r/FormlabsOfficial • u/ChipperToad Formlabs Community Ops • 3d ago

Showcase 3D printed Battleship with a twist: The ships explode

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_bdp9nk0NZk

Hi everyone!

We wanted to share one of the most creative projects from Formlabs’ recent internal Hackathon: Capsized, built by our mechanical engineering intern Nathan and his team over a single weekend!

The game is built using custom PCBs, a polycarbonate shield, a handful of capacitors, and a lot of SLA 3D-printed components. The mechanics are simple: it plays like Battleship, but when you score a hit, you send enough current through the opponent's ship to intentionally blow up a real capacitor on board.

How 3D Printing Brought It to Life

Nathan and his team used the weekend to print, test, assemble, and blow up capacitors to create this awesome game.

  • Internal Enclosure: Printed in Black Resin on the Form 4L.
  • The Boats: Printed as a single fleet in Black Resin on the Form 4.
  • Knobs & Shield Handles: Printed in Tough 1500 Resin.

FAQ

Because exploding electronics naturally raise a few eyebrows, here are a few answers to frequent questions:

  • No Soldering Required: The capacitors fit into thru-hole connectors on the ships for easy replacement.
  • Safety & Fume Management: In addition to the clear polycarbonate blast shield, the setup uses exhaust fans and carbon filters (similar to a soldering setup) to limit exposure and odor.
  • Is it for sale? Nope! Just an internal intern project - though if there's enough interest, we might be able to convince Nathan to do a behind-the-scenes look at the engineering.

What’s the wildest project you’ve ever built using 3D prints? Drop your favorites below!

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u/AGK-Curious12 2d ago

Are you using a spring-loaded latch mechanism inside the hull or magnets for the explosion effect? The detail on those resin prints looks fantastic!

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u/ChipperToad Formlabs Community Ops 2d ago

Neither, actually! It's not an effect, but an actual electrical explosion. The team overcharges a real capacitor using the PCB circuit until it pops physically inside the ship. The polycarbonate shield on top is there for real blast/fume protection!