This article is purely for entertainment, Please do not
print in a way that it would distract you from driving.
Okay I'm going to tell you guys a little bit about 3D
printing while driving. Mobile 3D printing has given me the opportunity to
visit businesses and demonstrate 3D printing on the road. It has allowed me to
harness my creative energy while on vacation and on travel. I have been able to
print in some of the most remote places across the United States of America. I
have been allowed to be mobile and fluid with my business.
I am using an
Ultimaker Extended 2+. The materials I have used to print so far have been TPU
and PLA.I recommend buckling up the printer in a backseat or having
the printers safely nestled in the rear compartment of your vehicle. As of this
article being written there are no restrictions that I have found anywhere in
the world that I know of that make 3D printing illegal while driving. However
it is illegal to use handheld electronic devices. It is also illegal to do
things that distract you from the road in many places such as reading a book
while driving or eating while driving. Please follow all traffic rules laws and
regulations while driving. I am not responsible for any damage to your car 3D
printer or any other repercussions from printing in a vehicle.
I recommend using a power source and inverter that is a
system separate from your vehicle. As of now I am using a small 12V DC AC power
inverter that plugs into my cigarette lighter. Also please keep in mind that
you are in a small confined space and printing with toxic materials can be
dangerous. Even while printing with PLA or PETG you should use proper
ventilation.
The first part that I printed was the state of Montana,
while driving across the state! I used TPU on a clean glass build plate with no
heat heated build plate. The hot end and the build plate were just too much for
my cars power source to handle. When you print in the movie Vehicle you need to
go much slower any bumps breaking turns and other vibrations can cause defects
in your prints. As I was driving through Montana I was going on a smooth
Highway and maintaining a constant speed of 79 miles per hour. I started the
print on the side of a back road in a safe location. I slowly accelerated onto
the freeway as to not disrupt the print with any hard acceleration jerking
movements. The results off of my Ultimaker were a clean 3D printed part of
similar quality that I have gotten on a desktop. One of the benefits of having
such a rigid structurally sound 3D printer is that environmental vibrations
have little effect on the print. The components are in static relationship to
each other.
Let’s talk about costs. So you might say that 3D printing is inefficient from a
car. While the car was idling, the printer utilized about one gallon of gas per
2 hours. While driving I did not notice much of a decrease in fuel efficiency.
I did notice that while driving in a city environment with lots of stops and
turns that I accelerated much smoother than I drive on a regular basis. So my
fuel efficiency in the city was actually slightly
better than if I were to be just driving. So actually I’m becoming
a better driver and being more fuel efficient due to the precious cargo on
board.
Mobile 3D printing has allowed me to bring creation into my
mobile lifestyle. It has allowed me to incorporate my hobby into my other
hobby; adventuring. I have been able to reach businesses and customers that
have never even heard of 3d printing in their small town. I'm going to continue
3D printing on the road and continue my adventures around the states. I hope to
expand my adventurous business from a small SUV to an RV. From this mobile
Makerspace, I would be able to share my passion at art festivals, maker faires
and would have the capacity to support disaster relief and power plant outages
with on-site design and manufacturing.
—-
Part 2: 3d printing at a regional burn
Two years after writing part one, I have travelled through 17 states and lived almost two entire lives; one in North Carolina and one in Japan. I won’t get too into the sequentially boring thousands of miles of road. I will tell you about when I went To The Moon (a regional Burning Man event) and 3d printed out of the back of my spaceship (Mazda CX-5.)
Okay. So. There I was in a field.
I wanted to make friends. I wanted to share smiles and make other people happy. I wanted to show the world something new. Something only I do. I wanted to make really cool wearable stuff. I wanted to give to others. The resultant was me making translucent masks and finishing a Daft Punk replica helmet. I had a 3d printer. I had filament. I had a power inverter in the back of my car. Same setup as part 1.
Here’s what I made:
Instagram Post after To The Moon
Cool? Yes. I made this with a 3d printer, a hot glue gun and some LED electronics bought online, all out of the back of my car. I even made an extra one to gift! Three hour print. I spent the entire day trying to get it right! At night time, I suited up, grabbed my rope dart, and spun fire dart as Scorpion from Mortal Kombat! It was fun but I didn’t feel like too many people enjoyed it. They were scared of me and the mask! I guess art doesn’t always inflict an emotion that brings joy. It can bring fear. So who know, I met one person got super stoked about it. Then I got stoked about 3d printing. I told him about my light up Daft Punk helmet and he got even more excited! He invited me to come by his camp where they were hardcore Daft Punk fans! Woo!
So this is where the night becomes very fast. When you are in the flow, or the “zone” then time does funny things. I am completely sober at this point in my life. While running back to the car, people are getting lit on the vibe of the night. The energy is building all over the farm. You can feel the electricity in the air. I’m super happy and I’m running to my car. I grab the helmet and put some last minute touches with duct tape. I head back towards the Daft Punk fan camp wearing my Guy Manuel helmet.
Piece One of Eight
I get to the camp and the DJ is blasting some eye punk rock technological disco EDM. I pull out an LED rope dart and danced. The whole camp gets up and starts jumping and prancing and dancing with me. We are instantly a group of friends. I go to the DJ and ask if he wants me to play “my music.” He says
“You have no idea how much that would mean to us!”
“One More Time” drops on the second deck on the screen of this laptop. I play with the filers, chop and screw the track to make it sound something new. As soon as I fade out the song the previous DJ was playing, I load “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” Like I said before, I am in the freaking zone and in the zone time does funny things! I don’t remember much after that but fun is fun. Playing music while pretending to be some silly DJ is fun!
What a night! I love being able to get creative and vibe with other people. Social interaction without alcohol after using alcohol as a crutch for so long, can be tense. Once you break free through the barriers of tension, you can flow freely and be in a smooth state of mind. That state of mind is known as the flow, but really it’s just an actualized state of being where you can be yourself! When you are being yourself, you are in the flow! You’re not worried about threats. You don’t care what people think about you. You don’t make mistakes because you already set up boundaries and have surrounded yourself with people that respect your boundaries.
I cannot stress how important it is to surround yourself with people who respect your boundaries. People with ulterior motives of greed and lust won’t let you be you! People who enjoy accepting what others have to offer and are always seeking to offer what they have to offer without expecting anything in return are so good to be around!
