- Police are now tracking ghost guns by identifying microscopic tool marks left behind by 3D printer hardware
- Thingiverse uses automation to block uploading dangerous weapons plans
- Legislators want 3D printer manufacturers to build in AI tools that block firearms printing
The rapid spread of 3D-printed gun templates online is to draw control from law enforcement and legislators as regulators begin to deal with the unintended consequences of available digital manufacture.
Popular platform -IGIVERSE, known as the world’s largest depot of 3D printer model files, has now become a central focus in the effort to limit the spread of ghost guns.
After a New York Police Department study, hundreds of downloadable weapons -related files were found on Thingiverse – files that were once downloaded can be used by almost anyone with a 3D printer to manufacture working group.
Crash on file sharing platforms
In response, Thingiverse has added automated tools designed to detect and block uploads of guns before going live on the site.
This is an urgent problem within 3D printing society, and as platforms grow, it becomes much more difficult to control harmful or illegal content.
Access to dangerous drawings is hard to control, especially when file pages work with little supervision, and together with platform changes, officials now turn to hardware manufacturers.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has asked companies like Bambu Lab to build AI systems that can scan CAD files before printing.
The goal is to train models to spot the pistol’s drawings and stop them at the printer itself.
Law enforcement authorities are working to build roadblocks that make it harder to create non -tracerable firearms.
In addition to prevention, investigators also investigate ways to trace printed weapons back to their source.
Researchers are studying toolmarks left on printed objects – small patterns made by a printer’s unique settings, nozzle change and filament path.
These brands may not match an accurate printer, but they can help narrow where a weapon came from.
Factors such as extruder size, printing temperature and bed surface affect all these brands, making tracking more complicated.
Still, this kind of forensic work shows that printed weapons are not as anonymous as many once thought.
Whether made on an advanced 3D pregnant or a cheap desktop device, printed objects can carry clues connecting them to certain machines.
With Ghost Guns now easier to do than ever, the race between access and control is clearly underway and the result is still unknown.
Via Tomshardware
