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Bernard Dont built and tested a huge 3D printed replica of the most famous sea liner in human history, the Titanic. Collisions with icebergs were avoided, and the model will become one of the exhibits at the Titanic: The Exhibition.
Bernard is interested in ship modeling for a reason, because the 31-year-old Australian served nine years in the navy, and now works as an engineer, repairing and maintaining warships. The first project of the craftsman was a one and a half meter 3D-printed model of an Armidale-class patrol boat, and the most controversial was a replica of the legendary sea liner, which required two years of painstaking work and the creation of its own 3D-printing farm.
The model is made at a scale of 1:72 and consists of over three thousand 3D printed parts. To handle this volume on his own, Dont bought and assembled a dozen MakerFarm Pegasus FDM 3D printers and a custom computer with 32GB of RAM and water cooling.
The finished replica reaches 3.7 meters in length and weighs all 200 kilos, including 140 kg of cement ballast for stability. Bernard even had to buy and remake a special car trailer used to transport boats. “When I am driving on the highway, someone will definitely be attached to it and start taking photos,” the author admits, not without a bit of irritation.
It's hard to blame onlookers, because this is the largest and most accurate 3D printed radio-controlled model of the Titanic in the world. Bernard was even going to drown his masterpiece, but not because of the paparazzi, but for the sake of authenticity: the model was originally designed to be broken into two parts. The two halves of the model are sealed and equipped with ballast tanks and pumps. However, the model designer eventually abandoned the idea of a staged disaster.
The replica was planned to be flooded at a depth of 35 meters (again, on a scale of 1:72 with the depth of a real liner flooding), and the process was to be filmed with the help of familiar scuba divers, but about possible damage when hitting the bottom and the model's ability to float back to the surface what doubts. Bernard decided to play it safe and conduct a crowdfunding campaign for seven thousand Australian dollars to make up for financial losses in the event of a real disaster. The campaign failed, after which the DIYer decided not to risk it and sell the replica to the organizers of the Titanic: The Exhibition for two thousand dollars. By the way, the filament alone took almost three thousand.
But the model managed to pass the sea trials, and almost died in the process. According to the author, the first tests were carried out in a channel, and the model almost hit the stones. Following standard practice, Dont put the rudder on board and backed off, but the long, narrow vessel refused to change course. This, Bernard believes, is one of the reasons for this disaster: when the captain of the Titanic ordered to abruptly change course and simultaneously stop the cars, the liner ceased to obey the steering wheel and continued to move straight into the iceberg.
A repetition of the disaster was miraculously avoided, and further tests were carried out on wide reservoirs.
