How to Print & Assemble The SPACESHIP-S1

How to print the SPACESHIP-S1

If you want to save this How-To instruction as a pdf file (and print it out later if needed), simply copy the URL of this page and paste it to https://www.printfriendly.com/ . Printfriendly will generate a printer-friendly pdf of the page with all the texts and images for you.

All of the STL files are really straight forward to print. All you need to do is load them into your slicer software (I use Cura), select your desirable settings (e.g. layer height, infill percentage, etc.) and slice the parts. I used 0.4mm nozzle and 0.2mm layer height to print large parts and 0.25mm nozzle and 0.1mm layer height to print small parts (e.g. Raptor engine assembly, pipes, c-clips, etc.)

Please note: I already saved the STL for each part in the orientation I printed them on my FDM printer. Hence, when you load the STL in your slicer software, you don’t need to orientate them again, unless you want to try to print them in a different orientation.

Below are some tips

  • All magnet holes can be printed without support regardless of their positions/orientations on the model. Please don’t generate support for these holes (unless you really need to). Otherwise, you may struggle to remove support inside the holes due to restricted access. The easiest way to stop Cura from generating support inside these magnet holes is to use support blocker to cover the holes.

  • All stiffeners (inside the Skirt Section, Thrust Dome Section, Forward Dome Section and Nose Cone Fairing Section) can be printed without support. To stop Cura from generating support for them, you can select ‘Touching Buildplate’ in the ‘Support Placement’ box. You don’t need any support at all to print the Forward Dome Section and the Nose Cone Fairing Section so just simply untick the box ‘Generate Support’ when you print these 2 parts.

  • This Starship model is designed in such a way to allow you to assemble and disassemble the model into piece part level, because almost every part is held together by magnets. However, if you prefer to glue everything, or some parts, together, that’s also fine – but please be aware that if you do, it may be difficult to update the model later on.

  • There is an STL in folder ‘STEP 01’ called ‘Starship Assembly_1-96_v1.stl’. If you load this file, you’ll see the fully assembled Starship model. This will help you understand where each and every part is fitted on the model.

  • This model is designed at 1:96 scale and I highly recommend you to print at this scale to achieve the highest quality. However, if you decided to print it at a smaller scale, please be aware that the magnets I selected for this model will no longer fit  and you will have to glue the parts together. A larger scale 1:48 model is available called the STARSHIP-M1.

How to assemble this model?

So now you’ve got all your parts printed? Great! Let’s assemble the model. I’ll take you through the assembly process step by step but before that, you need to purchase some items:

  • 5mm dia x 3mm thick N42 Neodymium magnets (LINK) | Qty: 6-off
  • 3mm dia x 2mm thick N42 Neodymium (LINK) | Qty: 200-off
  • Super glue (LINK) | Qty: 1 bottle
  • Electric wire to make the model look more realistic. You can purchase a meter of electrical wire to replicate the cables running on the outside of the Starship – any type is fine as long as you can fit it through a 2.5mm dia hole

STEP 1: ‘Dry’ assemble the model

At this step, all I want you to do is try to stack all the parts together to get a good understanding of where they are located. Because there are a lot of magnets you need to fit during the assembly process, doing this first step will give you an idea of how to fit the magnets in each part correctly. Please use the ‘Starship Assembly_1-96_v1.stl’ and the photos below if required.

STEP 2: Assemble the Skirt Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Skirt Section_1-96_v1
  • 6x Landing Leg_1-96_v1
  • 24x Magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue 18x magnets into their locations on the Skirt Section
  2. Glue 1x magnet into the hole on each Landing Leg
  3. Press-fit 6x Landing Legs into the Skirt Section

Please note: At the end of this Step, you should be able to deploy/retract the Landing Legs

STEP 3a: Assemble the Thrust Puck

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Thrust Puck_1-96_v1
  • 3x Magnets (5mm dia x 3mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue 3x magnets (5mm dia x 3mm thick) into their locations on the bottom of the Thrust Puck

STEP 3b: Assemble the Thrust Dome Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Thrust Dome Section_1-96_v1 (a)
  • 1x Thrust Puck sub-assembly from STEP 3a (b)
  • 2x COPV Tank Bracket (Side)_1-96_v1 (c)
  • 1x COPV Tank Bracket (Centre)_1-96_v1 (d)
  • 26x Magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue 20x magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) into their locations on the Thrust Dome Section
  2. IMPORTANT: Align the Thrust Puck to the Thrust Dome Section: Rotate the Thrust Puck until (1) the two shortest stiffeners on this part are perfectly aligned with the weld lines on the left and right of the Thrust Dome Section AND (2) ensure the positions of the 3 magnets on the bottom of the Thrust Puck are also correct (refer to photo with a warning sign below).
  3. Once the Thrust Puck is correctly aligned to the Thrust Dome Section, use super glue to permanently fix it into place.
  4. Glue the magnets into their holes on the COPV Tank Brackets.
  5. Glue the 3 COPV Tank Brackets to the bottom of the Thrust Dome Section – use the lip on the Thrust Dome Section for alignment. Ensure that you assemble each COPV Tank Bracket to its correct location (refer to the photo below)

STEP 4: Assemble the LOX Tank Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x LOX Tank Section_1-96_v1
  • 22x Magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue 22x magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) into their locations on the LOX Tank Section

STEP 5: Assemble the Common Dome Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Common Dome Section_1-96_v1
  • 16x Magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue 14x magnets (5mm dia x 3mm thick) into their locations on the Common Dome Section
  2. Press fit 2x Location Pins into their holes on the top face on the Common Dome Section

STEP 6: Assemble the Forward Dome Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Forward Dome Section_1-96_v1 (a)
  • 2x Forward Dome Cap_1-96_v1 (b)
  • 20x Magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue 20x magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) into their locations on the Forward Dome Section
  2. Glue 2x Forward Dome Cap together and press fit the Cap into the Forward Dome Section

STEP 7: Assemble the Nose Cone Fairing Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Nose Cone Fairing Section_1-96_v1
  • 20x Magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue 20x magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) into their locations on the Nose Cone Fairing Section

STEP 8: Assemble the Nose Cone Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Nose Cone Section_1-96_v1
  • 19x Magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue 19x magnets (3mm dia x 2mm thick) into their locations on the Nose Cone Section

STEP 9: Assemble the Raptor Engine Assembly

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Raptor Engines Assembly_1-96_v1
  • 3x Magnet (5mm dia x 3mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue 3x magnets (5mm dia x 3mm thick) into their locations on the Raptor Engines Assembly

STEP 10: Stack Thrust Dome Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Skirt Section from STEP 2 (a)
  • 1x Thrust Dome Section from STEP 3 (b)
  • 4x COPV Tank 1_1-96_v1 (c)
  • 2x COPV Tank 2_1-96_v1 (d)
  • 4x COPV Tank Ring 1_1-96_v1 (e)
  • 4x COPV Tank Ring 2_1-96_v1 (f)
  • 1x Raptor Engines Assembly from STEP 9 (g)
  • 6x Magnet (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Install Raptor Engines Assembly (g) to Thrust Dome Section (b)
  2. Stack Thrust Dome Section (b) onto Skirt Section (a)
  3. Glue one magnet into their holes on each COPV Tank.
  4. Glue COPV Tank Ring 1&2 to COPV Tank 1
  5. Install the COPV Tanks to the Thrust Dome Section

STEP 11: Install plumbing to Thrust Dome Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Sub-Assembly from STEP 10 (a)
  • 1x LOX Feed Pipe_1-96_v1 (b)
  • 1x LOX Feed Pipe Extension_1-96_v1 (c)
  • 1x CH4 Feed Pipe_1-96_v1 (d)
  • 1x CH4 Feed Pipe Extension_1-96_v1 (e)
  • 1x CH4 3-way Joint_1-96_v1 (f)
  • 1x LOX 3-way Joint_1-96_v1 (g)
  • 7x Magnet (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue magnets into the holes on each pipe.
  2. Install the pipes into the Thrust Dome Section, ensure that the smaller ends of LOX Feed Pipe (b) and CH4 Feed Pipe (d) go through the holes located at the bottom plate of the Skirt Section (refer to photo below)

Tip: The alignment mark on the top side of the Thrust Puck can be used to help align the LOX 3-way Joint to the correct orientation

STEP 12: Stack LOX Tank Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Sub-Assembly from STEP 11 (a)
  • 1x LOX Tank Section from STEP 4 (b)
  • 1x CH4 Downcomer (Bottom)_1-96_v1 (c)
  • 1x LOX Downcomer (Bottom)_1-96_v1 (d)
  • 2x Magnet (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue magnets into the holes at the ends of CH4 Downcomer (Bottom).
  2. Stack LOX Tank Section (b) to Sub-Assembly from STEP 11 (a)
  3. Install CH4 Downcomer (Bottom) (c) and LOX Downcomer (Bottom) (d)

STEP 13: Stack Common Dome Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Sub-Assembly from STEP 12 (a)
  • 1x Common Dome Section from STEP 5 (b)
  • 1x CH4 Header Tank (Top)_1-96_v1 (c)
  • 1x CH4 Downcomer (Top)_1-96_v1 (d)
  • 1x CH4 Header Tank (Bottom)_1-96_v1 (e)
  • 9x Magnet (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue magnets into the hole at the bottom of CH4 Downcomer (Top) (d)
  2. Glue magnets into the holes at both CH4 Header Tank Top & Bottom halves
  3. Assemble CH4 Downcomer (Top) to CH4 Header Tank (Bottom)
  4. Assemble CH4 Header Tank to Common Dome Section
  5. Stack Common Dome Section to Sub-Assembly from STEP 12 (a)

STEP 14: Stack Forward Dome Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Sub-Assembly from STEP 13 (a)
  • 1x Forward Dome Section from STEP 6 (b)
  • 1x Tesla Battery_1-96_v1 (c)
  • 1x LOX Downcomer (Bottom)_1-96_v1 (d)
  • 2x Magnet (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue magnets into the 2 holes on Tesla Battery (d)
  2. Stack Forward Dome Section to Sub-Assembly from STEP 13 (a)
  3. Install LOX Downcomer (Bottom) (d) and Tesla Battery (c)

STEP 15: Stack Nose Cone Fairing Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Sub-Assembly from STEP 14 (a)
  • 1x Nose Cone Fairing Section from STEP 7 (b)
  • 1x LOX Downcomer (Mid)_v1 (c)
  • 1x Magnet (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue magnets into the hole at the top of LOX Downcomer (Mid) (c)
  2. Stack Nose Cone Fairing Section to Sub-Assembly from STEP 14 (a)
  3. Install LOX Downcomer (Mid) (c)(c)

STEP 16: Stack Nose Cone Section

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Sub-Assembly from STEP 15 (a)
  • 1x Nose Cone Section from STEP 8 (b)
  • 1x LOX Header Tank_1-96_v1 (c)
  • 1x LOX Downcomer (Top)_1-96_v1 (d)
  • 4x Magnet (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue magnets into the holes at the ends of LOX Downcomer (Top)
  2. Glue magnets into the holes on the LOX Header Tank
  3. Install LOX Header Tank and LOX Downcomer (Top) to Nose Cone Fairing Section
  4. Stack Nose Cone Section to Sub-Assembly from STEP 15 (a)

STEP 17: Install Flaps

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Sub-Assembly from STEP 19 (a)
  • 1x Upper Flap LH_v1 (b)
  • 1x Upper Flap RH_v1 (c)
  • 1x Lower Flap LH_v1 (d)
  • 1x Lower Flap RH_v1 (e)
  • 24x Magnet (3mm dia x 2mm thick) (highlighted in RED)

Assembly process

  1. Glue magnets into the holes in each Flap
  2. Install all Flaps to the Sub-Assembly from STEP 16 (a)

STEP 18: Install External Pipes

Parts required (refer to the photos below)

  • 1x Sub-Assembly from STEP 17 (a)
  • 1x External Pipe 1_1-96_v1 (b)
  • 1x External Pipe 2_1-96_v1 (c)
  • 1x External Pipe 3_1-96_v1 (d)
  • 14x External Pipe C-clip_1-96_v1 (e)
  • 3x External Pipe Holder_1-96_v1 (f)
  • 1x Electrical Wire (g)

Assembly process

  1. Press fit External Pipe C-clips on each pipe
  2. Install all the External Pipes to the Sub-Assembly from STEP 17 (a)
  3. Use External Pipe Holders (g) to secure the Pipes to the Starship
  4. Cut a piece of Electrical Wire to the right length and use duct tap to secure it to the Starship

And that’s it! Congratulations, you have completed your 1:96 STARSHIP-S1 model!

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Adrian lozano
Adrian lozano
December 23, 2022 1:09 pm
Rate this product :
     

I just started printing the starship, using creality ender 3 printer, and the quality is amazing, i will show more progress pictures later

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Please vote & feedback on this product :)x