Canadian Prints Full-Size Camper

A Saskatoon maker space/coffee shop has set a new record for the largest item 3D-printed indoors as a single piece with a full-size camper made of plastic.

“It’s kind of surreal,” said Randy Janes, owner of Wave of the Future 3D, who organized the print. “If you’re familiar with 3D printing, a little tabletop item that’s 5 inches tall can take upwards of one day. I just printed an entire trailer in just over a week.”

The camper (called The Wave) took just over 230 hours to complete at the Create Café in Saskatoon. It is 13 ft. long, weighs 600 pounds, and should have a life expectancy of 100 years, according to Janes.

Janes (also a co-founder of Create Café) printed the camper with PETG pellets on the massive Printtron, a 28-ft. by 5-ft. by 7-ft. printer that lays claim to being the largest in North America.

The team used high-flow printing nozzles from Saskatchewan Polytechnic to create the large 10.3mm layers used for the build.

Special nozzles were used to create large layers of print material. Images courtesy Create Cafe.

“So it’s 3.5 times bigger than the previous world record and that’s because it’s done in one piece,” said Create Café CEO Dustin Maki. “Nobody has ever accomplished a one-piece print that’s of this stature.”

Janes plans to sell the trailer once it is outfitted with appliances and windows.

During the printing process, the Create Cafe team had to use a step ladder to reach the hopper on the Printtron. Images courtesy Create Cafe.

Because the camper is not built on a chassis, it can be placed on stilts for permanent installation, or used as an ice-fishing hut. Janes previously worked in the RV industry, and says the Wave solves one of the biggest problems with existing camper designs – they are very expensive, and inevitably leak.

Janes plans to print both 16-ft. and 19-ft. versions of the Wave in the future, as well as a truck-bed version.

The previous record for the largest indoor print was held by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (a tool used on Boeing airplane wings). Oak Ridge provided support and assistance with the Create Café print.

You can view part of the livestream of the print from early February on the Create Café Facebook page.

Source: Global News