This week’s selection is the 3D Printed Washing Machine by designer Enos Camare.
Camare created a 3D printed 1/12 scale model of a household washing machine, and, and… just watch this:
This is astounding! Camare not only replicated the geometry of a washing machine but also made the machine function as a washing machine! Even the control knob works.
I’m blown away by this, and especially the part in the video where the “clothes” are so small they need to be loaded with tweezers. Incredible.
The washing machine was created to be included in what must be an incredibly sophisticated dollhouse. Camare says:
”There is a micro DC motor N10 that turn the drum and an ATtiny85 microprocessor that connects the button with the motor. The plug supplies only 5 V, the same as the electric grid of the dollhouse.”
I didn’t know dollhouses have electric grids. Did you?
Camare says he designed the washing machine using SOLIDWORKS, and 3D printed it on his Elegoo Mars 2 using water washable ABS-like Elegoo resin. He adds:
“Built with much patience and a shaking hand.”
While you might think this design is right at the edge of the envelope, you’d be wrong. In a Reddit post, Camare said:
“I had originally planned to pour actual detergent from the bottle, but every material I tried using got stuck inside and refused to let go. In the first version I tried injecting water inside but it only came out once shaken brutally. The second version, which is the one you see in the video, has a hole in the handle that reaches the bottom of the bottle and should let the air in but fails to do so (because of its tiny size).”
He seems to be targeting a literally functional tiny washing machine that could wash clothes.
The dollhouse is Camare’s wife’s, and apparently she has requests for additional 3D printed tiny appliances. Camare said:
“I am sure she has an endless list. For now there are plans for a microwave, mixer, and sewing machine, all functional of course.”
The washing machine is so realistic you might accidentally think there is a giant operating a normal-sized washing machine.
I never realized how complex dollhouse design could be, but then there’s a reason for it to be so: access to 3D printing has enabled these hobbyists to take their projects to the next level.
