If you were out and about during SXSW Interactive, it’s possible you saw two flightsuited people running around downtown Austin with a nearly 5’ tall model of the seminal Saturn V, the rocket used in the Apollo program to bring human beings to the moon. We turned a lot of heads while toting this print around, which inspired us to share the story of how this Saturn V rocket came to be.
This was a print intended for the July 2014 contest on the r/3Dprinting subreddit. To enter the contest, all someone had to do was print and assemble the rocket and upload a photo of their print to the sub. There were no requirements for size, material or layer height– that’s where the entrant was free to exercise some creativity.
The model, designed by Real Absuridity, was really cool. It was realistic, detailed, yet tricky in that it had snap-together pieces that required no glue. Considering our roots at NASA, the print struck a chord with our Houston team, and they decided to give it a go.
Our rocket was printed in 5 parts, using PLA plastic. It ended up being 58.5” tall and 8.2 lbs. Here’s a breakdown of what went into each of the 5 pieces:
- Top piece- 23″ tall, 6″ base. Print time: 29 hours, 41 min.
- 2nd down from the top- 14″ tall, 6.5″ base. Print time: 36 hours, 11 minutes.
- 3rd down from top- 10″ tall, 6.5″ base. Print time: 21 hours, 23 minutes.
- Bottom piece- 13.5″ tall, 6″ base. Print time: 33 hours, 41 minutes.
- Base section of the platform- 22” x 16” x 6”. Print time: 122 hours, 44 minutes
That’s a total print time of 243 hours and 40 minutes! The print went off without a hitch, despite the length of the print. Lastly, the rocket was painted and decorated to look more authentic, and then we declared it finished.
We got a late start on the contest, and underestimated how long the print would take, so we finished everything after the reddit contest was over. None the less, this was a fun project, we’ll be on the look out for future contests that spark our imagination.
Thanks for reading!
Rebecca Reinhardt
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