3-D printable weapon parts removed from Thingiverse

We have talked about 3-D printable gun parts on a few occasions. One of the last times we talked about 3-D printable gun parts was back in October when we learned that a 3-D printer company called Stratasys had decided it wanted no part of the 3-D printable gun effort from a group called Defense Distributed. Stratasys repossessed a 3-D printer leased to Defense Distributed because it wanted no part of 3-D printing guns.

The effort to offer 3-D printing gun components has been dealt another blow as MakerBot has removed all printable gun parts from its Thingiverse website. Previously the website offered a 3-D printable reinforced AR-15 lower receiver design among other components. The downloadable file allowed anyone with a 3-D printer to create the gun component.

The lower receiver design that was available on the website was from a creator called HaveBlue. That component has been removed along with plans for other firearm components. Printable files for the components have been removed and the listings for the components doesn't turn up on a search at Thingiverse.

The files required to make the component are still available online via other sources. Thingiverse says that components for weapons were removed because they violate the websites terms of service after a recent change. The recent change added caveat barring the uploading of any weapon components.

[via CNET]