A Californian engineering company says it has produced the first metal gun made on a 3D printer, releasing a video showing the firearm scoring repeated bullseyes in successful tests.
But Solid Concepts, which describes itself as a world leader of 3D printing services, said making the classic 1911 shotgun did not come cheap, requiring much more than a souped-up desktop printer.
The gun comprises more than 30 3D-printed components, including stainless steel and other metal parts.
"This isn't about desktop printers ... the industrial printer we used costs more than my college tuition - and I went to a private university," said the vice-president of Solid Concepts, Kent Firestone.
The use of 3D printing technology to manufacture weapons is not new. But making them out of metal is.
This year computer files allowing users to make a single-shot Liberator gun were downloaded more than 100,000 times from Defense Distributed, an open-source website dedicated to 3D printable gun components.
The US State Department, which oversees US weapons exports, ordered the blueprints be taken off the internet in May - but by that point, users had already reposted them widely on file-sharing sites.
Solid Concepts says its system is legal in the US, claiming they are the only 3D printing service provider with a federal firearms licence.
"Now, if a qualifying customer needs a unique gun part in five days, we can deliver," the company said.
"We have the right materials, and the right engineers who know how to best program and maintain these machines, to make 3D printing accurate, powerful and here to stay."
