engineering at home stand point.

Though to put it in perspective its about 1/2 as powerful as a hand gun.

I have a BB gun which fires at 340mph.

Now whats interesting is with probably just some slight modifications you could turn it into a full auto weapon and currently I doubt its regulated.

[Condottiere 40K]

That'll come, since there's no vested interests blocking it.

[Pinarius]

I prefer this kind of design

[Kyriakos]

^I highly doubt the above is in any way efficient as a crossbow

For starters it obviously has to be deployed on stable ground or with the use of a second human.

Furthermore it appears to have a slingshot in the edge of it, which just doesn't make sense at all

[Kyriakos]

Apparently a (massive) 3d-printer also was used to 3d-print a house

Now if we could use a planet-sized 3d-printer to print a new continent...

[Phier]

Apparently a (massive) 3d-printer also was used to 3d-print a house

Now if we could use a planet-sized 3d-printer to print a new continent...

At some point before I die, if I manage that by old age, I expect to see construction with 3d printing routinely, and perhaps done by drones as to eliminate the need for a fixed printer.

[Kyriakos]

^That does sound cool.

Or just one massive drone-builder. Maybe shaped as an ogre.

[Condottiere 40K]

A three dee printer may also be manufacturing replacement organs, before you die.

[Kyriakos]

^AFAIK they already do (well, not livers or hearts etc, just prosthetics), although it is not standard practise already..

[Aru]

Why is anyone still fascinated by 3d printing? Get it in the right size, have the right printing material or whatever it uses and make a good computer model and it makes anything at all. 3d printer just a robot with a pen which uses various other materials instead of ink, it's not that fascinating instrument. I'm surprised it took this long for it to become commercially available to the masses.

What's really interesting is seeing if it will become a normal household item in the future like a microwave or TV.

[Condottiere 40K]

On demand customized manufacturing.

Just In Time at another level.