US Military Sergeant Incredibly 3D Prints an Entire Working Carousel

When you think of US military personnel, you probably envision a hard-nosed individual who goes about their day working out, physically training in the field, and learning about military strategy. More than likely you don’t picture a sergeant in the United States military building a 3D printed carousel in his spare time. SSG Bryan Enochs may be an exception to this rule or perhaps proof that this is simply a bogus stereotype. Enochs, 25, is currently a military SGT, living in Atlanta, Georgia, and he is a self-taught expert when it comes to 3D printing.

“It’s not as hard as it seems to design and print something on a 3-D printer,” Enochs tells 3DPrint.com. “If more people knew that, then projects like [mine] would be commonplace. I’ve been building things for years but the Makerbot 3-D printer is what takes things out of my mind and puts them in my hand.”

The project that Enochs refers to is one he came up with by himself. It is a fascinating 3D printed carousel which is mesmerizing to look at, and required a ton of time and energy to design.

“I enjoy making loud beautiful machines that are worth staring at,” Enochs tells us. “And I respect anyone who is willing to look closer to the fine details of good clockwork.”

Enochs used an old free version of Google SketchUp to design his parts. He then used software add-ons in order to export the files into 3D printable STL format, as well as generate his gears. To fabricate his parts, he uses two MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printers, which he is very fond of. Other than the many 3D printed parts, the carousel also features some electronics and computer components, including the following:

• An Arduino
• Gears on the front that control the speed of the internal rotation through potentiometers
• A key locking mechanism that turns the entire thing on
• Several continuous rotation servos
• Micro electronic motors inside of the spinning rings
• Several small circuits allowing the Arduino to control the speed of the core

“I found that doing an entire project in 3-D printing is not the most efficient way to custom build something,” Enochs admits. “If you want something really epic with a lot of functionality and quality, mix 3-D printing with other complementary crafts. I used RC car bearings in all of the rotating mechanisms and I used modified computer parts to power the electronics.”

As you can see in the videos and photos provided, Enochs did a heck of a job putting this carousel together. It took him approximately 2 months to complete from start to finish. When powered on, the gears spin, sending a horse around in a circular pattern while the miniature Earth spins around the Sun at the top. It is really quite the extraordinary creation, and none of this would have been possible without 3D printing technology.

Let us know what you think about Enochs’ creation in the 3D Printed Carousel forum thread on 3DPB.com.