The Liberator at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Image credit Wired
Despite several attempts to the contrary, the world’s first 3D Printed gun, dubbed “The Liberator” by it’s creators, hasn’t gone anywhere. Instead, the gun has found it’s place in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, as part of this September’s London Design Festival.
Why the Liberator Stuck Around
As we mentioned previously, the US Government requested that the blueprints for the Liberator be taken down almost immediately after they were posted. Of course, by the time they issued the order, over 100,000 versions of the file had already been downloaded – and if the file exists, it’s available on the internet somewhere.
Since then, many designers have created and printed variations on the weapon. One published a test of his “Lultz Liberator” on Youtube. Another created a series of tongue-in-cheek fake versions of the gun, ranging from the long-barreled “Compensator” to the teapot-shaped “Englishman.”
Defense Distributed, the original creators of the Liberator, haven’t gone anywhere either. Although the files are not readily available on their site, the organization is still active. You can even purchase a nail to use as the firing pin for your Liberator gun – although $5 for a nail is pretty pricey.
The London Design Festival
Having the Liberator show up at a major design festival shows a greater level of overall acceptance for this kind of technology. Whether you agree with the availability of 3D printed guns or not, it’s still important to recognize the social and political impact of these designs, and the reality of their existence. The museums curator mentioned that this gun shows “the fuller implications of the dissemination of the means of production.” If 3D printers are available, you can print literally anything, and that doesn’t just mean toys or useful items. Depending on who you talk to, this can be considered a good or a bad thing – but you can’t deny that it is definitely real. The Liberator has stuck around for nearly half a year now, and it certainly isn’t going anywhere.