Materialize has put their monstrously huge stereolithography printer to work producing a 3D printed jaguar for a yacht.
The KISMET superyacht, owned by Pakistani billionaire Shahid Khan (also owner of the Premier League’s Fulham FC) is 308ft (94m) in length and includes a helipad, three decks and an incredible six luxurious bedrooms.
It also sports a shiny 3D printed Jaguar on its bow.
The jaguar is more than lifesize as you can see when viewed with people standing nearby. As big as Materialise’s printer may be, this item was printed in several sections to permit easy installation and finishing.
The final result was a 4.1m jaguar sculpture weighing in at an amazing 100kg. The sculpture required several layers of protective coatings and a shiny finishing layer, as well as internal structural reinforcements.
Printing was done in what might seem “coarse” layers of 0.5mm, but at this scale of object, layers of that size simply blur into smoothness. In any case, the Jaguar was covered in multiple finishing layers to hide them.
This must be one of the most amazing 3D prints ever attempted, and perhaps one of the most costly. But when you’re a billionaire, your yacht must have the correct fixtures.
Via Materialise and Daily Mail
