The world's first 3D printed gun has been dealt a significant blow after it was deemed a serious safety and security concern after BLOWING UP during testing.
The test, conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the United States, saw the Liberator explode before it was even fired.
The blueprint for the revolutionary gun was made available over the internet six months ago by Defense Distributed and gives anyone with access to a 3D printer the opportunity to produce their very own handgun.
The controversial design has been downloaded more than 100,000 times and has since been ordered to be taken down by the State Department.
"We downloaded files, we created firearms from those files, and we tested those firearms," Earl Griffith of the ATF told the Huffington Post.
The ATF printed the gun using several materials with the example made from Visijet plastic exploding during the test.
However, when the gun was printed on a stronger material known as ABS it was much more successful, shooting eight rounds with no visible problems.
"The bottom line is, the penetration results demonstrated that the Liberator is a lethal weapon," Griffith continued. "The .380 bullets fired from the Liberator penetrate sufficiently to reach vital organs and perforate the skull."
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