The World’s Largest 3D Printed Boat Printed In Just 3 Days
By Mayukh Saha
3D printers are a marvel. While they are costly, you can build something up with it and make it last for a long time too. You can use it for jewelry, show designs, wax castings, etc. Even certain small parts of an aircraft are made using 3D printers. So, it is clear that they are the future in construction.
However, all these examples show a small piece or part of something that can be produced using 3D printers. Imagine if you can build something much bigger – something that would require more labor and concentration. Something like a 3D printed boat!
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Well, on 10 October 2019, the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center was able to make just that. Using the world’s largest 3D printer, the institution was able to unveil the world’s first and largest 3D printed boat. It’s an amazing invention. The 3D printer was able to build this 3D printed boat in just around 72 hours and all it took was the printer itself. The boat weighs around 5000 pounds and is around 25 feet in length.
With this 3D printed boat, the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center was able to get hold of three consecutive Guinness Book of World Records immediately – it used the world’s largest 3D printer, it used the printer to make the first and largest 3D printed boat, and this boat became the world’s largest 3D-printed object. All of this was possible after a 3-day construction. You can watch a time lapse video of this wonderful construction of the 3D printed boat.
This is, however, not the only thing that the 3D printer can offer to the world at large. It can be used to deliver some other useful items as well. The printer can be used to develop biobased feedstocks by making use of cellulose, which was derived from wood resources. It can also be used to make rapid prototypes of defense, infrastructure, and civilian applications.
Just unveiling the boat did not end the entire conference, though; the boat had to be tested after all. So, for testing purposes, the boat was set afloat on a wave basin, and also in a high-performance wind machine. The boat was named 3Dirigo in UMaine’s Alfond W2 Ocean Engineering Laboratory.
As per the press release of Maine University, the 3D printed boat is not the ultimate vehicle that this 3D printer can make. It is also possible to develop an object around 22 feet in width, 100 feet in length, and around ten feet in height. So, if pushed to the limit, the 3D printer can print even more world records if needed.
Source: Truth Theory
All images: UMaine
Hey! Message me. I am Mayukh. I help people and websites with content, videos, design, and social media management. I am an avid traveler and I started living as a digital nomad in Europe since 2019. I am currently working on www.noetbook.com – a creative media company. You can reach out to me anytime: justmayukh@gmail.
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