with the rise to popularity of 3d printing, does the good always have to come with the bad? http://www.economist.com/comment/1887050#comment-1887050
It’s been possible to make low-quality guns at home since guns existed. 3D printing doesn’t change that significantly.
The kinds of high-precision machines that can produce all the necessary (frequently metal) parts aren’t accessible to the average consumer. The kind of person who can get access to them isn’t a street criminal. There’s no threat here - it’s just a story that gets a lot of buzz so the media loves it.
The Defense Distributed guys aren’t so impressive. They’re a bunch of jocks playing up relatively minor accomplishments in 3D printed fabrication. Just watch some of their YouTube videos - they’re obsessed with appearing macho.
Technology is user agnostic.