3DOLOGiE is proud to announce our 3D printing collaboration with our customer, Coastal Engineered Solutions, on a project for the Norris Museum located in the historical town of Norris, TN.

The Norris Dam:

The town of Norris was built to house the workers building the Norris Dam, so naturally the project consisted of a 3D printed model of the Tennessee Valley Authority Dam. Construction of the Norris Dam began in 1933 and was completed in 1936. With water levels varying about 29 feet per year, 809 miles of shoreline, and 33,840 acres of water surface on the Norris Lake, the Norris Dam stands at 265 feet tall and 1,860 feet long.

The Scaled Model:

The Norris Museum was looking for someone to take on the project of creating a scaled model and 3D print of the Norris Dam to display in the local museum. With the help of Coastal Engineered Solutions, the model was created totally from scratch based on the original Tennessee Valley Authority Dam blueprints, with the new dimensions of the model set at 6 inches tall and 37 inches long.

The 3D Printing Process:

Using Ultimaker Cura slicing software for all model preprocessing and an Ultimaker S5 3D printer for the 3D printing production owned by 3DOLOGiE customer, Coastal Engineered Solutions, 3DOLOGiE was proud to donate 3 spools of Ultimaker Silver ABS material to aid in the completion of this amazing project.

In addition to our donation, Jack Black, a former Norris City Council member donated hundreds of hours along with Eric Smay of Solutions Developer in Charleston, South Carolina, who donated the highly detailed 3D form of the Dam, Alex Hicki and Zack Bueggraf of Norris who donated development of the video and audio track that synchronizes the operation of the model through their donated computer, the Norris Historical society who donated $1,500, and Mike Jolly, whose parents were one of the first families to move to Norris, donated $1000.

The Final Project:

The detailed model includes passageways for water flow beneath the powerhouse and through/over the spillway. Once the display is finalized, the 3d printed model will include water flow through the powerhouse and over the dam when it is installed in the museum. We hope this project gives the local Norris museum something special to give to the community as well as honor all of the workers who helped build the Tennessee Valley Authority Dam.      

Over the next couple weeks, the model will be moved in sections to the Norris Museum, and once there, the final model is set to be completed in 6 to 8 weeks. Thanks to all of the generous contributions made, all that is needed to finish the model is additional donations of only $1,600. To aid in the completion of the working model, donations are welcomed and checks can be sent to: The Norris Historical Society, P.O. Box 1114, Norris, Tn 37828.