Question about possibly printing weapon parts?

[helifrek]

hello all,
First off, NO I do NOT want to print a gun or any type of weapon!

here is what is going on.

I am a member of a 3D printing services website and sometimes get requests to print items for people. Well, Tonight I get an e-mail from someone who would like to have me sign a non-disclosure agreement before doing anything. The thing I am freaking out about is that he runs a business that deals with firearms almost exclusively.

Right now, I have no idea what he wants me to print but I am pretty sure it would just be a single prototype of whatever he has designed.

My question is, if it does turn out to be some sort of part for some sort of weapon. Should I just politely decline? Is it legal to print a part for a weapon?

I just want to know whether I should say yes or no if it is in fact a part for a weapon.

Thanks in advance for the advice guys!
Brandon

[insta]

You can print guns, there's nothing illegal about it at a federal level. It's colossally stupid for a variety of other reasons (namely safety if you try using them to fire real ammunition), and you may be in violation of state laws or city ordinances, but the ATF doesn't care. You can make your own zip-guns from parts at the hardware store too, and that's not been illegal.

They will care a lot more if you begin selling them. Maybe for this one part you should work on some good-buddy credit to be redeemed later in beer.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... ding-party -- has some references.

[sthone]

Making a firearm is only ok if it's for you personally, you can not make a firearm for anyone else. A firearm is usually defined by the receiver part though so technically speaking you can probably make other parts of the firearm and be ok. I'm not a lawyer though so if you were going to make anything firearm related it's probably best to check with the BATF first. On another note while a zip gun is not illegal (in most places) you can not just go to the hardware store and buy pieces to make one. I zip gun is considered a AOW (any other weapon) and you have to pay for a tax stamp (think $200) and do a lot of paper work before you can own/build one.

-Steve

[Tim]

I think, though, that Steve is not talking about a printed gun, but likely an accessory part; unfortunately, a lot of these "accessory parts" are designed to circumvent laws prohibiting the number of attachments on automatic weapons (an odd and somewhat useless criterion that is the result of weirdly-worded laws that are themselves the result of strongly opposed lobbying groups), or to allow the attachment of larger (and probably illegal) ammunition clips. There is certainly nothing illegal about printing one, but attaching it to a specific gun could well be illegal. I think it would be reasonable and reasonably well-accepted just to say "I don't do gun parts and accessories due to liability issues, sorry". That statement would be true whether or not the part could be legally attached to a gun. Presumably the printed part would be used to check fitting and so forth and then be used as the basis for a machined part, but there's nothing stopping somebody from attaching the printed part itself to a gun, and if it causes something to jam and the gun malfunctions and somebody gets injured, then you could possibly find yourself at the wrong end of a lawsuit. For the same reason you should say no to parts for medical devices, things that go under the hood of a car, etc., just in case the gun shop owner thinks you're singling him out.

[ednisley]

an e-mail from someone who would like to have me sign a non-disclosure agreement

My experience has been that non-disclosure agreements always work in the other party's favor, generally binding you to an indefinite period of unlimited liability. Your mileage may vary.

I just read some advice on another topic that seems relevant here:

Is the deal so good to a first approximation that paying a lawyer to review it is clearly a no-brainer?

From:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8931678
via:
http://jacquesmattheij.com/all-of-the-t ... -the-love/

[helifrek]

Thanks for all the advice guys! Definitely helpful information. I did get an e-mail back from the gentleman last night and he asked me what kind of information I need to draft and produce the part..... I think he got confused and thought that I was a 3D designer. I wrote back explaining that I am just a hobbyist with a 3D printer that is a member of a website that connects people with existing designs to people that have 3D printers. I also told him if he would give me some idea of what the part might be that I could possibly get him in touch with someone that knows their way around CAD and could possibly design his part. I have yet to hear anything back from him.
If it does turn out to be something firearm related I think I will take Tims advice and just tell him that I do not print firearm related items due to liability issues.
I hate to turn down a paying job but sometimes it just isn't worth it!

Thanks again for the advice as well as all the help you guys have given me since I joined, I have been happily printing with zero issues thanks to the well built M2 and all of help and advice from you guys

[helifrek]

I just got word that the part will be related to cleaning a weapon but will have nothing to do with the function of the weapon. Sounds pretty safe to me.

I am still a little leery about signing a non-disclosure agreement.......

[Mind]

Well, the NDA could be because the item is a prototype for testing and they would want to go into mass-production eventually (along with injection molds/etc) if it works.....

[helifrek]

Update:
I took the NDA to my JAG office on post and they went over it with me and explained it. Everything came out thumbs up! Can't wait to start working on this project! thanks for the help and advice everyone!

[dklassen]

So you got the Job! He contacted me too.