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explorer

E/Xplorer AUV parts

3D print them, assemble them...

E/Xplorer is the most advanced 3D-printed craft out there. Its 3D parts are tailored for performance, efficiency, and beauty. No special printer is needed to produce a strong, smooth AUV from our parts—you will be satisfied with the outcome regardless of which printer you use.

Printing general

  • For this project, you will need a printer with at least a 200×200 mm build area. Not for all parts, but one or two will need that size.
  • Most parts are designed to be printed without supports. So, if supports are not mentioned in the docs, they are not needed for that part.
  • We provide information about materials, temperatures, and other parameters sometimes. This information is offered as "the best we know." If you are confident in your own knowledge and experience, feel free to use your own judgment and tweak our setup.

Assembly tips

  • Using our BUILD ASSISTANT is the most successful and easiest approach to building this project. The Assistant serves as a guide, documentation, and project management tool all in one. You will know what is needed, when it is needed, and how it should be done. Your build progress will be tracked, so every time you come back to your ongoing project, you will be immediately up to speed and can jump right back in without wasting time. The Assistant will ease and greatly speed up your build.

  • Also, it's good to check the Blender files for each section whenever we provide them. They offer a visual, interactive, and intuitive help tool to assemble the printed parts. Using Blender software (free), you can always find out where each part goes—rotate the view, zoom, mute parts, or move them for a better view of them.

  • We use hex screws for assembling all parts. We adopted this approach from assembling our 3D printers and other DIY machines—it's part of an engineer's tradition. Of course, you can use whatever kind of screws you want, as long as they are M3. Check the Screws and nuts section of this partbase.

Partbase

Some 3D files are not documented in the 3D parts section. Those files are typically linked to mechanical parts—for example, propellers depend on motors, and sensor housings depend on specific electronic components. Therefore, you will find those 3D files in the Mechanical and Sensor sections.

This part base serves mainly as a reference and component buying guide. To build the craft, it's more convenient to use our BUILD ASSISTANT, which includes video tutorials, how-tos, tips, tricks, and everything you need from the start to the finish of this project.

(Last update: 23.4.2026)