The First Commercial 3D Printed Metal Gun Part

In the last year, 3D printed guns have, unsurprisingly, rather polarized the 3D printing community. While Defense Distributed’s Liberator gun project has been shut down, reverberations from the project continue across the internet, and others are still developing 3D-printed firearm components.

Neal Brace, founder of Sintercore LLC and a former US Marine infantryman, has developed the world’s first commercially available 3D printed firearm accessory. What sets Sintercore’s component apart from previous 3D printed firearm designs is that it was manufactured using direct metal laser sintering technology, rather than a plastic 3D printer.

Called the Auxetik (pronounced awg-ZETIK), Brace’s 3D-printed muzzle break was designed to give its users control over their rifles and pistols during rapid fire. According to the company press release, “Sintercore's HYLT (hybrid linear / transverse) brake technology reduces recoil, eliminates muzzle rise, and minimizes concussion. This technology is based on 3D printed linear gas vents, a Sintercore innovation, which allows an amount of gas to flow forward from one expansion chamber into the next expansion chamber through channels that could not be easily made in traditionally manufactured cast, machined, or EMD'd part.”

To ensure that their product is safe – for one of the parties involved, at any rate – Sintercore has designed their muzzle brake to be printed in Inconel, a nickel-chromium super alloy that’s traditionally reserved for use in extreme environments like gas turbine blades, supercharger rotors, and F1 and NASCAR exhaust systems. “This material is as strong as steel and as corrosion resistant as titanium,” explains Sintercore’s website.

Currently, Auxtik muzzle brakes can be purchased on pre-order for $299.98. Once the pre-order period is over the 3D printed component will retail for $399.98.

Watch a Video Demo of the Auxetik Muzzle:

Image and Video Courtesy of Sintercore LLC