Liberator gun made with consumer 3D printer, plastic pistol fires nine shots successfully (video)
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/rbsXb8m1SmRTNj5_IK_opw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU3NQ--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/iMXnLXInT6p8fA8PrWeh7w--~B/aD0zNzE7dz02MTk7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/3dlulzgun.png)
Defense Distributed's plan is to put the power of guns in the hands of every person with access to the internet and a 3D printer. Until now, however, we'd only seen the Liberator pistol built using an expensive industrial-grade printer -- despite the fact that the blueprints for gun have been downloaded by thousands of people who don't have access to such a high-end machine. One of those folks decided to put the Liberator in the hands of the printing proletariat by making it with a consumer-level Lulzbot A0-101 3D printer, a nail and some common screws.
This new version, called the Lulz Liberator, differs from the original in that it's got a rifled barrel and uses metal hardware to hold it together (as opposed to printed plastic pins). Printing it took around two days and used about $25 worth of generic ABS material, and the pistol produced was fired successfully nine times, but its creator claims it could've shot more. It's still a far cry from a Glock or Beretta, of course, as the gun misfired several times, and removing spent shell casings required the use of a hammer. So, it's not quite ready for prime time, but it's one more bit of proof that the age of printed pistols is officially upon us.
[Image Credit: Michael Guslick]