Texan Mr Wilson, 24, hopes to make access to guns universal by developing a design that can be shared and then ‘printed’ using 3D technology.
‘We're not trying to be a business,’ Mr Wilson told the New York Daily News. ‘We want to give it away. The goal is to have workable designs that anyone can use and modify as they please.’
The project – named ‘Defence Distributed’ – hoped to de-sensationalise the gun access issue, by allowing everyone access.
However, Stratasys, the company that created the 3D printer Mr Wilson planned to use to create his prototypes, quickly repossessed the equipment when it discovered the plan.
Stratasys argues that as Mr Wilson did not hold a federal firearms manufacturor licence, he cannot create weapons. A letter from the company, later posted by Mr Wilson on his web site, sates: ‘We do not intend to engage in a legal debate with you. It is the policy of Stratasys not to knowingly allow its printers to be used for illegal purposes.’
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