• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, March 1, 2017

3D printing is all the rage these days. Except, it seems, when you go to a 3D printing-related conference, all you see and hear about are the stupid little toys that can be printed. "Where's the beef? " one famous ad character from yesteryear might ask. Granted, the industry is, indeed, moving about but today it seems to be all about toys and, oh, guns. Yes, guns.

M&C Saatchi account executive Sicen Sun has been arrested by police and Australia's NSW Firearms Squad for 3D printing four imitation firearms and attempting to sell them online for $1 million. Sun claims he was not trying to do anything illegal and it was simply a hobby which got out of hand but authorities didn’t see it that way.

While the guns Sun produced were not designed to actually fire bullets, police said that isn't the issue. Firearms Squad Detective Inspector Joe Doueihi explained, saying, "It is very difficult to distinguish through the naked eye whether an imitation firearm is in fact an imitation firearm or whether it is a fully operational firearm."

In court, Sun was granted bail but it was ruled that he must give up his Chinese and Australian passports, avoid international airports and, pay a $3,000 fine.