How to pick a lock with a 3D printed bump key

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3D printing allows us to make anything our imagination can offer. Most of the time it’s being used to make things that we can utilize in our daily lives. The newest craze: 3D printed keys.

It’s happened to all of us at one point or another. The sudden panic of checking your pockets or purse only to realize you lost or forgotten your keys. This is when you start think about all those times you should of made a spare key. But who has the time for that?  Well now, instead of making a trip to your local hardware store, you can now do it in the comfort of your home using services like KeysDuplicated.

Here’s the problem

Criminals are trying to figure out how to print a key that will open locks without having an original key on hand.

The team at Wired got to speak to some professional lock pickers who have found the solution. “With just a photo of a keyhole, some understanding of the lock’s depth and a bit of crafty purpose-built software called Photobump, security consultants Jos Weyers and Christian Holler can print so-called “bump keys” that allow them to jimmy open nearly any lock with just a bit of elbow grease.” reports Engadget.

Here’s a video of the World’s first entirely-printed plastic bump key:

H/T Engadget, Wired

Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.