What you're missing is the technology is not about materials that might be suitable to make a gun.  It's about technology that will allow anybody -- people with absolutely no machining skills, tools or equipment other than a computer, 3D printer, and software -- to produce almost anything, including firearms.

Imagine millions of people able to download a file and "print" thousands of useful objects in the privacy of their own homes.  No tracking by stores or the government while private citizens produce weapons, drug paraphernalia, badges for any public agency uniform (including TSA), etc.  it's not that this can't be done now.  It's that this technology enables millions more who will be able to do this with little more effort than it takes to steal a movie or song off an Internet sharing site.

Imagine that, I heard he got a letter from a certain agency telling him to take the files off his site and that he did not have the proper "approval" to distribute such information.  Was he doing this in Germany in 1940 or??   

There are laws prohibiting the export of certain products, components, and technological information to foreign countries from within the US.  If the information posted falls into that category, then the posting would have to make provisions to ascertain whether the viewer/downloader is prohibited from having the files.

You have to go through the ITAR approval process to sell or distribute munitions, encryption algorithms, and computer components outside of the US. for example.

http://pmddtc.state.gov/regulations_laws/itar_official.html

Gov shutdown
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/citizen-warrior/2013/may/9/us-government-shuts-down-3d-gun-manufacturer/


Download now:

Direct Download of the Liberator:
http://blog.robballen.com/Shares/Liberator.zip

Torrent Link to download the Liberator:
http://thepiratebay.sx/torrent/8449468/Liberator_-_First_3D_Printable_Gun

This is from the ITAR. It defines, as I understand it, the defense articles and services of which the whole ITAR regulates.

§ 120.3 Policy on designating and determining defense articles and services.
An article or service may be designated or determined in the future to be a defense article (see § 120.6) or defense service (see § 120.9) if it:
(a) Is specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted, or modified for a military application, and
(i) Does not have predominant civil applications, and
(ii) Does not have performance equivalent (defined by form, fit and function) to those of an article or service used for civil applications; or
(b) Is specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted, or modified for a military application, and has significant military or intelligence applicability such that control under this subchapter is necessary. The intended use of the article or service after its export (i.e., for a military or civilian purpose) is not relevant in determining whether the article or service is subject to the controls of this subchapter. Any item covered by the U.S. Munitions List must be within the categories of the U.S. Munitions List. The scope of the U.S. Munitions List shall be changed only by amendments made pursuant to section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778).

I do not see how the liberator could possibly fall under the above definition.  The liberator was created for civilian use by civilians and is unlikely to be used to used in a military force.  Plus the plans have already been downloaded thousands of times and are still available on file sharing sites.  Does the State Department really think it can put the genie back in the bottle?