American develops bullets for semi-automatic weapons from 3D printers

An American has developed a bullet that would cause less damage to plastic weapons made with a 3D printer. The sleeve is made of a thick layer of steel, so that the force that arises when the bullet is fired can be absorbed.

The American Michael Crumling claims that the bullets he developed do not cause cracks or other deformations in a plastic weapon. That wouldn’t happen even if the cheapest materials were used, Wired writes. To achieve this, the American uses a steel casing in which the bullet is packed almost 2.5 centimeters deep. With a bulkhead, the construction would be sturdy enough to withstand the force of the bulkhead and prevent damage to the fragile plastic materials.

The man’s method appears to be effective, but it is time consuming. It takes the American an hour to produce just one bullet. On the other hand, the necessary materials only cost about twenty euro cents and in addition, a sleeve can be used several times. After a shot, a bullet can be reinserted into the housing and the shooter can use the weapon again. Of course, gunpowder has to be added to the bullet again.

The most recent design of a firearm assembled by Crumling using a 3D printer has no top. When the gun disintegrated in an earlier test, it turned out to be the result of the movement of the bullet casing. Without the top, the shell can pop out of the weapon on its own. Crumling thinks his bullets will make it possible to produce semi-automatic weapons with 3D printers and, if legal, even fully automatic weapons.