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Comment by roel_v | Hacker News Reader

Have you ever tried using a lathe or mill, CNC or not? I have, and I did some summer jobs in metal working businesses, and I can tell you that making a metal part vs 3d printing one is nothing alike. You need highly specialized skills to operate a mill or lathe, even on CNC ones (the skills are a bit different but it's not 'easier' to become a CNC operator than it is to become a manual lathe operator).

Becoming a sufficiently experienced 3d printer operator takes two weeks if you can spend an hour in the evenings tinkering with it, or a day if you spend a whole Saturday.

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Jupp have done a bunch of CNC work and it does require a fair bit more knowledge than a 3d printer for sure. But then these kind of things have started showing up https://ghostgunner.net so I'm sure it's only a matter of time before anyone can buy something closer to a 3d printer in simplicity.

Right, but a ghostgunner is not a CNC machine in the common meaning of that word. It was made specifically for cutting 80% lowers (even if the GG website claims it's a 'general purpose' CNC), and even then, only the lowers from GG themselves. And yes, there are initiatives like the GGFlex, but none of that takes away from the fact that it's vastly harder to machine a gun than it is to print one. Like, even with a GG you still need a premade barrel, FCG, magazine etc. In the US, you can buy those off the shelf (for now), but most places in the world you can't. Maybe someone some day will build a GG-like device that can cut all of those parts with the ease the GG can do it. But until then, there are 3d printed guns for those willing to take the risk.

We should also clarify here for those who might not be in the know: while it is possible to 3D print metal parts, it's a lot harder, requiring lots of expertise, and it's more expensive than 3D printing plastic parts.

I think every reference to 3D printing in this discussion is to 3D printing plastic parts.

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