Thursday 24 October 2013

BIM - 3D Printing - Introducing the Infomodel

BIM needs 3D printing in the same way that spreadsheets need pie charts.

BIM is a technocratic virtual construction that tends to create distance between its technical participants and the man-in-the-street world outside.  BIM needs interfaces between the information model and the stakeholder.  To do this BIM needs to break out of the virtual computer model into physical reality.  I am sure this is going to be challenging for technocrats that live and work in virtual space but it needs to happen if their work is to be appreciated, understood and made use of to its fullest extent.

3D printing offers BIM the ability to democratise design information.  Physical models allow untrained individuals to visualise and relate information spatially.  It offers a direct link from BIM model to physical artifact. 

In particular, colour 3D printing allows the overlaying of design information on to design geometry. 

New kinds of communication model need to be envisaged for communicating BIM models through the media of colour 3D printing.  Image mapping, keyed colour and shading, labeling and symbols can all be applied to present 3D printed infomodels.


Introducing the Infomodel


We have printed some great models in our time but we have not seen enough use of labeling and annotating of models.  To illustrate this, we made this infomodel to show the kind of results that could be achieved.







To find out more about colour 3D printing, visit: www.lee3d.co.uk



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