Dragonbone Waterwheel
Kongming Car
Agricultural irrigation model
Tiangong Kaiwu
Ancient machinery
Educational teaching aids
Water conservancy facilities
Chain drive
Educational Tools
China
Ancient technology
Invention
Traditional
- 0.2 mm layer height, 2‑wall walls, 15% infill density
3-disc
PETG/PLA
Designer
9
0
This project recreates the structure of the dragon‑bone waterwheel based on records from “Tiangong Kaiwu,” combining education with entertainment.
The dragon‑bone waterwheel originated around the Eastern Han dynasty and is traditionally attributed to Bi Lan during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han. After being refined by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period, it was widely adopted in the Shu state, earning it the nickname “Zhuge’s Waterwheel.” Inventor Ma Jun further improved its design, and by the Sui and Tang dynasties, it had become extensively used for agricultural irrigation—its history now spans over 1,700 years.
Attempting to reconstruct this chain‑driven mechanism proved both fascinating and rewarding; the results are impressive—our ancestors truly were ingenious.
Here is an animated installation guide.
Originality of the Model
The author declares that this work is their personally original model
This model is licensed under the following terms:
This work is licensed under a Standard Digital File License. Digital files have a strict non-commercial, personal use only license.
You shall not share, sub-license, sell, rent, host, transfer, or distribute in any way the digital file or 3D printed versions of this object, nor any other derivative work of this object in its digital or physical format (including remixes of this object). You can not host these files on other digital platforms, web stores or cloud repositories. The objects may not be used in any way whatsoever in which you charge money, collect fees.
Models(1)
- 一体化龙骨水车-eleegoo.3mfDesigner
3.63 MB
2026-06-30
