3D printed Panzer VIII MAUS tank
This project was done to enter a competition for the MMO game “world of tanks”. The model was build in Autodesk inventor, and took roughly 15 hours to complete. It was then rendered in KeyShot2, and later on printed on a Dimension 3d printer. The process of printing took 30 hours, and the model used 160 cubic centimeters of material.
History and specifications
| Type | Super-heavy tank |
|---|---|
| Place of origin |  Nazi Germany |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 1944 |
| Number built | 2 (of which 1 incomplete) |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 188 Tons |
| Length | 10.2 metres (33 ft 6 in) |
| Width | 3.71 metres (12 ft 2 in) |
| Height | 3.63 metres (11 ft 11 in) |
| Crew | 6 |
| Armour | 460 mm (18 in) (in the area of the mantlet) 250 mm (9.8 in) (mantlet) 240 mm (9.4 in) (turret front)[1] 220 mm (8.7 in) (turret side and rear, and hull front) 210 mm (8.3 in) (turret front behind the mantlet) 200 mm (7.9 in) (hull front)[1]190 mm (7.5 in) (hull side and rear) |
| Main armament |
128 mm (5 in) KwK 44 gun L/55 (32 rounds) |
| Secondary armament |
75 mm (3 in) KwK 44 gun L/36.5 (co-axial) (200 rounds) 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun |
| Engine | MB509 V12 petrol engine, DB 603derivative (V1) MB 517 V12 diesel engine (V2)1080 hp 1200 hp (895 kW) |
| Power/weight | 6.4 hp/t |
| Ground clearance | 500 mm (20 in) |
| Fuel capacity | 2,700 litres (590 imp gal; 710 US gal) (internal fuel tank) 1,500 litres (330 imp gal; 400 US gal) (external fuel tank) |
| Operational range |
160 km (99 mi) (road) 62 km (39 mi) (off road) |
| Speed | 13 km/h (8.1 mph) |
3D modeling
The pictures below shows the models with both wireframe, and materials on them.
3D printing
When the drawing was done, the model was imported into the 3d printer in different parts, so that the turret and gun could move when printed.
Here above, you can see the gun. The red is the modeling material, and the purple is the support material, which is needed since the printer cant print into free air.
And this is hope the parts is laid at the model plate. You can also see how much support and modeling material the printer will use, and the time it will take to print.
The finished product
After 30 hours of printing, and 10 hours in our acid bath, this was the final result. Enjoy!
Producing Masters for Miniatures in Wargaming is going to be so much easier than having commissioned sculpters. Eventually I can see an Internet full of open source designs we can all benefit from, another 24 months and we will have 3D printers with no Ridges and a perfect smooth model with no need for sanding or filing.
Awesome Work, pity the Competition was a crock…