Thursday, May 28, 2015

#3dBenchy

3dBenchy3

Wandering around the 3D Print show, I spotted a little orange boat. Being a bit of a boat fan, I took a closer look. I liked the cartoony style - it had a definite "cute" about it.

Then I saw another one on a different stand.

3dBenchy2

and another

3dBenchy1

What was happening? Was it an invasion? Was the Spanish Armada back in miniature form?

The answer came in the far corner of the show.

3dBenchyflotila

The model is #3DBenchy, a design that has been made freely available for people to download and print. The idea is that you have the design as a control file which can be sent to different printers. The designers provide dimensions so the printer can be checked and calibrated.

Different printers can be compared against each other too. The stereo lithography clear print above looks better than any of the others for example.

Of course, I wonder if I could print one off big enough, would it float and could I stick a motor in it?

More details at the 3D Benchy website.

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