How I Built My Own “Stark Tech”

3D Printing an Arc Reactor

In 2008, I was exposed to the greatest superhero of all time. After leaving the theater, Iron Man left me as a lifelong Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fan. Since then, I have always been entranced by one object in Iron Man movies: his Arc Reactor. 🤖

The Arc Reactor is the circular device that powers Iron Man’s suit — enabling flight and repulser beams — and prevents the shrapnel in his chest from killing him.

It is both aesthetically and psychologically cool to me because I love the design and think that the concept of something so small powering something so dominant is incredible. ⚡️

In the MCU, the Arc Reactor is originally the size of a house and is used to power all of “Stark Industries.” With the help of a fellow scientist,

“Tony Stark was able to build [a palm-sized Arc Reactor] in a cave… with a box of scraps” — Obadiah Stane

Anyway, I was sitting one day in my room trying to decide what I wanted to 3D print. I spun around in my chair and then I realized the answer was literally right in front of me the whole time. Sitting on my wall was the patent for the Arc Reactor (a gift from my marvelous friend Ellie).

In order to 3D print something, you must first use a digital studio to create a rendering of the item you wish to print. I immediately got on my computer and started making a CAD(Computer-aided design) model of the battery. My program of choice is called TinkerCAD, a free online CAD platform which contains many shape presets. The program is very intuitive and is great for beginners.

Although I thought it would be simple, I quickly noticed many intricacies of the design that made me appreciate the device even more.

Luckily, 3D printing is perfect for intricate designs. Using segmentation, I was able to use the shapes in the library to create an extremely realistic replica of the Repulser.

Step 1: The Top Cylinder 🔝

The original Arc Reactor in Iron Man is a cylindrical shape, but the diameter reduces as it goes further down. Based on this, I broke it up into three main levels of cylinders. The top one being the biggest.

Since the interior would have the smaller descending circles, I used a tiny circle and the hole feature — which allows for empty space in the model — in order to make it hollow. 🕳

I then added maroon rectangles to emulate the copper wiring on the sides of the circle. Once I made one set, I

• Grouped the two together 🔗
• Duplicated them 5x ✌️
• Rotated them 36° 🔄
• Grouped them to the circle 🔗

Grouping allowed me to join two individual shapes together in order to move the separate shapes as if they were one object.

Step 2: The Interior Cylinder 🔛

Next, I had to recreate the infamous center of the Arc Reactor. Known for its bluish glow, I had to make sure to make it as realistic as possible by adding the smaller ovals along the circumference that allow light to protrude. Similarly to the previous step, I made only one set of ovals and then

• Grouped the two of them 🔗
• Duplicated it 12x✌️
• Rotated them 15° 🔄

I then used several other circles as both holes and filled parts of the device. Next, I used three rectangles to recreate the lines featured in the center.

By doing so, I was able to group the shapes together and add it to the top cylinder.

Step 3: The Bottom Cylinder 🔚

Now that I had finished the top view of the device, all that was left was the tapered bottom cylinder.

First, I added one big cylinder that the previous steps were on top of.

This was then surrounded by an even bigger hollow sphere — achieved again using the hole feature — to account for the variation in size.

Step 4: Bottom Rectangles 📏

Being an extremely symmetrical device, yet again I had to create, duplicate, and rotate the rectangles that jut out from the side of the Arc Reactor. I did this by

• Creating one rectangle that went across the bottom
• Duplicating it 6x✌️
• Rotating them 60° 🔄
• Raising them on the Z-axis 📈

Once again reenforcing the symmetry of Stark’s design, I had to create the rectangles for the bottom of the Arc Reactor in a similar manner. This time however, there were 24 rectangles 15° apart.

Finally, I added one more cylinder to fill in the final gap.

Step 5: Synthesis ✋

Lastly, I grouped all of the shapes together allowing for the final product. I became so invested in the design process that I ended up staying up all night to finish the 3D model. This process alone taught me so much more about the use of CAD and how important segmentation is in 3D printing, because of the complex design.

Takeaways: 3D Printing Keywords

• CAD — Computer-aided design, used to create 3D renderings
• Digital Studio — a program used to create 3D renderings
• TinkerCAD — a free online CAD platform which contains many shape presets
• Segmentation — breaking larger objects up into smaller basic shapes
• Hole feature — allows for empty space in a shape
• Grouping — allows joining of two individual shapes to move them as if they were one

Although this was a show case of a non-essential item, I hope you were still able to understand how effective 3D printing can be in producing complex devices with little waste. Previously, complex items would need to be derived from a solid piece of material leaving wasted scraps, but not with 3D printers. Necessary — and unnecessary — items can be printed in an effective and precise manner.

Thank you for reading my article! I hope you learned something new. I’m a Sophomore at The Buckley School and am currently an innovator at The Knowledge Society! I would love to hear any feedback about my article, and I encourage you to connect with me on my Linkedin so we can continue the conversation! Also, click here to view my portfolio.