3D printed subs ?

[rwtdiver]

Great blog!
I am just getting started with sub boat building and I do enjoy 3D printing as well! Here are a few photos of the HMS Gotland that I just finished up the printing work! This boat is 51" long and it took 128 hours of build time and 1.75 rolls of black PLA. I still have some finish detail work and paint work to complete the project! This boat will be a display model in my workshop!



I printed this boat with a ANYCUBIC i3 Mega printer. I will post photos of the final finished Gotland when complete!

Rob

[rwtdiver]

Gotland build update.
I have finished the glue up and done some of the scale work! (more to come) I have some sanding work to do and then the finale paint work. As you can see I also 3D printed some display supports as well!



More update to come!
Rob

[cougar]

Gotland build update.
I have finished the glue up and done some of the scale work! (more to come) I have some sanding work to do and then the finale paint work. As you can see I also 3D printed some display supports as well!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7074[/ATTACH]

More update to come!
Rob

did you every find out how long the wtc is? I think 3 inch pvc pipe.. and maybe a meter long??
I am going to be trying to print the gotland.. and figure out how to rc the x tail. should look good . along side My LA and my type 7

[bob the builder]

Just a heads up, I've been working on making 3D files available for people who want to play with this method of building. My skills are not professional by any stretch, but I'm getting better as I go. British Astute and Captain America HydraSub are already available, with French Redoutable ready within a couple of weeks (prototype is on the printer as we speak). After that is Russian Typhoon.

Link to 3D page of Nautilus Drydocks

[salmon]

Bob,
That is really cool that you are doing that! It will help people get into our hobby. Thank you!
Peace,
Tom

[sam reichart]

Just a heads up, I've been working on making 3D files available for people who want to play with this method of building. My skills are not professional by any stretch, but I'm getting better as I go. British Astute and Captain America HydraSub are already available, with French Redoutable ready within a couple of weeks (prototype is on the printer as we speak). After that is Russian Typhoon.

Link to 3D page of Nautilus Drydocks

Thanks for sharing the link, Bob!

[coryhenry]

I would like to revisit the types of filament used for hulls. Is ABS superior to PLA / PLA + for a sub hull? Anyone use more exotics or even epoxy to make a hull? Once you have the hull printed do you just sand down the lines or do you fill and then sand with body filler? I'm looking at purchasing a new printer and am looking at the Qidi Tech X max which will allow a wide range of options, thoughts?

[salmon]

Cory,
3D printing sub hulls is coming along strong. Leaving a PLA or any plastic in the Las Vegas heat (110 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend) is hard on it. Bob had one in Florida that warped in the sun coming into his garage. We are all learning on this. Some have epoxied, others put a fiberglass layer inside. Many will use a primer with filler to remove the striations from printing. Some leave it as is and get the sub in the water.

I was on a zoom call with a vendor (Formlabs) and we had a representative from the Navy share his 3D print lab, do you have access to that being deployed?

A study on materials would be really cool.

[eckloss]

I'm currently printing a British Astute in 1/72nd scale. Using PLA Plus by eSun. This is really one big experiment. From the research I've done and other's results I've seen, it appears that ABS is probably best for our purposes. In my case, my printer doesn't play too well with ABS. We shall see how much of a "plus" PLA+ really is. Supposedly it's more resistant to warping from heat and less susceptible to negative effects of water. Others claim the "plus" designation is just a bunch of fluff and it's still regular PLA with a couple irrelevant additives. Since I literally live down the street from the reflecting pond I can get a very good read on how everything will go when put in a real world situation. There will be a thread started once I've made some more printing progress and actually start assembly.

-erich

[coryhenry]

Cory,


I was on a zoom call with a vendor (Formlabs) and we had a representative from the Navy share his 3D print lab, do you have access to that being deployed?

A study on materials would be really cool.

Unfortunately no access to the additive manufacturing labs here in the desert. I'm looking at some ABS special filament from Prusa called ASA, here is its description;

"ASA can be considered a true successor to ABS. Compared to ABS, it’s UV stable, it doesn’t suffer from shrinking so badly and the fumes produced are much less noticeable. ASA 3D prints are durable, tough and suitable for a wide range of applications. The solidification temperature is also higher compared to PLA and PETG, which gives objects printed from ASA an excellent temperature resistance – there are no signs of deformation up to temperatures near 93 °C. Thanks to all these properties, ASA is especially suitable to print objects meant for long-time outside use."

[salmon]

That is cool! No, that is beyond cool...I can’t think of a correct word.. really look forward to an update on this! Both From Erich and Cory, thank you for trying new things!

[eckloss]

ASA sounds very interesting. VERY interesting. A quick view of its characteristics state it prints best between 240 and 260 degrees. My Sindoh printer maxes out at 220. However, I've recently been eyeing the Creality CR-10 V2 printer, which is not as high tech and doesn't come with all the bells and whistles I enjoy now, but there are some advantages, such as a much larger build size. The Creality CR-10 V2 can reach 260 degrees according to its spec sheet. Sooooo do I drop the $500ish for a new printer? I dunno. But I think what I will do is cease printing the Astute in PLA+ and do a little experimenting. I'll print some 10x10x200cm bars, in ABS, PLA, PLA+, and perhaps even carbon fiber filament (I would never be able to print an entire boat with this, however, as it chews through nozzles quickly). I'll suspend each bar across an open span and place an equal amount of weight on each one. Expose them all to the sun and heat, and see if any of them warp, flex, etc.

-erich

[coryhenry]

Erich, This has been done. Go to CNC Kitchen on YouTube. He does alot of tests of the different materials to include number of perimeters, line percentages and infill to show characteristics. Its a great channel. He also does reviews of printers and definitely has thing against Creality.

I just ordered a Prusa 3S, now to wait a few months for production. It will be waiting for me when I get back!

[eckloss]

Interesting. Was ASA covered?

[coryhenry]

Interesting. Was ASA covered?

Yes it is.