The many promises of 3D-printing include intricate product prototypes, one-of-a-kind jewelry, even human tissue. Now, a group has revealed a proof-of-concept of another sort: a gun.3D打印机法术有很多光明前景，其中还包括打印机简单的原型产品、款式独一无二的珠宝，甚至是打印机人体的组织。不过现在，有一个的组织又找到了3D打印机的另一用途，那就是生产枪支。

Texas-based Defense Distributed, founded by 25-year-old University of Texas law student Cody Wilson, has given Forbes.com images it says show the first 3D-printed handgun. The group, which is aiming for nonprofit status, claims the weapon can fire standard handgun rounds. The majority of the device, called the Liberator, is fabricated entirely out of plastic, save for a nail used as a firing pin as well as a six-ounce piece of steel, intended to allow the gun to be detected by metal detectors.德克萨斯州非盈利的组织Defense Distributed是由一名年仅25岁的德州大学法律系学生科迪??威尔森创立的。该的组织近日给《福布斯》杂志的网站Forbes.com获取了一些图片，声称图片中的枪支就是世界上第一支几乎使用3D打印机技术用上的手枪。这个的组织还回应，这支手枪可升空标准的手枪子弹。

这支手枪的名字叫“解放者”（Liberator），它的主体部分几乎是用塑料生产的，只有撞针是金属。另外，枪里还装有了一块6盎司的铁片，目的是为了让这支枪需要被金属探测器观测出来。Wilson generated headlines last year when he announced his plans to produce a 3D-printed gun. It took the group about eight months to design the Liberator.去年，威尔森宣告想利用3D打印机技术生产一支枪的时候，他的大胆计划就更有了大量注目。这个的组织大约花上了8个月的时间设计出有了“解放者”。

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing is a method of making a three-dimensional solid objects from a computerized model. Commonly, 3D printers lay down successive layers of plastic material to create objects of virtually any shape. The printers can also create interlocking mechanical parts, such as gears and cogs. The process is distinct from traditional machining, in which objects are whittled or sculpted down from larger blocks of material.3D打印机技术也叫变换生产技术，它是一种可以通过电脑模型制作出有三维实物的技术。非常简单来说，3D打印机通过连续不断地变换塑料材料，完全可以塑造出任何形状的物体。

3D打印机也可以生产出有具备连锁机制的零部件，比如齿轮和接榫等。这个过程与传统加工方法不存在明显的区别，后者一般来说是通过对大块材料展开切割成或雕塑来加工简单的零件。Boston-based Luxe Research estimates that the $777 million 3D printing market will grow to a whopping $8.4 billion by 2025. Most of that growth will be driven by industrial applications, particularly in medical, automotive and aerospace industries.据波士顿Luxe Research研究公司预测，到2025年，3D打印机市场的市值将从现在的7.77亿美元激增到84亿美元。其中大多数快速增长是由商业应用于驱动的，特别是在是在医药、汽车和航空领域。

But devices aimed at consumers are increasingly popular. Late last month, New York-based Shapeways raised a $30 million investment round lead by Andreessen Horowitz. The company has some 10,000 shop owners, or individuals who have designed products, from shoes to cellphone cases, that they print out and sell through Shapeways website.不过以普通消费者为目标的3D打印机设备也在显得更加风行。上个月末，纽约的Shapeways公司取得了一轮由安德里森霍洛维茨基金（Andreessen Horowitz）等公司投资的3,000万美元融资。

Shapeways公司享有约10,000个“店主”或个体手工业者，他们自行设计了从鞋子到手机壳等各种产品，然后用3D打印机技术生产出来，再行通过Shapeways的网站销售。On Friday, office supply giant Staples (SPLS) announced that it is the first major American retailer to sell 3D printers. The retailer will sell the Cube 3D Printer from 3D Systems on Staples.com for $1299.99. The device will be available in a limited number of Staples stores by the end of June.上周五，办公用品提供商史泰博（Stapes）宣告，它将沦为美国第一家销售3D打印机的零售企业。它将在自己的官网Staples.com的“3D系统”栏中里以1299.99美元的价格销售Cube 3D打印机。另外到今年六月底，在史泰博的门店里也将需要卖到数量受限的3D打印机。

According to Forbes, the Liberator is capable of connecting to different barrels, allowing for various calibers of ammunition. The devices creator plans to eventually publish the files necessary to print it at home as well as details on its operation.据《福布斯》报导，“解放者”手枪可以加装有所不同口径的枪管，从而能升空有所不同口径的子弹。该枪型的设计者想最后在网络上公布可以让人们在家自行“打印机”这支手枪所需的图纸，以及这支手枪的详尽操作方法。That will surely raise another round of concerns, particularly in the wake of recent gun violence around the country. Stratasys, a company that makes 3D printers, confiscated their machine from Defense Distributed last year after the company discovered the printer was being used for gun development.此举当然不会引发新一轮的忧虑，特别是在是在美国最近枪案时有发生的背景下。3D打印机制造商Stratasys去年找到Defense Distributed在利用它的3D打印机研发枪支后，就从Defense Distributed手里交还了它的3D打印机。

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