World’s 1st 3D-printed camper to be printed in Saskatoon

It’s the first of its kind in the world: a full-size, 3D-printed camper trailer; and it’s being developed in Saskatoon.

“I was introduced into 3D printing and I saw that this is one of the processes that can eliminate probably 95 to 100 per cent of the issues that people have with campers,” Randy Janes, owner of Wave of the Future 3D, said.

Prior to his work in 3D printing, Janes worked as a product specialist for an RV company for 11 years, where he heard many complaints about the negative aspects of camper trailers.

The camper will be 13 feet in size, weigh around 600 pounds and will have a life expectancy of 100 years.

“This is going to come off line at roughly 600 to 700 pounds, and be stronger than anything in the industry,” Janes said. “You could pretty much fill it with water, let it sit for 10 years, empty it out and still use the trailer.”

Dubbed The Wave, the camper will be printed all in one piece at Create Cafe in Saskatoon, with the high-flow printing nozzles being used for the project coming from Saskatchewan Polytechnic applied research.

“It gives you a uni-body, which makes it the strongest trailer ever produced,” Janes said. “There’s no seams, there’s no nails, there’s no screws, there’s no wood in the trailer whatsoever.”

The trailer can be removed from its base and placed on stilts to sit in a more permanent position. The camper can also convert to an ice-fishing hut, with three covered holes in the floor.

The company eventually plans to put the prototype into production and sell them on the open market.

Printing is set to begin on Thursday, and is expected to last between 10 and 14 days.

“This will be the biggest thing printed in (Create Cafe) and will be a world record,” Janes said. “The biggest right now is 82 cubic feet, this will come off at just over 500 cubic feet.”

The entire printing process will be streamed live on Create Cafe’s Facebook page.