Spare parts using 3D printing
There are many advantages to sailing a classic boat like the Maya (a Najad 34). The boat is stable and has qualities that you often lack with new boats. However, the supply of spare parts is most probably not one of the advantages. I sometimes have the feeling that product life cycles are getting shorter and shorter. This is especially true for marine electronics. For example, I’ve had some very bizarre e-mail conversations with the B&G support, where I was advised to buy a new plotter because of deficits in the software. But even with mechanical equipment, it sometimes gets difficult after a few years. For example, the worm wheel on my windvane steering (Windpilot Pacific), which is used to set the course, was simply too time-worn after many years of use and, hence, can not keep a stable course. The teeth of the worm wheel are simply “worn out” and the course can no longer be held because the vane does not remain fixed in the correct position.
I admit that in the beginning I was a bit fuzzy with the windvane mechanical steering and only got it working thanks to two befriended sailors (Hello Ralf! Hello Raz!). In the meantime, however, the device has become an important crew member and it’s hard to imagine longer trips without it. This made the news from Mr Foerthmann, the manufacturer of the unit, all the more bitter that the required spare part was no longer available because the original supplier had closed down in the wake of the Corona crisis. Not a good situation if you still want to use the system.
I was therefore very happy to get in touch with Alex and Roman. The brothers (who, by the way, like me, come from Franconia) founded Solvit3D with the aim of creating spare parts or customized products for sailboats using the 3D printing process. So I regained some hope that maybe the spare part I was looking for could be created in this way. The problem, however, was that I had no template and even no really good photos of the design. The boat (with the old part) was on Apataki, a small island in the South Pacific, and I myself was in Bangkok. However, Mr Foerthmann was extremely helpful and helped us not only with advice but also with a scan of the original plans (Windpilot Model <97) and he also provided an original sample part, which was measured by Alex using a 3D scan. Many thanks to him at this place as well!
I packed the printed part – together with a whole range of other spare parts, filters, V-belts, etc. – on my way through Germany and flew to the South Pacific with it. I admit that I was a little skeptical as to whether the part would fit. In French Polynesia, especially on remote islands such as Apataki, the possibilities for adjustments are very limited and the postal service is legendarily lousy. Without adequate self-steering, however, my trips there – especially as a single-handed sailor or with a small crew – are hardly imaginable. The distances between the islands in the Pacific are enormous (French Polynesia alone covers an area comparable to Western Europe, i.e. about 4 million square kilometers). So you can imagine that I performed a not-so-little celebration dance when I discovered the new – 3D-printed – worm wheel was a perfect fit.
Oh well, disclaimer: Alex and Roman made me the spare part for free if I write a blog post about it (am I a Sailfluencer now?). However, this did not affect my dance of joy about the part fitting so well and now being able to use my windvane steering to its full potential again.
Links:
Solvit3D (Alex and Roman)
Windpilot (Peter Förthmann)
3d-Profi (the part was printed here)
Long time no sea! – SY-Maya.de
May 27, 2022., 08:44 •
[…] parts, which I had brought with me from Germany, fit (see also an extra article on the subject of spare parts in 3D printing).It took about a week to prepare Maya. It was not only about repairs but also about cleaning, […]