3DAlienWorlds BLOG

Assembling the Samurai Dojo

We have some great photos of the new Samurai Dojo building to show off very soon, but today we're going to be working through the assembly process, with some handy tips for you!

▲ This dojo has a large base, to lift it about 2cm off the battlefield, which is printed in 6 parts. However, the base is actually optional, so you can save time by skipping this step if you want to.

Each piece is printed upside down, and does not require print supports on an FDM printer.

▲ The next stage is to print the 4 pieces of the floor beams, and glue them down onto the base.

▲ The third step is to print the 6 pieces of the surrounding balcony, and glue those down around the edge. The balcony is also optional, but I think it looks great!

Steps are printed without supports, and you can print as many of these as you like. I only used one set of steps at the side, which will become the "entrance", but you could have steps on both sides, and even on one end if you want steps for an archery range?

▲ Next comes the flooring! There are 11 tatami mats required for each side, and these should be printed on their sides - the FDM printer will give it perfect tatami texture!

TIP: Print 10 tatami mats for each side and glue those down, before you print the 11th tatami mat. Depending on your printer, you might find that you need to make it a tiny bit wider or narrower to make it fit better. I printed my final mat 1mm wider, for a perfect fit!

The central strip of the dojo floor is made up of 4 large wooden sections, and I recommend gluing down 3 of those before checking the size of the last piece - just like for the tatami mats. I needed to stretch mine 1mm wider again, to get a perfect fit.

▲ Here's the floor all finished. The boundary between the tatami mats and the wooden floor is marked by a strip of bamboo, which looks very cool and is an authentic feature!

▲ We move on to the walls next, which have 4 sections - all printed upside down. Simply print each of those, and glue them down as shown.

TIP: Note that if you don't want to include the calligraphy scroll on the left of the stage area (it's built into the wall section), then you could just print a mirrored version of the opposite piece instead.

▲ The walls are completed with 3 middle sections, all printed upside down as well. These can then be slotted into place to connect the corner sections.

▲ There are two types of door, so you can print the version with holes (shown above) which are designed to be used with baking paper for that authentic paper screen door look, or the version with a solid back, which will need to be painted.

TIP: Depending on your printer settings, I recommend printing a pair of test doors first, just to check they fit and slide smoothly. If not, try thickening or thinning the doors a millimetre.

▲ The final step is to print the large roof, which comes in 4 pieces (or 8 pieces for smaller printers). Print supports are, of course, not required.

And that's it - your dojo is complete. Now go and choose what accessories you'd like to include.... we'll be showing those off tomorrow, so watch this space!

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