Medieval Fortress: Top 5 Specifications and Constraints

For this project, there end product is relatively straight-forward in my mind, with little room for it to come out wrong or poorly constructed, given its nature as a mainly 3D printed piece. As a reminder, my project is taking inspiration from images like the featured image from AVA Bitter (1), or the below image from Walter Bibikow (2).

Top 5 Specifications

1. My first major specification has to do with the dynamic piece which is a liftable drawbridge. I need an interfaceable crank of some kind which will raise and lower the drawbridge and hold it in open and closed positions. Below is a small chain I have acquired which will interface with 3D printed parts to achieve this and add to the medieval aesthetic.

2. In association with this first spec, this entire project is purely an aesthetic art project. There is no functionality or load point required anywhere in the project other than the fact that the drawbridge needs to move. I want the piece to look impressive sitting on a shelf from across a room.

3. I want this project to look authentic and detailed. This includes features like brick formations on the walls, accurate railings or rampart design, textures on applicable parts, and more.

4. I want the project to look good when painted. I expect most of the project will be gray to match the stone features of the walls, but there will be spots of color where applicable. I want the paint job to be thorough and accurate.

5. I want the project to be large enough that it can be easily seen from across a room, and something like the drawbridge crank can be easily accessed.

Top 5 Constraints

1. The largest constraint is time. Making a large detailed CAD model of this project will take many hours across many days, and the deadlines of this class will influence the design. That is a factor in doing a digital CAD design, is that I could keep adding and tweaking things for a long time. I will consider if I want or need to print and finish the project by the end of this class, or if I want to make it capable of adding to it in the future even after the first draft has been printed.
2. Another constraint is simply my CAD skills. I’m not too proficient with complex curved surfaces and such, but this influenced my project choice in the first place, given something like a fortress/castle’s quite blocky design.
3. Print size is constraint as well. My overall print will certainly be larger than the print bed size I have available on my printer. I will need to consider how to best print it in chunks.
4. An odd constraint I have is also just dealing with making this functional crank and where to put it. It will need to be quite large to be easily accessible, but I will need to figure out where it will go to limit negative effects on the aesthetic, but I will work to make it part of the aesthetic as a whole.
5. Another obvious constraint is that basically the entire thing will be made of plastic. This will limit what kinds of structures I can make and print, and will limit the authentic look of it.

Sources

(1) AVA Bitter, Old Medieval Castle Various Buildings Surrounded Stock Vector (Royalty Free) 2293672621 | Shutterstock

(2) Walter Bibikow, 13 Medieval Castles to Visit for History and Architecture