Additive Manufacturing, or 3D Printing, is becoming more and more commonplace in the firearms world.From cheap home-brew solutions to advanced industrial manufacturing of silencers, AM is found across a large spectrum.Forerunner 3D Printing brings to the table a new development: legally serialized polymer 3D printed receivers.More Firearms 3D Printing @ TFB: Silencer Saturday New Design From Contra Cans Silencer Saturday What Is Haynes 282 & Why Is Everyone Using It?
I think for a business it is an issue of starting investment. Injection plastic molding, like with the WWSD, requires injection plastic molding machines, molds, supporting hardware (cooling, thermal controllers, material feeding setups, some method of robotic takeout system), and technicians familiar with various parts of the molding and automation process. 3D printing can be done to fill orders and with a lot less up-front investment in hardware. If it goes bust, the cost of 3D printers is way lower of a loss.
It’s somewhat strange as a story. Polymer receivers have been around for some time. Being printed doesn’t have much market advantage.
I think for a business it is an issue of starting investment. Injection plastic molding, like with the WWSD, requires injection plastic molding machines, molds, supporting hardware (cooling, thermal controllers, material feeding setups, some method of robotic takeout system), and technicians familiar with various parts of the molding and automation process. 3D printing can be done to fill orders and with a lot less up-front investment in hardware. If it goes bust, the cost of 3D printers is way lower of a loss.