Take a Ride Inside Ivan Miranda's 3D-Printed Tank

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty bitter about the fact that I don’t own a tank. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t even know anyone who owns a tank that I can borrow. That simple fact is enough to ensure that adulthood hasn’t lived up to the expectations I had as a child. But not everyone is willing to just accept that reality without a fight. Ivan Miranda is taking matters into his own hands and is building a completely 3D-printed tank that is large enough for an adult to ride inside of.

If you’ve ever tried to 3D print anything larger than your fist, you’ve likely found that the square-cube law is a harsh mistress. As the size of a print grows linearly (the square) it’s volume will increase much more rapidly (the cube). So a tank large enough to fit inside will easily take thousands of hours to print. But Miranda is no stranger to long prints. For instance, he has recently printed the world’s largest Nerf Gatling gun, and is in the process of building a truly massive 3D printer (which should help him print these gargantuan parts in the future).

Over the past couple of months, Miranda has managed to 3D print the entire tank. He has logged the process across a total of four different YouTube videos. At this stage, the tank can roll on its tracks and keep the driver safe and sound inside of the clamshell compartment. The rest of the work is going to be on the control electronics and drivetrain. Miranda hasn’t said yet exactly what the plan is there, but moving all of that plastic—and his own body weight—is going to require some pretty hefty motors and a substantial battery bank. Be sure to subscribe to Miranda’s YouTube channel so you can follow along as he completes this ambitious project.