Welcome to the Guncad Digest! This newsletter will regularly round up the best and most interesting 3D2A releases, betas and news.
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In today’s issue:
New Releases:
In this section, we cover new file releases that we find notable. If something catches your interest, go download and start printing!
M1337 V1.1 Update - Double Your Rate with Orbital Crank
The M1337, perhaps the pinnacle of 3D2A designs, received its first major update after its full release last year, and it’s a big one!
Nopel has developed an “orbital crank” which uses epicyclic gearing to increase the M1337’s rate of fire, improving the rate by between 2x and 3x - or in raw numbers, going from roughly 700 rounds / min to well in excess of 1500 rounds / min!
See the video below for a demonstration of this mechanical work of art:
The orbital crank delivers a true brrrt experience!
There are two parts to this update. The orbital crank itself is a standalone platform with its own BOM, and 3D2A.com offers an add-on kit just for the new crank.
The base M1337 platform has also been updated to V1.1, most of the changes for which improve the strength and durability of the design to better handle the higher forces involved with the new crank. 3D2A.com’s M1337 Complete Kit has similarly been upgraded to support the V1.1 changes.
For those who already have an M1337, it’s possible to upgrade it to V1.1 by reprinting and reinstalling several components. The orbital crank itself is essentially “drop-in” and replaces the existing crank quite cleanly. The hardware difference between V1.0 and V1.1 is quite minimal, requiring only three additional heatsets.
It’s a wonderful thing to see Nopel continuing to iterate on this platform - it’s the finest example of what 3D2A can accomplish. Well done!
NAG Dev Releases a New GH05T Gun
Ah, developer JU5T3NC4S3 - always fun to write about! He’s as controversial as he is prolific. Accusations fly of his designs being untested (untrue), undocumented (true) and unsafe (probably false.) He adamantly refuses to “do guncad” in the standard way, developing and testing his work in a “SimpleX group” instead of the standard Matrix platform. For some time he wasn’t even uploading his files to Odysee.
And yet he keeps releasing!
The latest release is his latest fully DIY .22LR Glock, called the GH05T. It incorporates the lessons learned from previous releases like the NULL and NAG. It seems like the major improvements in the GH05T are an improved locking mechanism, a DIY metal extractor and a functioning slidelock/LRBHO. He also notes that the new DIY slide requires no weight, making it the “lightest slide ever” - a claim I’m not sure should be celebrated uncritically.
A recent Reddit thread discusses the new design in more detail, and provides a nice breakdown of JIC’s design line.
Whatever else may be said, there’s sufficient evidence to believe that these projects do work. I continue to believe that these designs are begging for someone to fully understand and document them according to 3D2A best practices. Who will take on the task?
New 37mm Shell for 1” Mortar Fireworks
I’ve always felt that the launcher subcommunity was one of the most interesting parts of 3D2A, and it’s always nice to see some new work coming out of there! It appears that much fresh work has originated from DixieThumper, who brings us a new 37mm shell today.
The idea behind this new shell is to act as a sabot for standard 1” commercial fireworks mortar rounds. Included in the release package is a disk that supports and protects the bottom of the shell, to prevent premature detonation.
It’s a cool idea! Dixie’s got a nice Youtube channel with plenty of test videos and loading instructionals, which would make a good follow for anyone interested in DIY launchers.
Updates:
In this section we will mention updates to major releases - fixes, new variants, etc.
Improved TURD Reset Trigger Design
Back when the Kabuto / TURD first released, it received a tremendous amount of attention and led to several remixes. While it hasn’t quite attained the popularity of the Super Safety, it still has a huge following and every so often remixes get released. Here we have just such a remix from developer Lancelight.
Improvements include a limiter to better control the lever, tunings to the levers, reorientation on the printed pin to reduce breakage, and other small tweaks to improve performance and longevity.
This style of reset trigger is fully printed and drop-in, so why not print one just to try it out? Good luck have fun!
New Betas:
In this section we round up recently opened betas. Help support development by joining these betas and testing!
VZ61 Go Brrt With New Reset Trigger
The VZ61 is the latest gun to fall victim to 3D2A’s neverending quest to Reset All The Things! This new design from justaguy appears to be the first public release of something he’s been iterating on for some time.
I’m classifying this as a beta because while the dev notes his own testing on several different receiver types (including ATRH, Czechpoint and Titus) it’s not clear it’s been “officially” beta’d, or how many others have tested it (at least one!)
See it in action!
Note that this build apparently does require an original bolt with certain characteristics, vs. new US-made bolts that eliminate those characteristics.
Glitch - New Glock Reset Trigger
Don’t mind me, just signal boosting a new Glock reset trigger design with no documentation, no testing history, and it doesn’t even appear on the Index. Why am I including this? Because I can, and because you never know when an unpolished stone will turn out to be a diamond.
The Glitch (or “Fidget?”) is a Glock reset trigger design that reminds me of the Gspot, but with some apparent differences. It is held together with M1 / M2 bolt and nuts (no lengths given lol) and while there are no instructions in the file package, I managed to dig some up nonetheless:
If you’re bored and brave, give it a try and report on the results! All designs have to start somewhere.
Last-minute update: now there’s an SCS version!
Coming Soon:
This section lists announcements or previews for projects that have not yet hit open beta. Keep an eye out for further news about these projects!
Super Safe 3DP90 Returns and Works!
Speaking of old projects! We reported on developer SillacSaurfang’s reset trigger design for the 3DP90 back in Issue 3. While this design was released as a prototype, it didn’t work very well and the developer considered the project shelved.
Happily, earlier this year Sillac had a breakthrough and reworked the project, finally achieving the functionality he wanted! The design is now running, and running well.
Before releasing, the dev will put the design through function testing and further refinement, but it seems that we now have a path to true release. How exciting! The 3DP90 is already one of the most popular DIY guns - imagine how much cooler it will be once we can fire in reset mode!
DIY FMDA Rails Expected Shortly
Well this is exciting! Developer yoyofagbro recently announced a project to DIY rear FMDA rails, which he claims requires “no precision jigs, no hydraulic press, no drill press.” Instead it apparently requires only simple hand tools!
Details beyond this are sparse. How are these claims possible? A September launch is promised, so we should find out within the month!
DIY PM63 RAK Proceeding with Testing
Last mentioned in Issue 17, the project to develop a printable frame for the PM63 RAK is still progressing! Developer Streetsweeper_Arms recently shared footage of a beta tester running his build.
The footage obviously shows the design firing full auto, which is traditionally the difficulty with these kits, being open bolt / full auto only. Existing methods to convert to semi requires pretty advanced metalworking skills.
Good news! Streetsweeper is working on a semi conversion that he believes will be much simpler than the traditional method. Once again, 3D2A delivers!
Maverick DIY Revolver Revived and Modernized
What’s old is new again - in this case, very old! The Maverick is one of the earliest DIY guns, with its first version originating in the FOSSCAD days. A cool writeup about the history of this line can be found here.
Its design characteristics indicate the context it originates in - fully printed 22LR “zig zag” revolvers were a common area of development at the time, and this design is probably the best of the lot. But six years have passed since then, and perhaps now it’s time for a refresher!
Enter developer bushworked711, one of the co-developers of the Modelo Polylactico, who is now working on a modernized Maverick. He demonstrates functionality in his video and notes in his description some of the changes: more common hardware components, increased barrel length, and a rechamber from .22 Short to .22LR.
Expect to see it launch once testing is finished!
News:
In this section we’ll review major news events either originating in the 3D2A space, or particularly pertinent to this space.
2nd Amendment Protects Right to Make a Gun
Given the tremendous amount of attention received by the recent NFA Day of Defeat, it is not surprising that another legal victory snuck by without a lot of attention from the 3D2A space. Yet this victory may be the most significant win that 3D2A has ever received.
The case is titled Defense Distributed v. Blanche, but is better known as the VanDerStok case. The actual details of the case are covered here in greater detail, but in short: a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas ruled that the ATF, in attempting to dramatically expand its power to regulate privately-manufactured firearms, violated both the 5th and 2nd Amendments.
The 5th Amendment win establishes that it is unconstitutional for the ATF to use the incredibly vague language and refusal to clarify that they are so fond of. That’s exciting enough, but the true victory is this: for the first time ever a United States court has found that the 2nd Amendment contains the right to make a firearm. As such, any law, statute or regulation which restricts or impedes an individual from making a firearm is now presumptively unconstitutional.
This astonishing win is worth reflecting on. How did we get here? Let us review some 2nd Amendment legal history.
It must be understood that, up until the last few decades, federal 2A victories were extremely uncommon. Prior to 2008’s Heller decision, no federal appellate court had ever invalidated a law for violating 2A; between 2008 and 2016, less than 10% of 2A-related cases were victories for the gun rights party.
2022’s Bruen decision changed the game entirely by forcing courts to treat 2A as a first-class right, in the vein of the traditional darlings 1st or 14th, requiring enhanced scrutiny vs. the intermediate scrutiny utilized previously to abdicate serious consideration of 2A challenges. Since that time we have seen an explosion of 2A victories, notably Platkin, Grisham and Hermani.
Grisham in particular established something virtually unheard of not just in 2A cases but modern conlaw cases generally1: the recognition of an ancillary right within an amendment. Grisham established that “keep and bear” includes the right to acquire a firearm. The recent Blanche ruling, in declaring that making a firearm is also a right necessary to fully exercise 2A, performs this feat again, and perhaps even more notably.
While 3D2A’s culture has always claimed that its practices are founded in the moral rights recognized by 2A, 3D2A legal work has since its initiation in 2015 focused more on grounding DIY gunmaking in 1A speech protections. Indeed, in many ways the earliest gun printers were motivated to pursue 3D printed firearms specifically to create a 1A constitutional challenge. The conduct had to be grounded outside 2A, because a direct 2A challenge was understood to be utterly futile.
2015 was seven years and two administrations before Bruen. The world looks very different now. Following Blanche, 3D2A has for the first time ever a black-letter constitutional grounding, and it is in the United States Second Amendment, which our hearts tell us is exactly where it belongs.
Doctrinally and legally, this victory achieves a major goal that 3D2A has been fighting for since its inception. This is worth celebrating, and I hope you’ll take the time to do so.
This said, from a practical perspective very little has changed. Most laws infringing on our right to build guns are still on the books - they will have to be challenged, piece by piece, in courts across the nation. But we can now claim that legally, not just morally, we have the US Constitution on our side.
This legal review helped me realize that we are riding a 2A legal wave - something that is hard to see in the moment, but is clearly true nonetheless. What a joy to be alive for such a time. What a privilege to be part of the community that has done so much to underpin this legal victory with the technology to consolidate it.
Never stop developing. Never stop building. Never stop the signal.
ATF Director Will “Respect The Ruling”
The firearms community is still settling in to the post-NFA Day of Defeat world and speculation is still flying in many quarters about whether this is too good to be true. Those who believe that victories can happen got a nice shot in the arm from an unexpected quarter, the ATF director Robert Cekada himself.
In his tweet, Cekada claimed that they will “respect the Court’s ruling and the rule of law”, and will “not take enforcement action against protected parties inconsistent with that ruling.” He also promises upcoming guidance. Of particular note, he alludes to his consideration of preventing “legal problems…under a future administration.”
Yes, I recognize the relative absurdity of saying we should trust the words of the literal ATF directory. But recall that he did not have to post this. The Trump admin is intentionally choosing to send a friendly message towards the firearms community; I interpret this tweet as further proof of my assertion that this state of play will persist for the remainder of Trump’s time in office.
We’ll see what the ATF guidance actually looks like, when it comes out. In the meantime, resist the urge to blackpill about this victory. Do not give in to blackpilling, but proceed even more strongly in spite of it.
About the Guncad Digest:
Thank you for reading this issue of the Guncad Digest! Please send us your feedback and suggestions for improvements on the issue.
The Guncad Digest is sourced using the very excellent Guncad Index, from /r/3D2A, and from readers like you. If you know of a project you think should be featured, send it our way!
This issue was compiled and authored by Alyosha from 3D2A.com. We sell high quality parts kits for some of the best DIY guns available - if you’re looking for your next gun build, come check us out!
One reason that these sorts of “expansions” are so rare nowadays is because most other major amendments were expanded far earlier in the history of US jurisprudence. As detailed above, 2A has been treated as a redheaded stepchild for most of this country’s history - it’s due quite a bit of expansion.
The right to self defense is not granted by an old piece of parchment but is intrinsically moral. That being said, I'm glad to see some parts of the government start to acknowledge this truth. We must continue to push onwards by supporting GOA and 2FA and anyone else working to help. 3D2A FTW.