Ok, that’s also a possibility: creating a 3D printed kayak. Jim Smith of Grass Roots Engineering did it and the results are, say, very colorful. He created a 3D printed 16ft 8in [5.08m] long kayak made of ABS plastic and now the man can proudly say he’s produced the world’s first 3D printed kayak. It’s definitely good to see how different people from all over the world are implementing 3D printing techniques to create something truly new.
However, Smith is not new in the world of 3D printing, as he’s already working on this technique since 2008. He latest achievement was creating a home-built, large scale low-cost 3D printer with a build volume of 403x403x322mm (16x16x13″). He has been modifying this printer for a lot of times and now he’s able to print out plastic ABS parts inside a heated chamber so they will not warp or crack.
The result is a 500 dollar kayak, that apparently anyone with a 3D printer like Smith’s machine could build. However, he did it. We have never seen a kayak in such a colorful way. And it works, as you can see in the video below, in which he’s sailing on his self-made boat.
Images: Grass Roots Engineering.