Japanese man gets two years in prison for 3D printing of functioning revolvers

A 28-year-old man has been sentenced in Japan to two years in prison for making multiple functioning plastic firearms with his 3D printer. The man has violated national gun laws, according to the judge.

The man has made several plastic firearms with his 3D printer and violated Japanese gun laws, the Japanese court has ruled. It gives the man a two-year prison sentence, PCWorld reports. The prosecutors demanded a prison term of more than three years, but the judge’s verdict was less severe. The man would not have known that he was committing illegal acts. It is unclear whether he will appeal.

The man used to work at the Shonan Institute of Technology. However, in May he was arrested for posting videos and blueprints of his plastic weapons on the internet. The videos show the man firing the weapons. The so-called ZigZag revolver fits six bullets and the design differs from that of The Liberator: the first firearm that could be made with 3D printers. The design, which has since been removed from the internet by the original creator, has been downloaded more than 100,000 times.

The Japanese would be the first person in the world to be actually convicted of producing firearms with a 3D printer.