It’s been proven that 3D printing can be used to create 3D printed key duplicates, but a more universal key generator has yet to be developed. Two skillful lock-pickers, however, have now proven that, even without the original set of keys, they can 3D print their own skeleton key to almost any pin tumbler lock.
Jos Weyers and Christian Holler have taken a method invented in the 1920s and updated it with 21st Century technology, 3D printing a “bump” key, that can pick almost any variety of pin tumbler lock with little effort. The bump key looks ordinary, but, by inserting it into a keyhole and bumping it with a hammer, the key pushes the pins inside of a lock upwards, forcing it open with each tap. You can watch Holler break open an Abus E20 lock with his 3D printed bump key below:
Bumping open a lock requires some important information in order to generate the skeleton key. To fabricate theirs, Weyers and Holler wrote a piece of software called Photobump. To make a bump key for a specific lock with Photobump, users need a photo of the lock’s keyhole, as well as the keyhole’s depth. Additionally, lock-pickers need to know the position of each pin in a lock, but Holler suggests that the layout of the lock can be found in pretty ubiquitous key-cutting software. Weyers further argues that the pin positions can be determined by sliding a thin tool into a keyhole and marking how far in the pins are situated. Then, the key can be 3D printed on an ordinary desktop 3D printer or ordered from a 3D printing service bureau. Weyers explained to attendees of the Hackers On Planet Earth conference, “You don’t need much more to make a bump key.…
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