Ivan Miranda and his team have been working on an interesting idea, turning a regular treadmill into a 3D printer and finally use it to print a full-size kayak. In their latest video, they show the first successful step toward that goal. The setup lets them print long objects in one go, which could be useful for projects like making a full-size kayak. This approach avoids the hassle of printing smaller parts and joining them later, making the process a more efficient.
The idea began as a fun project between friends and later turned into a dream project. For the length of the kayak, they figured a treadmill could work well as a 3D printer base, since it allows for longer prints than regular 3D printers. That’s exactly what they need for the kayak they’ve been planning to build.
The project was not all smooth, they faced many small problems while building the machine. Things didn’t fit right at times, some parts were too heavy, and the printer did not work perfectly at first. But with a bit of fixing, trying different ideas, and lots of patience, they got it to work in the end.
They are still making changes, and the plan is to eventually print a full kayak and test it in a real lake. If it works, we might see two 3D-printed boats racing soon in their next video.
This project is a great example of how engineering can be fun, creative, and even a bit unusual. It also shows how new ideas can surprise you and make you look at things from a totally different angle, maybe even a different “axis”.
