Gun printing? Oh, gun safety gear printing…wait, what?

Whether you noticed them around or still innocently believe that 3D printers “can’t do nothing”, you might want to think again. 3DIt has just launched it’s Indiegogo campaign which aims at increasing – gun safety!

Throwing some numbers our way, they build up a strong case. The firearms industry has indeed flourished with profits up to 100% and more for the biggest companies in the business, but this leads to higher numbers of guns being stolen, followed by staggering numbers of people being involved in gun accidents, homicides and suicides.

While 3DIt is not taking a stance on the gun ownership question, they are thinking about the ways to improve firearms safety – and that is why they are holding an Innovation Challenge, focusing on using 3D printing as a means of improving it. The idea is that 3D safety products could help, such as gun locks, safety accessories, ammunition storage and similar things.

Their crowdfunding campaing is going tu use the money do fund this competition, as well as reward the champion. The winning design will be chosen by first by a panel of experts and then by public voting.

The awards will be given out in the following manner:

• Grand Prize: 25% of crowdfunded total
• 2nd Place: 15% of crowdfunded total
• 3rd Place: 5% of crowdfunded total
• Honorable Mention: 2.5% of crowdfunded total
• Other awards: 2.5% of crowdfunded total

The remaining 50% is going to be used for the purposes of marketing and operating the Innovation Challente. If any funds remain, they will use them to further the innovation Challenge.

It would appear that the idea to go for the 3D-printed and mass-produced safety options is something that would tread the middleground between gun advocates worrying about smart-guns failing in life-death situation and gun manufacturers worried about liability. We will be following closely to see how this particular crowdfounding goes!