I get that you can 3-D print a magazine and the follower...but what do you do about the spring? I'm no gunsmith but it seems to me that component needs to be pretty well executed if the mag is going to work right.
That's the caveat, even if they made a leaf spring using the printing method, it would be weak and not last long (no heat tempering overall to achieve "springiness?")
Making such a spring isn't terribly hard with the right equipment. Even without the right equipment - with the skills and know-how it's still very much doable.I guess I'm outta the loop on this technology, but how do you print metal? The photo in that article showed a spring of an apparently dissembled mag. I'm guessing they printed the plastic parts and used a traditionally manufactured spring to test it out. It wouldn't take much of a politician to figure out how to ban or regulate the construction of springs capable or suitable for use in "high capacity" magazines.
I am honestly surprised this hasn’t been done already, the technology has been around for a few years. i use to work in a fabrication shop, mainly smallish brackets that go in fire truck/police lights, we were looking at getting one a few years ago to help with prototyping new bracket designs. And of course they would have to use a standard spring since the material they use is a polymer if I remember correctly.