DEFCAD

When Makerbot Industries removed firearms-related 3D Printable files at the public repository Thingiverse in December 2012, open-source software entrepreneurs Cody Wilson and Ashley Tyson launched DEFCAD as a companion site to publicly host the removed files.{{cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/design/2012/12/thingiverse-removes-gun-parts/|title=Thingiverse Removes (Most) Printable Gun Parts|first=Tim|last=Maly|publisher=Wired|date=December 19, 2012|accessdate=January 14, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20797207|title=MakerBot pulls 3D gun-parts blueprints after Sandy Hook|publisher=BBC News|date=December 20, 2012|accessdate=January 14, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/12/20/technology/makerbot-gun-parts/|title=3-D printer MakerBot cracks down on blueprints for gun parts|first=Julianne|last=Pepitone|publisher=CNN Money|date=December 20, 2012|accessdate=January 14, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/5970483/theres-a-new-site-just-for-3d+printed-gun-designs|title=There's a New Site Just for 3D-Printed Gun Designs|first=Eric|last=Limer|publisher=Gizmodo|date=December 21, 2012|accessdate=January 14, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2012/12/21/defcad-gun-3d-printing-censorship/|title=Fighting 'censorship,' 3D-printed gun designs find a new home|first=Ricardo|last=Bilton|publisher=VentureBeat|date=December 21, 2012|accessdate=January 14, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/12/21/3791616/defense-distributed-launches-3d-printed-gun-part-site|title=3D printed gun enthusiasts build site for firearm files after MakerBot crackdown|first=Adi|last=Robertson|publisher=The Verge|date=December 21, 2012|accessdate=January 14, 2013}}

Public and community submissions to DEFCAD rose quickly, and by March 2013, at the SXSW Interactive festival, DEFCAD announced a repurposed and expanded site that would serve as a 3D search engine and development publication platform.{{cite news|last=Bilton|first=Ricardo|title=3D-printing gun site DEFCAD now attracting 3K visitors an hour, 250K downloads since launch |url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/02/19/defcad-gun-traffic-growing/|accessdate=February 19, 2013|journal=VentureBeat|date=August 3, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Greenberg|first=Andy|title=3D-Printable Gun Project Announces Plans For A For-Profit Search Engine Startup|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/03/11/3d-printable-gun-makers-announce-plans-for-a-for-profit-search-engine-startup/|accessdate=April 12, 2013|journal=Forbes Online|date=March 11, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Farivar|first=Cyrus|title=3D printing gunmaker forms company to flout copyright law, à la the Pirate Bay|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/3d-printing-gunmaker-forms-company-to-flout-copyright-law-a-la-the-pirate-bay/|accessdate=April 12, 2013|journal=Ars Technica|date=March 11, 2013}}

DEFCAD has been called "The Pirate Bay of 3D Printing" and "the anti-Makerbot".{{cite news|title='Pirate Bay' for 3D printing launched|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21754915|accessdate=April 12, 2013|journal=BBC News|date=March 12, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Bilton|first=Ricardo|title=Expanding beyond 3D printed guns, DEFCAD is officially the anti-MakerBot|url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/03/11/defcad-anti-makerbot/|accessdate=April 12, 2013|journal=VentureBeat|date=March 11, 2013}}

DEFCAD began as a repository where users could upload and download CAD models, but quickly became a community with the addition of an IRC channel and public forums. The site has had over 2,500 community users and offered access to over 100,000 models in its history.{{cite web|url=http://forums.defcad.com/|title=DEFCAD Forums|date=August 3, 2013|access-date=August 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130804065737/http://forums.defcad.com/|archive-date=August 4, 2013|url-status=dead}}

In August 2013, DEFCAD released the public alpha of its 3D search engine, which indexes public object repositories and allows users to add their own objects. The site soon closed down due to pressure from the United States State Department, claiming that distributing certain files online violates US Arms Export ITAR regulations.

From 2013 to 2018, DEFCAD remained offline, pending resolution to the legal case Defense Distributed brought against the U.S. State Department, namely that ITAR regulations placed a prior restraint on Defense Distributed's free speech, particularly since the speech in question regarded another constitutionally protected right: firearms.{{citation |url=https://harvardlawreview.org/2017/04/defense-distributed-v-united-states-department-of-state/ |access-date=March 28, 2020 |title=Harvard Law Review: DD v. US|date=7 April 2017 }} While the legal argument was not resolved in federal court, in a surprise reversal, the State Department agreed to settled its case with DEFCAD in 2018. Therefore, for a brief period in late 2018, DEFCAD was once again publicly available online.

Shortly thereafter, 20 states and Washington DC sued the State Department, in order to prevent DEFCAD from remaining online.{{citation |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/design/a22616000/judge-order-defcad-3d-printed-gun-parts/ |access-date=March 28, 2020 |title=Judge Orders Defcad Takedown|date=August 2018 }} At its core, this new suit cited a procedural error: the proper notice had not been given prior to enacting the change in how ITAR applied to small arms. As such, DEFCAD was once again taken offline, pending the State Department providing proper notice via the Federal Register.

In March 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that DEFCAD had once again became publicly available online. The site implemented a new model to comply with arms export law in which users would be charged $50 and vetted to ensure they were located within the United States and that they were citizens or legal residents.{{Cite news|last=Forrest|first=Brett|date=March 28, 2020|title=Gun-Rights Activist Releases Blueprints for Digital Guns|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/gun-rights-activist-releases-blueprints-for-digital-guns-11585414671|access-date=January 31, 2021|issn=0099-9660}}

• Privately made firearm
• 3D-printed firearm

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130730032757/http://defcad.com/forums/ DEFCAD Forums] (defunct, archived)
• [http://webchat.oftc.net/?randomnick=0&channels=defcad&prompt=1&uio=d4 DEFCAD IRC]

Category:Weapon development

Category:Online companies of the United States

Category:Free software companies

Category:Homemade firearms

Category:3D printed firearms