Designing Sailboat Parts - 2016

Over the years that I have been sailing, individual boat parts break every so often because of the usual wear and tear that they face in the grueling conditions. However, when I have to replace such parts, I have realized the extreme expense of replacing these parts, and the poor design of some of them, even in the highest-quality parts. Using my 3D design and printing skills, I decided to test the strength and endurance of the 3D printed parts, which could be made for a fraction of the cost, and at a better quality than the original part (in several cases). 

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SPECIFY REQUIREMENTS: Identifying the features of the product helps focus the design process.

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MATERIALS: Identifying the ideal additive manufacturing material helps build a product that is at least as good as the original.

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ITERATION: Testing parts to failure and then iterating new designs are central to the engineering method. Following this process to the extreme helps us develop end products often superior to the original parts.

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OPTIMIZATION: In addition to improving on the design, the iterative process includes trying different materials to optimize manufacturing.

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One of the first objects I designed was a wind pennant for my Optimist sailboat. A wind pennant is a small flag-like device mounted on the top of the mast to help show the direction of the true wind. The manufacturer’s version of the small plastic indicator is fragile, (comparatively) heavy, and does not work accurately in light winds. I designed, 3D printed, and tested a wind pennant that was light, yet strong and cheap. With my success in the initial steps of the engineering method, I pitched my product to my sailing teammates and coaches. I created a small business selling these wind pennants, and this sparked my interest in designing two more products for sailboats, daggerboard rubber protectors and universal joints for tillers and tiller extensions, both of which were parts that had a similar fate.

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The rubber protectors for Optimist daggerboards are made out of a foam-rubber material, and disintegrate over time, leading the edges of the daggerboard to rub up against the daggerboard trunk and cause damage. Instead, I researched a material that could withstand the harsh environment of the sea, while being strong, durable, and easily manufacturable. Then, I stumbled upon a flexible material that is 3D printable, and immediately started prototyping and testing the rubber insert. I had to design and 3D print the part in a way such that it could be flexible enough to absorb the impacts from the daggerboard, but not too flexible so as to tear up, similar but different to the foam-rubber-like material of the original insert. I successfully 3D printed the insert, and tested it on an Optimist dinghy. 

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The third product I designed, prototyped, and tested was a universal joint for tillers and tiller extensions. The normal ones are made out of a semi-durable rubber, but when exposed to the usual tension, compression, and twisting forces, it develops fractures along the horizontal/lateral direction, and this leads to failure of the rubber part. Instead, I used the outcomes of 3D printing to my advantage. Fused Deposition Modeling 3D printers, the kind that I have access to, create parts by adding layer upon layer of extruded material. Parts created with these 3D printers have weaknesses of tension along the Z-axis, and advantages of compression and twisting forces along the X and Y-axis. Using these characteristics to my advantage, I printed a fundamentally stronger universal joint from the CAD file I created of the improved universal joint.