A pistol manufactured using a 3D printer. Engineers from the Texas-based company Solid Concepts have successfully printed the world’s first metal pistol.4 photos

In May 2013, he created his first firearm printed using a 3D printer – a plastic Liberator pistol. Although ABS plastic is far from the ideal material for such purposes, the very possibility of producing functional firearms through 3D printing raised serious concerns among American authorities. Discussions about this historic event and its potential consequences continue to this day. However, a few days ago, Solid Concepts added fuel to the fire by introducing their creation. The M1911 pistol was in military service from 1911 to 1985. It was the first semi-automatic pistol adopted by the U.S. Army. The Texas-based company demonstrated an exact copy of this legendary weapon, manufactured using direct laser metal welding (DMLS) technology. This same technology is also used in the production of medical instruments and automotive parts, and at NASA, it is employed for printing components of rocket engines. The pistol consists of over thirty parts made from 17-4 stainless steel and Inconel-625 alloy. Interestingly, the original M1911 is disassembled into 53 components. The grip sections were fabricated using selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing technology. The gun’s barrel grooves were “grown” directly without any additional processing; the mechanical parts were then polished and manually assembled. During tests, the pistol fired 50 shots successfully, demonstrating high accuracy, according to its creators. The company stated that they printed the pistol merely to prove the reliability of DMLS-produced components. However, such equipment is currently out of reach for most enthusiasts due to its high cost. “The industrial printer used to create this pistol is worth more than what I spent on my higher education (I attended a private university), and our machines are operated by top engineers who truly understand 3D printing better than anyone in this industry,” said Alice Parkinson, Solid Concepts’ press secretary.