3D-printed gun maker claims new tool can bypass state print-blocking laws

Cody Wilson, who created the first 3D-printed gun, the "Liberator," in 2013, says he has developed a tool called "Hochulization" — named after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who this year signed the nation's first law requiring new 3D printers to include software that blocks firearm files from printing.

Wilson's company, Defense Distributed, operates DEFCAD, the world's largest repository of 3D gun files, hosting more than 200,000 designs. A common detection method relies on "hashes" — unique numerical identifiers generated from a file — to spot and block known gun files. Wilson's tool automatically adds extra data to each file, changing its hash while leaving the printed object's function untouched, meaning a printed gun or suppressor would still work as intended.

Wider implications

Wilson plans to make the tool open source and apply it by default to files on DEFCAD, framing it as a defensive response to what he calls invasive digital surveillance. A similar bill, AB 2047, is advancing in California and would require new printers sold in the state to include compliant blocking software starting December 2029, with the state publishing a list of approved models.

Dartmouth College engineering professor Solomon Diamond said Hochulization would likely succeed technically against hash-based detection, but noted this doesn't necessarily render the approach useless, since not every user would take the extra step to alter a file's hash. Wilson also claims his team bypassed more advanced AI-based detection systems using small file modifications, though such systems reportedly produced false positive rates as high as 30 percent.

3D-printed firearms remain a growing but still comparatively small share of confiscated weapons — New York police seized one such gun in 2021 and 109 in 2024. Representatives for Hochul and the California bill's sponsor did not comment on Wilson's project.