{"id":32914,"date":"2017-07-27T17:12:09","date_gmt":"2017-07-27T21:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=32914"},"modified":"2017-08-17T15:59:05","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T19:59:05","slug":"designer-spotlight-matthias-kreimeyer-of-micro-boat-hobby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/designer-spotlight-matthias-kreimeyer-of-micro-boat-hobby","title":{"rendered":"Designer Spotlight: Matthias Kreimeyer of Micro Boat Hobby"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few years ago, the rediscovery of a childhood toy drove Matthias Kreimeyer back to a passion he’d almost forgotten \u2014 model RC boats. This time around, Matthias had a chance to use his training as an engineer and a manager at a German carmaker, so he wasn’t limited by mass-produced kits. Soon, his\u00a0Micro Boat Hobby Shapeways shop<\/a>\u00a0was launched from landlocked Munich, owing its origins to kit-built vessels.<\/em><\/p>\n

Matthias told us about his voyage back to model RC boat building, and how digital design lets him pursue his hobby without needing a workshop.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"RC<\/a>

Matthias Kreimeyer of Micro Boat Hobby<\/p><\/div>\n

How long have you been working with model boats?
\n<\/em><\/strong>I used to build model boats as a kid. About three years ago, I was cleaning out my parents\u2019 storage and came across an old boat that had many parts missing. I was mostly wondering if that couldn\u2019t be replaced using 3D printing, and the idea got bigger as I tried out what can be done.<\/p>\n

To some degree, this hobby is also a spinoff from my job. I used to work a lot with CAD and with modern engineering data-management systems.<\/p>\n

How did you learn to make 3D models?
\n<\/em><\/strong>I am mostly self-taught, though \u2013 long ago \u2013 my engineering degree brought along a lot of the basics.<\/p>\n

But the specifics of design for 3D printing \u2014 for example, minimum wall thicknesses \u2014 are mostly learned through trial and error and through resources like\u00a0Shapeways online tutorials<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"RC<\/p>\n

Initially, the learning curve was definitely quite steep. Nowadays I need to make fewer prototypes.<\/p>\n

What kind of 3D modeling software do you use? <\/em><\/strong>
\nFor my hobby work, I use only freeware. Mostly FreeCAD<\/a>, which is very close to professional CAD systems and has a similar logic.<\/p>\n

\"RC<\/a><\/p>\n

How did you buy or make boats before you discovered Shapeways?<\/em><\/strong>
\nI based my hobby mostly on converting commercial plastic kits. After a little while, however, you have built them all. There are only few kits on the market in my favorite scale (1:200) and my favorite domain (work boats), so if you want to keep things interesting, you have to design your own.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s where there is a niche that I try to fill by making my designs available to other boatbuilders.<\/p>\n

\"RC<\/a><\/p>\n

How do you decide which projects to work on?<\/em><\/strong>
\nI run a regular discussion with other interested model boat fans through my Facebook page<\/a>. Sometimes I get specific orders that I work on at the customer\u2019s request, and I get more requests for models than I thought there would be\u2026<\/p>\n

I would love to offer more boats in response to individual requests. However, designing a boat does take a lot of time \u2014 between 60 and 80 hours, typically \u2014 so I mostly try to see what models are interesting to the community.<\/p>\n

\"RC<\/a><\/p>\n

And sometimes I work on boats only if I feel the design would be a nice addition to my own fleet. I like mostly small boats \u2013 both because I have a small apartment and because I am especially interested in the miniaturization of working technology. Hence my designs focus on RC boats that, ideally, feature additional functions.<\/p>\n

Where do you find all those design hours?
\n<\/em><\/strong>I mostly do this in my spare time \u2014 i.e., on rainy weekends and when my lovely wife is not at home. So I manage to design only two or three boats a year, and my portfolio grows slowly.<\/p>\n

Building takes less time than design, but I spread it out more to test components and such. I definitely like the 3D design more than the building and running the boat, though I do take out a boat or two on a lake every now and then, and we usually take one or two on a vacation with us. They are small enough that they fit into the glove compartment.<\/p>\n

\"RC<\/p>\n

What has 3D printing added to your appreciation of model RC boats?<\/strong>
\nYou can achieve an excellent level of detail, while the material is strong enough to go out on the pond.<\/p>\n

3D printing is also a means to build complex models without having a workshop. With \u201cconventional model boat building,\u201d much happens in a workshop, and my apartment doesn\u2019t have space a workshop (or all the dirt associated with one), as much as I would like one. Today, much of my hobby happens on the balcony, on the couch, or at the kitchen table \u2014and the models actually come out much better and at a more professional level of detail.<\/p>\n

Third, the designs can be shared with fellow model-boat builders. I basically try to make available not just the printed parts but also a bill of materials, including photo-etched details, wooden decks, RC components, and color specifications, and a manual to help less experienced model boat enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

Tell me about a project you’re particularly proud of.<\/em><\/strong>
\nThe little innovations in my boats \u2013 particularly my GillJet, a fully functional azimuth thruster at a tiny scale, is part of my Anticosti supply vessel<\/a>. The maneuverability is really astonishing.<\/p>\n