I considered this a topic worthy of discussion, and certainly one I’d like to hear more feedback on. Long story short, lawmakers in several countries are now trying to criminalize creating and posting 3D models online. Not all 3D models of course, but models of weapons which can be 3D printed. They hope that doing such will reduce potential gun violence committed with weapons created by such devices. So far a group called Defense Distributed assisted by pro-internet movements (such as EFF) are fighting back, but nothing is yet certain.
Although I don’t want to trigger any political wars here, I’ll say that things like this make me way more scared of our leaders than of any terrorist group on the planet. This is like a poorly written dystopian science-fiction novel coming to life! Artists being afraid to create some models on the internet… what in the holy world? :eek: The reason this is pure madness isn’t just the ban itself… those who lobby for it outright believe that things everyday internet users create (like schematic drawings or 3D models) can be covered by laws regarding international weapon trafficking or classified technical designs or national security… which no offense to anyone, but only a delusional person with a wild imagination could possibly conceive in the unexplored depths of their mind.
What I want to know is whether this is the beginning of a dark era for 3D (and not only) artists; Are Blender users now going to be labeled criminals and arrested off the streets, if we post 3D meshes of weapon parts that are compatible with any 3D printer? Will websites like Blendswap have to censor gun models? Will it even be suspicious if we make CGI films that feature any guns? And where will it stop… since if someone decides they can outlaw blueprints of a weapon, they can just as easily criminalize any kind of model or drawing or speech for various reasons! Please help clear me up on this, since I for one don’t get it…
"What I want to know is whether this is the beginning of a dark era for 3D " Quite possible, but then again, not terribly likely. This is just the manifestation of deeper issues IMO.
Frankly, in this case I suspect that you are just seeing “(clueless …) politicians being politicians,” because in fact we are a long way from being able to produce, by any means, “a plastic gun (that won’t explode).” :ba:
Presumably, any Bad Guy who wants to Do Something Nasty will want to obtain a firearm that will not blow up in their hands … and there are a-plenty of “very conventional” ways to obtain such an infernal device. We know how to build weapons with metal barrels which can withstand the explosive pressures of firing. The same cannot (yet …) be said of any thermoplastics, let alone those plastics which are suitable for use with “3D printing.”
At this time, and for the foreseeable future, any “3D printed” gun would not be of interest to the aforesaid Bad Guy, for the reasons aforesaid. Therefore, it is patently absurd to criminalize someone who produces a particular … useless(!) … 3D model.
. . . “All of which matters not” to a politician, who is perfectly happy to win brownie-points by advocating legislation that “means nothing, but sounds good.” :rolleyes: It is, after all, “an easy, and easily explainable, target.” The journalists will do their job.
Heh… in many ways, “every country on Planet Earth is exactly the same …” We all seem to invest our futures into the hands of “politicians.” God(?!) rest our souls …
Even “quite possible” is a horrifying thought. We’re seriously living on an upside down world, where no concept of normal and sane exists any more… people can react irrationally and fanatically to any little thing you present them with. One would think we’ve reached a point where it’s over, and at least people in power are more intelligent… still a long way to go it seems
Though yes, it is a consequence of a different issue. The aim is a “war on weapons” rather than “a war on 3D modelers and the open internet”, but it’s truly a war on both and we are dragged into a load of craziness we should have nothing to do with over it IMO.
Personally I’m not worried about the guns themselves. I mean I don’t doubt that someday there will be 3D printers that can print in metal, and weapons as powerful as those used in war will be possible to create in your own home then. Certainly I won’t want to live in a world where anyone might be carrying such a thing around, though if one will come to exist then so be it.
I’m much more weirded out at the thought that I might live in a world where I can be arrested for a drawing, be it a schematic for a weapon. Especially since if such a thing ever becomes illegal, I’m certainly going to do it regardless… I’d rather be arrested and get it over with, then live in fear on a world where you’re scared to post a 3D model in a place that should be free of any censorship.
The worse part is that, at least one place already implemented a law in this regard. Apparently you can get 14 years in prison for possessing a 3D model of a printable gun there… basically something you might download from Blendswap. Of course there are states where you can go to prison for connecting to unsecure WIFI networks or collecting rainwater in a bucket, so I assume South Wales is probably a mini-dictatorship like that.
I think right now, this covers people who are making firearm models with the intent to use them as a weapon once 3D printed.
Also, it’s very misleading for the thread title to suggest that all 3D artists will become criminals (are you saying the government will throw arch-vis people into jail)?
Not according to some of the links on the OP. The sole possession of files that could possibly be used to make said weapons (regardless of the intent, which would be near impossible to prove anyway) is seemingly punishable in some areas of the world, which is a rather severe widening of the scope of criminal liability into the realm of thoughtcrime. That’s like arresting people owning knives because they could be used to stab someone.
Btw, Ace, isn’t it a bit funny that you - of all people - complain about melodramatic thread titles?
But aside the melodrama, I guess this is where common sense and definition restrict the use of those new laws: Any 3D model which would not result in a functional firearm when 3D printed is inoffensive. Which I’d say includes about every gun model made for games, visualization and the like…
3D artists in visual & game industry only create a ‘shell mesh’. Even quality modeled weaponry stuff (viz & games) is useless for any kind of functional 3d print. No need to worry.
That might be true… though does it matter at the end of the day? I mean maybe we want to model a gun with all interior parts on it… it’s art, it’s something anyone with a 3D program can do within a few hours! Especially with voxel meshes (which will become more common in the future) we’ll at some point model our characters with internal organs, or cars with every single gear or wire in place. Are SWAT teams going to knock at our doors when that happens, or take down model sharing services… because having a weapon / car / etc design is a crime?
If that can ever actually happen in today’s world, screw it… I’d rather move to some island than living in what some seem to call “the civilized world”, because there is no such thing. I wonder if it’s possible for 3D artists to take some stance on this matter for now… perhaps Blender and similar communities can team up with EFF? If it’s this serious, the Blender team might want to be among those stepping in.
Unless gun manufacturers have to stop using CAD programs to design their weaponry I’ll make all the virtual guns I want, as long as it’s not illegal of course.
This is why I don’t think very highly of representative democracies…
The majority gets the vote
and more often than not the majority don’t really know what they are talking about
Unfortunately ,as history has told us, the senators don’t know either.
And since 3d artists are the minority,
we’re gonna get the boot.
and looked at as terrorists because of course they are going to look at us as terrorists, why wouldn’t they?
You guys prevented sopa because everybody knew that it would affect everybody including the average facebook user
But this, this just affects us
This law is going to get passed. I just know it is.
This is one of the few things in life which I’ll keep doing regardless whether it becomes illegal. In fact, I might start creating printable weapon models just to see what happens if it does. If we ever end up in a world where you can be arrested over a piece of artwork (3D or 2D), I’d rather just get it over with than live in fear of what’s to come. This is of course a hypothetical scenario, granted lawmakers are truly mad enough to successfully regulate drawings on the internet, so I’m not admitting to any currently real crime But it’s best to hope this simply never has to happen, and it’s all just a temporary bad episode in the evolution of human society.
As for licensed gun manufacturers, it’s not an area I’m into, so I’m not one to speak about what they should do or what rules they should have. I think it would be silly to tell them what 3D programs to use personally, although way more logical than telling everyone on the internet what to post.
Get real… :rolleyes: temper, temper.
Right, model the whole machine gun for virtual game (possibly using NURBS). Also would really like to meet an individual who can engineer, model & produce an automatic gun-charging mechanism by it self (Copy-paste more likely) & even then, when printed for testing it will probably blow because of miscalculation. Though even starting an organization or a team for illegal actions is already a crime.
It’s easier to buy a gun or just pick up a stone & throw it, though prohibited, i watch fans of stupid ideas killing each other in many strange ways.
Just print a dagger and stab it into your own leg.
First thought of a thinking being is stupidity.
I read once in a Wired article that someone was able to print the main part of an AR15. It was the piece that the clip inserts and bullets pass through. Technically in the US that is the gun as it is the only part that has the serial number. You can buy the rest of the gun I pieces at any gun store. For that matter you could print all of the structural pieces an metal machine everything else and have an unregistered rifle.
As for politicians being clueless, it wouldn’t be the first time. Most internet laws could just be paralles of postal law instead of wasting time with “new” concepts. Gun laws combined with any individual’s ability to create will be no different. It is will be interesting how this plays out.
Oh, just to be clear: I’m not opposed to the existence of laws against 3D printed guns themselves. As with all weapons, there should be minimal regulations I think, like you can’t carry them around in public places without a license. The only thing I consider to be pure madness is an attempt to illegalize digital blueprints, which can be mere drawn sketches or 3D art like any other! I hope there are sane people in power which can make the rational distinction between the two issues.
As a practical matter, A gun also requires a bullet (of some form) to function. And any half bright 12 year old with a chunk or two of pipe can put together a zip gun.
It would be hard to prove in court that a model file can actually be used to print out a deadly weapon, most gun models omit details, parts, and precise measurements that would make it impossible for use as a weapon and some game models don’t even have the shaft for the bullet modeled.