Another look at 3D printing

This article in Popular Science on 3d printing asks a few questions that I find thought provoking.
On protecting Intellectual Property, make it pay for use. Or keep the information out of the public domain.
I have found the plans for machining a 1911 pistol. That does not mean that I have the skills or hardware or raw materials to make one.

As for morality and honesty in particular: that is supposed to be taught at the fireside by the parents and family, and reinforced in society as a whole. There will always be deviants and outlaws from the norms of moral society, but it is moral societies job to enforce the norms, rather than embrace the deviance as the new norm. It boils down to individual choice and responsibility: abide the norms of the society, or be kicked out.

Another question briefly addressed is the raw materials used. In the specific case of polymer firearms, the whole gun can't possibly be polymer, the stresses involved are too great. (Read 'plastic shrapnel.' I wouldn't want that going off in my face.) Every polymer framed weapon today has metal parts imbedded in the polymer at the high stress areas, and only the part you hold on to is non-metal; the rest of the gun is still metal. Despite what the 1993 Clint Eastwood vehicle 'In the Line of Fire' shows, or perhaps precisely as it shows depending on interpretation, a non-metal firearm is not meant for a long life cycle of use. (In the movie the villain makes a concealable gun out of very hard epoxy and it is fired all of six times, and all at close range.)  For a limited use object it might be feasible, but unless materials science is further along than I am aware of, making a fully long-time-use all-polymer weapon in a 3d printer is simply not possible. I may be wrong, but...

I agree with the  first commenter on the Pop.Sci. article, about the difference in tone between plastic and wood instruments. As far as this applies to other music technology, ask why many audiophiles hoard and refurbish the old tubed amplifiers.

I recall a question once being asked on the Star Trek set about why they don't just 'replicate' whole star ships (why they depicted ships in the show as needing to be built in a ship yard), with their phlebotinum tech. The response was 'if you could, you wouldn't need to.'

In the special effects and model building industries, kit-bashing was and is a common activity when building something new. I can see that activity being made easier by 3D printers. Couple it with a 3D scan or cad/3d model file and print all the kit parts you want. Even modify the parts electronically before printing.

On tangents:

Here is a video from a National Geographic presentation, about 3d printing.
I looked for the source on Nat.Geo's site, but could not quickly find it.

Here is a 3D printer made of Lego.