There was a time when the additive manufacturing (AM) community bristled upon hearing Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson’s name. A time when one industry executive announced a policy, to widespread kudos, that his company would explicitly prohibit the manufacture of firearms, explosives and ammo on its machines. And there was a time when informing a US Customs official that you were in town for a 3D printing conference would commence a minor interrogation.
Having just returned from the States, and having reported on this industry for nearly a decade, I think each of those might still be relevant today, actually. Wilson’s is a name that is (best) left in the past. Carbon founder Joseph DeSimone still actively lobbies for tighter firearms laws and, as far as I can tell, Carbon doesn’t allow its technology to be used for weapons. And I, at least, still keep it broad when discussing the reason for my visit in an airport: the advancement of this technology means ‘I’m attending a manufacturing event’ is no white lie.
Back when there was still some ambiguity as to whether 3D printing could really consider itself a bona fide manufacturing technology, there was panic that the application it would become best known for was the 3D printed gun. Wilson observed some of the best bits about 3D printing – a power to produce complex objects, the potential to share digital files, and its ability to draw in a community of curious and inventive people – and combined it with another niche culture to found Defense Distributed.
