A battery-powered submarine built to full-scale principles
Year
2024
Materials
PLA, acrylic, DC motor
Tools
CAD, 3D printing, laser cutting
Outcome
Fully submerged powered propulsion
I designed and built a battery-powered submarine with attention to how the design would translate to a full-scale model. I 3D printed the hull, laser cut the acrylic windows, and cut openings for the propeller, switch and battery housing.
Before finishing it I ran a prototype with the batteries sealed inside to establish how much weight the hull could carry while remaining fully submerged rather than sinking. The final model runs a battery-powered motor and propeller on a manual switch.
I collected written peer feedback at every stage and revised the design against it.
