tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72907611425228827752024-03-13T11:45:25.969+00:003D Printer Log3D printing for colour. 3D printing for architecture. Not necessarily 3D printing for colour architecture.3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-24030164275284159542017-10-10T17:30:00.000+01:002017-10-16T11:36:02.634+01:00A Pigeon At Work<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As colour 3D printing specialists we have always taken an interest in data creation. We began to try out low-cost, hand held 3D scanners to see what kind of results we could achieve. We were really impressed by the results produced using photogrammetry. This led to the pigeon model that we created in 2016.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Software model created using Agisoft PhotoScan<br /> Prepared for printing in Materialise Magics<br /> Printed on 3D Systems Project 660</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Film Credits:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Film production: Lucy Lee at Instinct Media -<a href="https://instinctfilms.wordpress.com/"> www.instinctmedia.co.uk</a><br /> Sound by Louise Brown at Sync Sounds</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We found that photogrammetry needs to be done in a disciplined way. With good planning and good photographs we were able to get a usable result. It really helps having the colour information to make sense of the lumps and bumps in the geometry. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Below are some of images of models created from the original file. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3D printed pigeons - cast photo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4ZKR7XuLUk/Wd-DSYfNVEI/AAAAAAAACyI/hiyoNZUVZMoQMZ-SEmy5lHNffk8Gu7p0QCLcBGAs/s1600/3D%2BPrinted%2BPigeon%2BFamily%2BPortrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4ZKR7XuLUk/Wd-DSYfNVEI/AAAAAAAACyI/hiyoNZUVZMoQMZ-SEmy5lHNffk8Gu7p0QCLcBGAs/s400/3D%2BPrinted%2BPigeon%2BFamily%2BPortrait.jpg" width="390" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3D printed pigeons - family portrait</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DQjEobajTSc/Wd-C85LoXQI/AAAAAAAACyE/PuX6TLUJwvodhbj8BmU0kPwjRMc9axZFwCLcBGAs/s1600/cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1217" data-original-width="1600" height="303" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DQjEobajTSc/Wd-C85LoXQI/AAAAAAAACyE/PuX6TLUJwvodhbj8BmU0kPwjRMc9axZFwCLcBGAs/s400/cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3D printed pigeons - crowd scene</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To find out more about colour 3D printing please visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<br />3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-47056467975617577782017-10-10T17:15:00.000+01:002017-10-10T17:15:21.819+01:00A Democratic Monument<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the summer of 2017 we were approached by Adam Nathaniel Furman to produce a full colour 3D printed model for the New Typologies Exhibition at the Architecture Fringe. We captured the making of the model on film to illustrate some of the manual work associated with colour 3D printing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Designed in Rhino Serengeti (v6 WIP)<br /> Prepared for printing in Materialise Magics<br /> Printed on 3D Systems Project 660
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Film Credits:<br /> Film production: Lucy Lee at Instinct Media - <a href="https://instinctfilms.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">www.instinctfilms.co.uk</a><br /> Sound by Louise Brown at Sync Sounds</span><br />
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<em>"Democratic Monument is a proposal for a new kind of Town Hall for British cities. It re-groups various civic functions into one visually symbolic composition of architectural forms that reconfigure and express varying references, ornament and allusions, depending on the metropolitan area it is situated in and embodies. It is an expression of urban pride, chromatic joy, and architectural complexity." - </em>Adam Nathaniel Furman</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To find out more about colour 3D printing please visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-41433794716828787312017-10-04T18:09:00.001+01:002018-09-20T12:44:10.930+01:00Optimising size and cost for 3D printing<div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The purpose of this post is to illustrate the effect of size and scale on cost in 3D printed architectural models. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After a brief discussion of the relationship between size and cost in 3D printing we will look two worked examples using a context model and a facade study model as examples. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This post is aimed at architectural models where choice scale is always a factor. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Relationship between size and cost in 3D printing</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Cost of 3D printing is never directly proportional to size. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Doubling the size of a model can mean up to 8 times more material is used. Some printers may take up to 8 times longer to print all of that extra material. </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(See note on the maths of hollowing models at the bottom of the page.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is important to understand that different 3D printing techniques are priced in different ways but ultimately no matter how a part is priced doubling the size disproportionately increases material used and time to produce and therefore cost to produce.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Powder based systems such as the ones we use at Lee 3D are self supporting and thus hollowing parts greatly mitigates the effect of increasing size. Some other 3D printing methods needing supports can be hollowed and the additional supports are trivial while other printers need solid supports and hollowing will not reduce material used. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Context Model</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In this case we have printed the same model at 3 different scales. The detail in each model remains visible but of course the visual impact of the larger model is lost with the smaller models.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The effect of hollowing on price depends on the shape of the model. Context models like the ones shown below are ideal for hollowing. In this case, doubling the size by changing scale from </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1:1000 to 1:500, reduces printed material from</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> a factor of 8 when printed solid to a factor of 4 when printed hollow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Choosing intermediate scales can often optimise the balance between size and cost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">To illustrate the effect size or scale has on cost with some typical numbers. The hollowed models shown (not including the inserts) in the image above might cost something like:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1:1000 - £200</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">1:750 - £400</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">1:500 - £800</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Printing these models solid would not be viable - unless you just like to have a good weighty model and deep pockets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Note that these prices are intended to show proportional costs of printing at different scales are not a guide to actual pricing.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Facade Study Model</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In this example the effect of hollowing is less pronounced than with the context model shown above. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Doubling the size by changing scales from </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1:100 to 1:50, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">reduces printed material from a</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> factor of 8 when printed solid to a factor of 6 when printed hollow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">To illustrate the effect size or scale has on cost with some typical numbers. The models shown in the image above might cost something like:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1:100 - £100</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">1:75 - £200</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">1:50 - £600</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Note that these prices are intended to show proportional costs of printing at different scales are not a guide to actual pricing.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Optimising size and cost</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When looking to get a model 3D printed it helps to be flexible and it pays to get a guide price early on in a project.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Many of the models we make are context models with inserted existing and proposed options, like the model shown in the image below. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KeCtDdBhujk/WdUKFl28CKI/AAAAAAAACwk/4iGG1pvHEmYn9JcfPgK2sbUlHsi2dKxQQCLcBGAs/s1600/Lee3D-3D-Printing-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="600" height="242" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KeCtDdBhujk/WdUKFl28CKI/AAAAAAAACwk/4iGG1pvHEmYn9JcfPgK2sbUlHsi2dKxQQCLcBGAs/s400/Lee3D-3D-Printing-small.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical 3D printed architectural context model with inserts</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Clearly if you need to print a series of options as the design develops it is important to consider the ongoing costs of printing additional options. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There is often an intermediate scale that offers a good balance of size to price that makes use of 3D printed design models viable.<br /> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
Note on the maths of hollowing models</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The cost of printing is based on the amount of material used. So as the size of the model increases cost is not directly proportional to the size. Without hollowing the cost of increasing size is inversely proportional.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To illustrate this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A cube measuring 10 x 10 x 10cm has a volume of 1000 cubic cm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A cube measuring 20 x 20 x 20cm has a volume of 8000 cubic cm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Translating this to architectural models we can see that doubling the scale can mean 8x the cost for unhollowed models. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When we hollow parts this reduces the effect of scaling on cost by about half. In the simplified illustration below we can see that the effect of hollowing significantly reduces the cost.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hollowing the cubes with a 3mm wall thickness and leaving the underside open to remove unused material:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A hollow cube measuring 10 x 10 x 10cm has a volume of 143 cubic cm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A hollow cube measuring 20 x 20 x 20cm has a volume of 586 cubic cm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In this case this represents a fourfold increase in cost for doubling the size of the part.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g3K35y-KL3k/WdUMiRauFtI/AAAAAAAACww/KpqWmIX45OICAP90IkZmTaecXsEx3sOlwCLcBGAs/s1600/hollowing%2Bmodels.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="528" height="333" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g3K35y-KL3k/WdUMiRauFtI/AAAAAAAACww/KpqWmIX45OICAP90IkZmTaecXsEx3sOlwCLcBGAs/s400/hollowing%2Bmodels.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Please note that all 3D print bureaus have different charging rates and methods. However the underlying principle that changing the size of parts has a substantial influence on cost is unavoidable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To find out more about 3D printing for architecture and colour 3D printing please visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">www.lee3d.co.uk</a> </span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y9iPcmNf_TI/WdURPLLG8QI/AAAAAAAACw8/7nk8ifFotVYfb4iopC8eRvK2fTiDyncYACLcBGAs/s1600/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="400" height="120" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y9iPcmNf_TI/WdURPLLG8QI/AAAAAAAACw8/7nk8ifFotVYfb4iopC8eRvK2fTiDyncYACLcBGAs/s320/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-64348567975197461682017-07-03T12:59:00.001+01:002017-07-03T12:59:55.227+01:00New Typologies for Brexit Britain<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The New Typologies exhibition at Architecture Fringe 2017 in Glasgow occurs in the political maelstrom that is Brexit. The exhibition opens just weeks after the General Election where the promoters and "owners" of Brexit took a hammering and opened up the question, "What kind of Brexit does the country want? What kind of country do we want to live in?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">New Typologies asks what kind of buildings do we want to reflect this nervous new world. </span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nxD6PO_ffc/WVowX2VeHbI/AAAAAAAACqI/a3WdyvRrSO8XUvZlEKrQbTbivnh-bdARwCLcBGAs/s1600/Signage02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nxD6PO_ffc/WVowX2VeHbI/AAAAAAAACqI/a3WdyvRrSO8XUvZlEKrQbTbivnh-bdARwCLcBGAs/s320/Signage02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">McGinley Bell's Health Centre with the corporate scale of a bank or power company headquarters cut through with monumental openings. An airy castle of health and not much in the way of grovelling in the gutter of austerity.</span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r9Nm61O7Ryo/WVoj3fegI_I/AAAAAAAACpo/sZb9KpFLY4sSeDoivfJ9mVcmfDgNDy4uwCLcBGAs/s1600/HealthCentre02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="800" height="288" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r9Nm61O7Ryo/WVoj3fegI_I/AAAAAAAACpo/sZb9KpFLY4sSeDoivfJ9mVcmfDgNDy4uwCLcBGAs/s320/HealthCentre02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The school building by Stallan Brand amounts to a complete redesign of the learning process. The school reflects the needs of learning in the digital age where interpretation and questioning of data is the challenge that education needs to address. The rampant model presented in the exhibition suggests rather than represents a solution, an open venue of exploration and discovery. </span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dleLwfNGgi4/WVoqFzgeHkI/AAAAAAAACp0/AFU6g9NgieY3EYsl2AZQUS2bBYWszPxVgCLcBGAs/s1600/School01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="800" height="245" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dleLwfNGgi4/WVoqFzgeHkI/AAAAAAAACp0/AFU6g9NgieY3EYsl2AZQUS2bBYWszPxVgCLcBGAs/s320/School01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Adam Nathaniel Furman's Town Hall recognises the rise of the city as a political force that can and will make a difference in people's lives. His bold and colourful design is a </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">reworking of the elements of a traditional Victorian town hall, moving away from the bland managerial local politics of today. Both a move back to the liberal mayors that "</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">spearheaded reforms, and massive urban improvements that transformed the lives of those living in </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the new metropolises." and a move </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">forward to a building, a Democratic Monument, used and owned equally by both elected officials and the people.</span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sUlzsAA3NoM/WVou-QRHapI/AAAAAAAACqA/jA2Iq-e0WycZiApL6PqFRptUPU3MuxnxACLcBGAs/s1600/Exhibition01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sUlzsAA3NoM/WVou-QRHapI/AAAAAAAACqA/jA2Iq-e0WycZiApL6PqFRptUPU3MuxnxACLcBGAs/s320/Exhibition01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"In crisis lies the greatest opportunity for reinvention." says Furman. These are important explorations at a critical point in time. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Brexit, wanted or not, offers an opportunity to reassess - everything. Possibly we might even imagine a world where there is more to public life than cost cutting.</span><br />
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3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-71560474907618879342017-06-10T16:12:00.000+01:002017-06-10T16:12:25.626+01:00Increasing productivity or part of the problem?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A couple of things happened recently that made me think differently about public perception of 3D printing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Firstly my mum recently visited our workshop with one of my nephews. My mum repeatedly referred to our 3D printers as robots, mainly because my nephew is at an age where he is fascinated by robots and all things mechanical.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The other occasion was in a throwaway conversation with our neighbour. I was banging on about driverless cars and AI imminently taking everyone's jobs. He turned to me and called me a hypocrite, I run 3D printers which are taking away other people's jobs right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then during a third conversation with a surveyor who had asked us to print a hole in the ground, yes he really wanted a print of a hole in the ground! Why did he want a colour 3D print of a hole in the ground? He was trying to persuade older contractors of the value of capturing 3D data. Often they just will not wait even to take a series of photographs from which a virtual model can be created to record complex underground servicing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From the mess of servicing underground you would think it would be a good idea to record and share this information. It is not a difficult idea to grasp but I can see how it could be a difficult idea to implement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Putting all of that together, 3D printing of architectural design models is the staple of our business. The thing is that until 10 years ago it was really not possible to 3D print design models. 3D printers were around before that but price and speed where not right for making what are essentially concept models. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So for most architects they became design professionals without needing 3D printing to make design models. And the truth is that like recording that underground servicing it has not been easy to introduce 3D printing into most architect's design workflow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is not to say that architects have never used models and with the rise of 3D printing some have tried to apply 3D printing to their existing requirement for physical models - which is often for high quality presentation models. But that is not what 3D printing is good at unless a modelmaker is involved in transforming the 3D print into a convincing model.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A presentation model does not serve the same purpose as a design model. A design model helps stakeholders make decisions during the design process and presentation models sell the final design. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In this sense, 3D printing design models is an attempt to add value to the design process. If we are replacing anything, it is the time consuming card and foam models which were traditionally made by architectural assistants. Often made over the course of a night, fueled by pizza and coffee. Architectural assistants do not become architectural assistants to stay up at night making card mockups, they do so to become architects. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So are 3D printers taking jobs in this instance?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is a real threat to jobs in large established industries from AI and robotics. Capturing 3D data on building sites and in road excavations or helping stakeholders make clear decisions in the design process is not a threat to jobs. Instead these are processes for adding value and increasing productivity of existing jobs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Public perception of 3D printing is formed not by reality but by manufacturers hype and the imaginations of the media. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, is a 3D printer a robot? Robots do do boring repetitive tasks when they have time off from taking over the world I guess.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-59212836457013483212017-06-01T08:15:00.002+01:002017-06-10T14:34:26.189+01:00The gig economy - a missed opportunity<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The term gig economy is often not what it says it is and this is usually bad for everyone except employers (except of course that they claim not to be employers). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">20 years ago I spent 3 years working in the gig economy as a self employed cycle courier. What this meant was working for a courier company with all of the usual employees, sales people, call assistants, controllers, managers but no couriers. All of the couriers; van drivers, motorcyclists and pushbikers were self employed.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At the time I didn't mind this, in fact I enjoyed the freedom and taking responsibility for looking after my own affairs was a positive experience. However the system was and remains inherently inefficient and the opportunity to make a living was limited.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">20 years later I find myself in a position where I use couriers on a daily basis and being a somewhat impatient person I am frankly skeptical about the benefits of the so called gig economy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What exactly is the gig here? Is it the individual job or is it the days work? Or the weeks work? Or the month or year? The way this work is renumerated is by the job. </span>The reality is that each courier is in service (employed) to a single courier company. As self employed couriers they should be free to take jobs from any courier company based on location and where they are headed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This would effectively widen the pool of couriers available from those in service to a particular company to the entire fleet of self employed couriers working at any one time. In other words creating a real market for self employed couriers to compete in.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Increasing the efficiency of the overall system in this way would mean a better service for customers, increased productivity of the couriers and improved services offered by courier companies.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How can a proper market for the services of self employed couriers come about? Can a GPS network based technology be applied to create such a market where courier companies hire riders and drivers based on their location, direction and availability? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A system like this could increase productivity for everyone concerned including the businesses who need to use these services.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While writing this I came across a company called Brisqq who are supplying retail customers with deliveries. They say that "<span style="background-color: #fefefe;">Brisqq's algorithm selects the best freelance courier (closest, highest rated, most appropriate vehicle etc.)" </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fefefe;">Brisqq's reference to freelance couriers suggests they really are plugging into a pool of freelance couriers. I wonder if this is what they mean or is this their freelance couriers who are not allowed to work for anyone else? I hope its the former.</span></span><br />
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<br />3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-12762294536587929412017-05-18T09:38:00.001+01:002017-05-18T09:38:39.948+01:00Cyberbond for 3D printing<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am a loyal Cyberbond customer. I have used their cyanoacrylate to finish 3D printed parts for more than 10 years now. The only reason I would change is if I found a product that would produce a better finish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fact is Cyberbond make a high quality product. Here is what I mean.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The test parts shown below were made in 2009 and 2010 respectively. They have been kept out of sunlight since that time and discolouration is minimal.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sample parts in 2009 and 2010 </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This ability to keep colour is not the same with some other products. If you leave Cyberbond to go off in the bottle it remains completely clear. No discolouration as it ages. I have had samples of inferior product go yellow in weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I visit customers I want to see design models crowding their offices that look good. Models need to stay good for the life of a project which could easily be 5 or 10 years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is not a promise that our parts will never discolour. Direct sunlight, moisture and dust will all discolour 3D printed parts made on ZCorp or Projet x60 machines. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In addition to not discolouring, when choosing cyanoacrylate for this purpose you need to look at other physical characteristics of the glue. If the glue is too thin it will leave a white powdery look to the model. Too thick it will produce an uneven finish with matt and shiny streaks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All in all, sales people are not going to fare well armed with their "very competitive price" and claiming to "supply all the major users in the UK and Europe". Well, I am sorry but you are not supplying this one. </span><br />
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3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-12094768338480908072017-05-08T16:07:00.000+01:002017-05-08T16:07:15.600+01:00Yet another 3D printing App!<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Oh gosh another app to connect engineers and designers with 3D printing bureaus. Still peddling the 3D printing hype, now with a rambling message conflating additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping and all projected into a dreamy future. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Allegedly engineers do not know if their parts are printable. They need an app to check their parts, to fix them and then to tell them what material to use and who should print it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In these days, before AI finally saves us from our own innate idiocy, it is usually best not to expect help from an app. If engineers really need help then it is best to speak to real people with real experience. Automated file fixing procedures are very unreliable and can lead to all manner of unfortunates being printed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Not only can people advise on printability and appropriateness of materials they can also advise on how to optimise files for cost. An app will not turn around and suggest you hollow the part, make it in parts, nest parts or simply reorient the part to reduce costs. It would be very easy to pay over the odds through an app.</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Phone around some bureaus, ask the usual questions. Will this work? Is there a better way to do it? Is there a way to do this for less? Bureaus are in business</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> to build trusting relationships with their customers and to build their reputation generally. Apps have nothing at stake on each job they process except the percentage they take.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Apps are seductive. They give the impression that everything is going to be easy, everything has been thought through. Its pure snake oil. </span></div>
3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-23865567955198601322016-11-17T13:21:00.000+00:002016-11-17T13:43:18.057+00:00Time well spent<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In today's business world there often seems little time to think, let alone read a book. Over the years, we have built a successful business based on solving a problem for architects. The problem we have been addressing is how architects can present designs using physical models almost without breaking stride in the design process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The essence of 3D printing is a combination of slavish accuracy of the machine-made and astounding speed of delivery. Often the process of printing models is squeezed into just a few days and sometimes just a few hectic hours. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We began to realise that this process of time compression can lead to short-cuts in decision making which in turn can lead to a certain sameness of outcome. Often, the potential of the process was not quite met in the cut and thrust of meeting deadlines. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So we decided to commission a full study of 3D printing as used in the architectural design process. The result was Digital Craft - 3D Printing for Architectural Design.</span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gfroENSKGfY/WC2qjt6aojI/AAAAAAAACXw/X60nvUuoVsgkBE2dt1ZvkgpqDjpJK7JJQCLcB/s1600/Digital-Craft-front-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gfroENSKGfY/WC2qjt6aojI/AAAAAAAACXw/X60nvUuoVsgkBE2dt1ZvkgpqDjpJK7JJQCLcB/s320/Digital-Craft-front-cover.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A book, in many ways, opposes the pull of 3D printing towards quick fire decisions. In the discussions that lay behind the writing of the book many insights were uncovered. It became clear that in many people's minds 3D printing fell somewhere between printing and modelmaking. The book, as the title suggests became in part a reasoned argument for placing 3D printing firmly into the realm of modelmaking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The traditional relationship between architect and the modelmaker was being disrupted and needed to be examined in the new light of 3D printing. Digital Craft became the product of this exploration. </span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-emLk4K6ZGg4/WC2rR9fwWwI/AAAAAAAACX0/TB-IwOuzk-AX447OmyOHcCrfQ0g1noBYwCLcB/s1600/page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-emLk4K6ZGg4/WC2rR9fwWwI/AAAAAAAACX0/TB-IwOuzk-AX447OmyOHcCrfQ0g1noBYwCLcB/s1600/page.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Why read the book? We believe that the perspective given in Digital Craft will help architects to make more effective 3D printed design models. That is, the kind of model used to communicate the design to clients, planning authorities, the public and indeed to the wider design team itself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Digital Craft - 3D Printing for Architectural Design. Time well spent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For more about Lee 3D printing please visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X4su-RC9K0Y/WC2r_8PLFBI/AAAAAAAACX8/1AxTgmxkkP0GWLvQ1dLQs1P5BBFgGa_7wCLcB/s1600/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X4su-RC9K0Y/WC2r_8PLFBI/AAAAAAAACX8/1AxTgmxkkP0GWLvQ1dLQs1P5BBFgGa_7wCLcB/s320/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-80725076283090499902016-04-04T15:15:00.000+01:002016-04-04T15:25:27.274+01:00Colour 3D Printing<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Colour matching in 3D printing is not quite the same as colour matching in traditional reprographics. Different materials reflect light differently and three dimensional forms create shadows producing variations in tone of colour that are not seen on flat images.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There are many factors that affect 3D printing in colour: reflectivity, translucency, surface texture, tonality and saturation are just some of them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As is often the case, it really depends what you are trying to achieve. The ability to produce skin tones or very light and washed out colours are often more desirable over fully saturated bright colours. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At Lee 3D, we print using the ProJet 660 printer, made by 3D Systems, which prints CMYK coloured binder onto a white substrate powder. This offers a wide range of colour and tonal qualities. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fxjBqqi7dO8/VwJzAPuvUlI/AAAAAAAACBw/INWaE8uTKtw-qS7qWOtBbkeMJR8BuyAww/s1600/glossy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fxjBqqi7dO8/VwJzAPuvUlI/AAAAAAAACBw/INWaE8uTKtw-qS7qWOtBbkeMJR8BuyAww/s320/glossy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample parts made on ProJet 660<br />
Gloss finish can intensify brighter colour</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vewuGqmpi0k/VwJzcgIxYjI/AAAAAAAACB0/MbN_lE0nKJcTbQwj9jq0gNdmXDISZvDQQ/s1600/brick%2Bfacade%2Bstudies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vewuGqmpi0k/VwJzcgIxYjI/AAAAAAAACB0/MbN_lE0nKJcTbQwj9jq0gNdmXDISZvDQQ/s320/brick%2Bfacade%2Bstudies.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parts made on ProJet 660<br />
Light and subtle tones</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While we have never claimed to match Pantone or RAL colours, we can get quite close as shown in the image below. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The reality of these machines is that the whiteness of the powder varies slightly between machines and if printheads are not properly aligned and parts are not finished meticulously then they can produce inconsistent part quality. But by attending to details, it is possible to make high quality colour 3D prints using this system.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4n0t1ezfXUo/VwJwcTiIn1I/AAAAAAAACBc/-jxnw1m4JIEzdwfAk7NPL8Jol9SukIF8g/s1600/Cropped%2B-%2Blarge%2Bsmall%2Bimage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4n0t1ezfXUo/VwJwcTiIn1I/AAAAAAAACBc/-jxnw1m4JIEzdwfAk7NPL8Jol9SukIF8g/s640/Cropped%2B-%2Blarge%2Bsmall%2Bimage.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matching colour to the RAL paint system<br />
It is possible to get something pretty close with most colours</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There are two main alternatives to the ProJet for colour printing. These are the MCor and Stratasys machines. The MCor machine has limitations on the geometry that can be produced, while the Stratasys offerings are significantly more expensive machines to buy and to run. In particular, it is usually not possible to print hollow parts on these machines as they need a solid platform of material supporting all parts of the model as it prints. A third colour printer looms in the background in the form of the HP offering, but this appears to print on a black substrate precluding pale and pastel shades. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Of these, the newly released Stratasys J750 printer may prove to be the most accurate colour printer ever made. The parts are likely to be highly accurate and can have multiple material characteristics as well as colours. But lower cost and the achievable quality on a well made ProJet part may continue to make this the machine of choice for much colour work for years to come.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NfKF2f_u92s/VwJwy-9I2dI/AAAAAAAACBg/Vzrio2Sr4FkOYEZcCgAKgq1PzQUSZkFZw/s1600/Colour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NfKF2f_u92s/VwJwy-9I2dI/AAAAAAAACBg/Vzrio2Sr4FkOYEZcCgAKgq1PzQUSZkFZw/s640/Colour.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colour 3D prints made on ProJet 660</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For more information about Lee 3D colour printing visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">http://www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tMLa1ncgHKs/VwJ0ErSt7MI/AAAAAAAACB8/XbvUoPMmqYQ46baQXYZ3RaFLvTedAbCwQ/s1600/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tMLa1ncgHKs/VwJ0ErSt7MI/AAAAAAAACB8/XbvUoPMmqYQ46baQXYZ3RaFLvTedAbCwQ/s320/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-31827638662566175532016-03-31T20:23:00.000+01:002016-03-31T20:23:46.373+01:00Exporting for 3D print<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The subject of this blog is one of those topics that rarely gets covered in depth. In practice I am frequently telling customers to move their data to the origin before exporting for 3D print. But why is this? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many BIM, CAD and 3D modelling programs have a very large drawing space. An example of why this would be useful is when designing a very large structure like a road or railway. Similarly a large coordinate space allows buildings to be designed at their correct location in relation to a city grid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When exporting 3D models for applications such as 3D printing a problem can occur causing the exported data to become deformed as shown in the image below. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N8zS2FilZOY/Vv1zcJIMgcI/AAAAAAAACA8/JWd7BEUaIWot3VymIikUzRoqZ3RZyGPjg/s1600/BadData.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N8zS2FilZOY/Vv1zcJIMgcI/AAAAAAAACA8/JWd7BEUaIWot3VymIikUzRoqZ3RZyGPjg/s320/BadData.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bad STL export of sphere from Rhino when <br />deliberately modelling far from origin</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The problem seems to be that most 3D modelling programs are based on geometric modelling Kernels such as ACIS or Parasolid. These work fine when close to the origin but lose accuracy outside of the kernel's modelling space. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Confusingly many of the applications functionality is unaffected by modelling outside the kernels modelling space but certain functions either fail completely or result in degraded data.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In MicroStation for example the coordinate system (Working Area) will go well beyond a million km from the origin but the Solids Area is only a 4.2km cube. The 4.2km limit being set by the Parasolid modelling kernel used in MicroStation. When you draw more than 2.1km from the origin the lower resolution may not be immediately apparent but may manifest downstream, such as when you export to STL etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is not a problem restricted to MicroStation. It is a problem with most 3D modelling packages. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a consequence it is always best practice to model near the origin whenever possible. </span><br />
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<br />3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-66901118478221126712016-03-31T15:07:00.002+01:002016-03-31T15:07:53.546+01:00Modern Architectural Design Tools Timeline<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The following timeline places various architectural design tools by date. The purpose for this record was to create a context in which to view 3D printing as a design tool. From this point of view, today (2016) it is clear that the use of 3D printing in architecture is still very new. Even though early adopters were employing SLS and SLA printing for architectural model making in the 1990s and plaster-based printing from the 2000s these are still few and far between. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Four buildings have been added to the timeline to act as a reference. These are somewhat arbitrary and do not necessarily represent precedents in use of technology. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Each of the buildings shown relate in some way to the story of computing in architecture, not least the Lloyds building, the design of which commenced before any of the CAD packages that we know today. The Lloyds building was designed and built in the period that saw the appearance of the first personal computers. This led to a change in the way buildings are used and serviced and consequently changed the form of the buildings themselves. The affect of computing on architecture is undeniable but not always obvious. New design tools change the way architects work but the affect of design tools on the design of the buildings produced is sometimes less easy to identify.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There have been a great many pioneers of architectural design tools. Many tools have been developed and for one reason or other they have been abandoned or superseded. It is worth making the observation that there is often little inclination to share detailed information on active design projects. Once buildings are complete and considerations of confidentiality have past these details fade from memory as focus switches to new challenges. Therefore much pioneering work is lost to public record. This timeline is admittedly only the bare bones of the story. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1928</b> Tintenkuli nibless drawing pen (precursor to Rotring Rapidograph)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1953</b> Rotring Rapidograph drawing pen</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1953</b> IBM 650 series of computers</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1956</b> First computer keyboard</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1957</b> Jorn Utzon wins international competition to design Sydney Opera House. Ove Arup & Partners engaged as engineers.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Detalle interior ópera Sydney" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Detalle_interior_%C3%B3pera_Sydney.jpg/256px-Detalle_interior_%C3%B3pera_Sydney.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="250" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sydney Opera House detail<br />
Image by Leithcote / Antony Oliver (Flickr)<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">via Wikimedia Commons</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1959</b> Letraset founded - manually applied lettering system</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1959</b> Calcomp 565 pen plotter </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1960</b> DEC release first Mini Computer, the PDP-1, priced between $125,000 and $250,000. This computer was used to play 'Spacewar', the first digital screen game.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GKBzrLUFUXQ/VvvrzedVN2I/AAAAAAAAB_4/cRh-SNcB8nkW8at1DzyhuK3VrKOiRtjVw/s1600/Spacewar-PDP-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GKBzrLUFUXQ/VvvrzedVN2I/AAAAAAAAB_4/cRh-SNcB8nkW8at1DzyhuK3VrKOiRtjVw/s1600/Spacewar-PDP-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spacewar running on PDP-1<br />
Image <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Joi Ito</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> via Wikimedia Commons</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /><br /><b>1962</b> Douglas Englebart envisions BIM in "Augmenting Human Intellect". He anticipates </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; letter-spacing: -0.029px; line-height: 25.375px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">object based design, parametric manipulation and a relational database</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1963</b> Ivan Sutherland writes Sketchpad considered to be the ancestor of modern CAD programs</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">196</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> First Pantone Matching System Printers Edition</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1963</b> First computer mouse, invented by Douglas Englebert</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1965</b> After 8 years work on Sydney Opera House Tim Rice and Tony Cramm write a program from scratch, they run it at night borrowing time on an Australian General Electric computer to calculate positions of pre-cast segments. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Sydney Opera House construction 1968" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Sydney_Opera_House_construction_1968.jpg/256px-Sydney_Opera_House_construction_1968.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Sydney Opera House 1968<br />Image by PhillipC (Flickr) </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">via Wikimedia Commons</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1968 </b>Conference 'Computer Graphics in Architecture and Design' Yale University</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1969</b> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Appalachian Conference, led by SOM at an IBM research facility. Out of this was formed the SOM, Computer Group</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1973</b> Sydney Opera House opens</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1974</b> Intergraph IGDS, precursor to MicroStation</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1975</b> DRAW2D, SOM Computer Group</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1977 </b>DRAW3D, SOM Computer Group</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.4px;"><b> 1977 </b>Really Universal Computer Aided Production System (RUCAPS) sold through GMW Computers Ltd (from GMW Architects)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1978</b> Richard Rogers begins work on Lloyd's Building</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1981</b> IBM launches first Personal Computer running Microsoft MS DOS 1.0</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1982 </b>AutoCAD 1.0</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1982</b> Catia 1.0</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1982</b> Romulus, the first 3D modelling kernel. Later becomes ACIS.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1984</b> MicroStation 1.0</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1984</b> ArchiCAD 1.0 (named Radar CH for first version only)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1984</b> First HP LaserJet printer, Apple's LaserWriter followed the following year</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1985</b> MiniCAD 1.0 (later renamed VectorWorks)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1986</b> Lloyds Building completed</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m0dPLCg3Ru0/Vvz5Pzz7EXI/AAAAAAAACAs/3t3kw3iiV2AcegKiZKz4Gj3yxuHLEBNkw/s1600/Lloyds_Building_Detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m0dPLCg3Ru0/Vvz5Pzz7EXI/AAAAAAAACAs/3t3kw3iiV2AcegKiZKz4Gj3yxuHLEBNkw/s1600/Lloyds_Building_Detail.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Rogers Partnership, Lloyds Building detail<br />
Image from Oast House Archive via Wikimedia</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1987</b> First commercial SLA 3D printer, SLA-1, made by 3D Systems</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1988</b> STL file format </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1989</b> First Commercial SLS 3D printer built by DTM (later acquired by 3D Systems)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1989</b> ACIS 3D modelling kernel</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1989</b> Parasolid 3D modelling kernel</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1990</b> Photoshop 1.0</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1992</b> Magics 1.0 (an STL editor which became the industry standard software for 3D print bureaus.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1993</b> PDF 1.0</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1994</b> Gehry Technologies founded</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1997</b> First commercial Z Corporation 3D printer, Z402</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1997</b> Foster + Partners begin work on 30 St Mary Axe</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1998</b> Foster + Partners' Specialist Modelling Group formed, 30 St Mary Axe becomes one of their first projects </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1998 </b>Rhinoceros launched</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2000</b> Morphosis buy a ZPrinter from Z Corporation. They are one of the first architectural practices to run a 3D printer in-house.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2000</b> Revit 1.0</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2001</b> Microstation v8 (file format changes for first time)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2001</b> Smartgeometry Group formed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">2002</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Autodesk acquire Revit</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2002</b> AutodDesk whitepaper "Building Information Modelling"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2003</b> Bentley Systems' Generative Components in Alpha</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2003</b> 64-bit processors become available in personal computers</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2004</b> Morphosis begin designing Cooper Union building using 3D printing as part of the design process</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2004</b> Foster + Partners' 30 St Mary Axe complete</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">d</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vj_mgawkODU/VvwKT-2o9AI/AAAAAAAACAQ/q6l0xKGY8Dobp-jn0SIlBq7LddaIZbiNg/s1600/30-st-Mary-Axe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vj_mgawkODU/VvwKT-2o9AI/AAAAAAAACAQ/q6l0xKGY8Dobp-jn0SIlBq7LddaIZbiNg/s320/30-st-Mary-Axe.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foster + Partners, 30 St Mary Axe<br />
Image by Nevilley via Wikimedia</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2005</b> Launch of Spectrum 510 colour 3D printer by ZCorporation. The increased resolution and build size meant reasonable quality architectural concept models </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">could be printed overnight. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2008</b> - ZPrinter 650, replaced for the 510 with slightly larger build </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2008</b> Great Recession begins</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2009</b> Morphosis's Cooper Union building completed</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OxaP2Y_Ua2I/VvvrAwhfp-I/AAAAAAAAB_0/2ypUjf1H79I9pVn9h0y9S-DJSiGnjMXFA/s1600/Morphosis-cooper-union.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OxaP2Y_Ua2I/VvvrAwhfp-I/AAAAAAAAB_0/2ypUjf1H79I9pVn9h0y9S-DJSiGnjMXFA/s1600/Morphosis-cooper-union.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morphosis, Cooper Union building<br />
Image by Short Dale via Wikimedia</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2012</b> 3D Systems acquires ZCorporation and rebrands the ZPrinter range as ProJet x60</span><br />
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Advertisement:</div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2016</b> Digital Craft - 3D Printing for Architectural Design, written by Bryan Ratzlaff and published by Lee 3D. The first book to deal with 3D printing for architectural design as its sole subject. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Find out more about Digital Craft at <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/digitalcraft/">http://www.lee3d.co.uk/digitalcraft/</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wuOVJwJG1UU/VvwMWRDvckI/AAAAAAAACAc/5qt22sqIyUcEabNC01rgM5EyBcm3WIESA/s1600/Digital-Craft-front-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wuOVJwJG1UU/VvwMWRDvckI/AAAAAAAACAc/5qt22sqIyUcEabNC01rgM5EyBcm3WIESA/s320/Digital-Craft-front-cover.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-63594655577422960792016-02-29T15:11:00.000+00:002016-02-29T15:11:45.589+00:00Digital Craft - why we published<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Digital Craft - 3D Printing For Architectural Design</span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />Examining techniques for a new mode of craftsmanship</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In terms of the entire process of architectural design, modelmaking may appear to have a relatively small part to play. In terms of 3D printing, architectural models are hardly the main focus. So it could be considered that 3D printing of architectural models is a rather niche subject. But now, the intersection of the ancient profession of architecture and the upstart phenomenon that is 3D printing has a book researched, written and published. Lucky 3D printing for architectural design!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uz34fU4SAqk/VpPq7_rauDI/AAAAAAAABzc/4LFTVcj_uoo/s1600/tower-study-models-slabs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uz34fU4SAqk/VpPq7_rauDI/AAAAAAAABzc/4LFTVcj_uoo/s400/tower-study-models-slabs.png" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1:1000 massing studies</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So why was this book published? From a practical point of view, one of the motivations here at Lee 3D was </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">to help and encourage architects to make better and more effective 3D printed models. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The term '3D printing' can be quite misleading. At one end of the spectrum it may seem just like printing to paper - it's a printer, isn't it? While at the other end, 3D printing or additive manufacturing, is deeply revolutionary and in many ways needs new ways of designing to exploit its capabilities.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The subject of this book though, lies elsewhere. Here is no polemic about revolutionary potential and still no exhortation to just press print. The focus here is not on the printers but rather on what is being printed. </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is a realistic book about using a new tool within the conventions of modelmaking. It is a book about the new digital craft of making.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zbLspvapz6k/VpPutv3ZzTI/AAAAAAAABzw/40phpvXo1Os/s1600/facade-study-model-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zbLspvapz6k/VpPutv3ZzTI/AAAAAAAABzw/40phpvXo1Os/s400/facade-study-model-01.png" width="247" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1:100 facade study model</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Another good reason for publishing the book became apparent during the initial research phase. Intellectually, the starting point for the project had been the question - to what extent can a style be applied to a standalone 3D printed model? During early conversations with the author it became apparent that models made as part of the design stage are rarely seen outside the architects' studio. As a consequence, scope for sharing of ideas among professionals was limited and that this lack of cross fertilisation inhibited the evolution of 3D printing styles in architectural modelmaking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thus, it became an ambition in publishing Digital Craft that the book would spread ideas about 3D printing architectural design models across the profession. That by doing so it gives 3D printing for architectural design a nudge in the right direction.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3ZFzcKzW-kU/VpO75EPSypI/AAAAAAAABzM/BYIUcf21SrQ/s1600/Front%2BCoversma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3ZFzcKzW-kU/VpO75EPSypI/AAAAAAAABzM/BYIUcf21SrQ/s320/Front%2BCoversma.jpg" width="251" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Digital Craft published February 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>About the book</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Digital Craft can be purchased from Amazon stores in Europe. It should be </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">possible for Amazon to ship to most countries from these stores. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About the Author</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Bryan Ratzlaff is a Canadian architectural designer working in London with five years’ experience in 3D printing for architects. Bryan has a Master of Architecture degree from University of Westminster (RIBA Part II).</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About the Publisher</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Published by Lee 3D Ltd, a specialist 3D print bureau focussed mainly on the AEC sector. </span><br />
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3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-23042506060547448262016-02-15T13:39:00.000+00:002016-02-15T13:39:27.286+00:00Digital Craft - Press Release<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">CONTACT:
<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">George
Lee</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">e-mail: george@lee3d.co.uk<br />
tel: 0207 582 3904<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Elevating 3D Print to a Digital Craft </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As a global
centre for architectural practice, London has a thriving community engaged in 3D
printing models for architecture. Bryan Ratzlaff settled in London just as 3D
printing was coming to the public’s attention. Five years in and immersed in
both 3D printing and architecture, Bryan has written a book (<i>Digital Craft</i>) that will help architects
and modelmakers make sense of and begin to master this rapidly evolving medium.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Bryan’s
book has come at a key moment. Everyone has been independently trying things
out but little research has been shared.” said George Lee, director of Lee 3D. “Now
with this book, the whole industry gets a chance to evaluate the process and
then we can begin to raise 3D printed models to another level.”<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">Digital Craft</span></i><span style="line-height: 107%;"> positions 3D printing in the
tradition of architectural modelmaking. Examining the relationship between the architect,
the model and the 3D printer. Combining convention with emerging stylistic forms,
the book recognises and presents techniques for a new mode of craftsmanship. A
digital craft that goes beyond the casual printout and aspires to the fully designed
3D printed object.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">The research was based on interviews with leading professionals
and illustrated throughout with photographs of real projects.</span><span style="background: white; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 107%;">The resulting book is not founded on fanciful claims, but rather on
solid industry experience. </span><i><span style="background: white; line-height: 107%;">Digital Craft</span></i><span style="background: white; line-height: 107%;"> places responsibility for
the look and style of the 3D printed model firmly in the realm of the architect.</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWowSRAXCoU/VsHR_kiF0pI/AAAAAAAAB6o/9E4tvkk-J2c/s1600/Copyright-Steffian-Bradley-Architects-UCLH-phase5-interior-model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWowSRAXCoU/VsHR_kiF0pI/AAAAAAAAB6o/9E4tvkk-J2c/s400/Copyright-Steffian-Bradley-Architects-UCLH-phase5-interior-model.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">© Steffian Bradley Architects,<br />University College London Hospitals, phase 5</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fPgYSA3hp3A/VsHTnb-0kwI/AAAAAAAAB60/0yL0L9yoMA4/s1600/Copyright-SPPARC-Architecture-The-Music-Box-massing-model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fPgYSA3hp3A/VsHTnb-0kwI/AAAAAAAAB60/0yL0L9yoMA4/s320/Copyright-SPPARC-Architecture-The-Music-Box-massing-model.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">© SPPARC Architecture,<br />The Music Box</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dkfrTBrQMa0/VsHT4mIhloI/AAAAAAAAB64/uNTW8032v-w/s1600/Copyright-Lee-3D-1-100-colour-facade-study.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dkfrTBrQMa0/VsHT4mIhloI/AAAAAAAAB64/uNTW8032v-w/s400/Copyright-Lee-3D-1-100-colour-facade-study.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">© Lee 3D Ltd<br />1:100 colour facade study</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BNooGXs3jFY/VsHUL2Ngl5I/AAAAAAAAB68/qSnbYdZy5zc/s1600/Digital-Craft-front-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BNooGXs3jFY/VsHUL2Ngl5I/AAAAAAAAB68/qSnbYdZy5zc/s320/Digital-Craft-front-cover.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 17.12px;">About the Book</span></b><span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><br /><i>Digital Craft: 3D Printing for Architectural Design</i></span><em><span style="background: white; border: 1pt none; font-style: normal; line-height: 17.12px; padding: 0cm;"> is published in printed book form in February 2016.</span></em><em><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 17.12px;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><em><span style="background: white; border: 1pt none; font-style: normal; line-height: 17.12px; padding: 0cm;"><br /></span></em></span></div>
<h5 style="background: white; line-height: 12pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<em><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-style: normal; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">About the Author<o:p></o:p></span></span></em></h5>
<h5 style="background: white; line-height: 12pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><em><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; padding: 0cm;">Bryan Ratzlaff is a Canadian architectural designer working in London with five years’ experience in 3D printing for architects. Bryan has a Master of Architecture degree from University of Westminster </span></em><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-weight: normal; padding: 0cm;">(RIBA Part II).<o:p></o:p></span></span></h5>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">About the Publisher<o:p></o:p></span></h5>
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<em><span style="background: white; border: 1pt none; font-style: normal; line-height: 17.12px; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Published by Lee 3D Ltd, a specialist 3D print bureau focussed mainly on the AEC sector.<o:p></o:p></span></span></em></div>
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3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-1905630856193670742015-10-07T11:45:00.002+01:002015-10-07T11:45:40.428+01:00Another 3D Printing glossary<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In writing this glossary I looked through quite a few 3D printing glossaries. Below is a list of words that are or could be commonly used in the world of 3D printing without being specific to any particular print process. I hope that this does not over or under complicate things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3D Printing </b>- see Rapid Prototyping </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Additive Manufacturing</b> - see 3D Printing (in fact this usually refers to more industrial applications of 3D printing)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Auto-fix</b> - this is short hand for "I'm naive and I don't mind surprising results!". Always be wary of anything offering to auto-fix your file and if you do see Diffing Tool.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Build Time </b>- Depending on many factors this is how long it take to build a part in the printer. This is not the same as the total time needed to prepare the file and the printer, print the part, post-process the part, package and deliver. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Diffing Tool </b>- usually a software tool for comparing two pieces of text much loved by programmers for finding bugs. If you carry out a fixing procedure on the whole model it pays to step backwards and forwards to spot unexpected differences between before and after model states.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Error </b>- this is what frequently happens if you do not look after your 3D printer properly or if your printers have just done too much hard work and something eventually breaks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Faceting</b> - When the triangulation of the print file is visible in the surface of the printed part.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Feature Size</b> - the smallest features that can be physically printed. This can easily become an obsession. Often better to ask at what size a feature becomes clearly visible. There is always a big difference between the minimum size of structural elements and surface relief details.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>File Size</b> - There is an optimum level where mesh size is just right for the resolution of the printer. As triangles get increasingly small, files getting increasingly large and time is increasingly wasted. Files for 3D printing rarely need to be more than 20MB.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hole</b> - gaps in meshes used to define 3D prints. In the same way that holes in skin are bad for you, holes in meshes are bad for 3D prints too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Layer</b> - almost all 3D prints are created one layer at a time. Layering is often visible on the side walls of a print. Finer layer thickness is often desirable as layering is less evident visually.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Manifold</b> - "in mathematics, a manifold is a topological space that resembles Euclidean space near each point. More precisely, each point of an n-dimensional manifold has a neighbourhood that is homeomorphic to the Euclidean space of dimension n". In 3D printing it means a mesh without holes - sometimes known as watertight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Meshing</b> - the process of converting a vector or NURBS model (the design file) to a triangulated mesh or shell used for 3D printing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Normal</b> - surface or triangle direction defining inside from outside of the model.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Post-processing</b> - This is the part that the manufacturers and resellers keep quite about. Up until this point it all looks pretty straightforward - then the work begins... 3D printing is not vending and alas is nothing like Star Trek's replicators.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rapid Prototyping</b> - until recently, rapid prototyping was the term used to describe what has come to be known as 3D printing - or additive manufacturing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Shrinkwrap</b> - often a last resort when fixing a hideously bad file quickly, the shrinkwrap tool in Materialise's famous Magics software really is magic. And like all good magic the shrinkwrap is most powerful when you can't tell its been used.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Support </b>- parts with overhangs need to be supported as they are printed. Powder based systems are self-supporting whereas other printers need to print a support. Removing supports is usually no fun at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>STL</b> - the stereolithography file format was created so that people could print to the very first commercial 3D printers. It contains triangle coordinates and normal directions but does not contain unit, colour or indeed any other information.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Texture </b>- in colour 3D printing this refers to an image file mapped on to the surface of the mesh containing colour information to be printed. Not to be confused with physical surface texture. Remember you need a colour 3D printer to print image textures.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Watertight</b> - a manifold shell - i.e a part with no holes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>XYZ</b> - cartesian coordinate system used to locate points in (Euclidian) space. Z usually denotes height in 3D printing but this is not always the case with software modellers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information about 3D printing at Lee 3D please visit </span><a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">www.lee3d.co.uk</a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wCBW8X1ZITQ/VYrlPbvZstI/AAAAAAAABiM/GJ2CyAmrlxw/s1600/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wCBW8X1ZITQ/VYrlPbvZstI/AAAAAAAABiM/GJ2CyAmrlxw/s320/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-24773290547733730792015-04-01T16:08:00.000+01:002015-04-01T16:08:57.681+01:00The rise and fall of the ZPrinter?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One outcome of ZCorporation's acquisition by 3D Systems is that we are no longer quite sure what to call the technology we use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the beginning, ZCorp's printers were 3 digit numbers prefixed with Z. So Z402, Z406, Z810 began the series and then in 2003 the ZPrinter 310 was released and the ZPrinter was born.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strangely the next machine to be announced was the Spectrum 510 in 2005. Despite the Spectrum non sequitur, the next machine was the ZPrinter 450 in 2007 followed by the ZPrinter 650 in 2008, precipitating a minor avalanche of ZPrinters in the next couple of years as the increasingly small ZPrinter 350, 250 & 150 arrived.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then in January 2012 ZCorporation was no more. 3D Systems bought the company and began to absorb it into the 3D Systems brand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite this and just months after the take over, the last and biggest ZPrinter arrived, the mammoth ZPrinter 850. Almost immediately news came through that the entire range of ZPrinters was to be rebranded as the ProJet x60 range.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is a ZPrinter?</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Briefly ZCorp made 3D printers that printed binding fluid using HP printheads on to a bed of powder.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lcJm5AiT54g/VRrOdmZSyRI/AAAAAAAABaw/EWHFDvNkgU4/s1600/310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lcJm5AiT54g/VRrOdmZSyRI/AAAAAAAABaw/EWHFDvNkgU4/s1600/310.jpg" height="190" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ZPrinter 310</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the early days ZCorp experimented with different</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> powders for different applications. The early printers like the ZPrinter 310 shown above were flexible, hands on machines. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Powders for flexible parts and for casting etc. lost out in time to what the company referred to as high performance composite. Essentially plaster of Paris with some modifiers to improve flow, part strength and finish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the 450 the ZPrinter became a more complex machine but one that requires less user intervention. They made it easier to use, with automated powder handling and a built in post processing unit. The result was that it was a machine optimised for general purpose plaster printing which was what the majority of the users actually wanted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-byOhuVRiJGg/VRrQEfAv6WI/AAAAAAAABa8/oX5bbAySPGs/s1600/joe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-byOhuVRiJGg/VRrQEfAv6WI/AAAAAAAABa8/oX5bbAySPGs/s1600/joe.jpg" height="200" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ZPrinter 450</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The automated powder handling of the later ZPrinter range was a great success from a users point of view. While it slowed down various aspects of the 3D printing process, not having plaster powder blowing up in your face when reloading the machines meant this was a small price to pay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of the later ZPrinters have an automatic de-powdering feature. This proved to be something of a gimmick and must have added a significant cost to the price of the machines that featured it for no significant gain except for the marketing brochure. </span><br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what is the point of all this?</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The question remains what do we call this technology? Bringing the ZPrinter into ProJet range and calling it ProJet x60 is really not very helpful for the average user. If I say that I am running ZPrinters most customers know what I am talking about. If I say we are running Projet x60s mostly customers are just baffled. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Officially the technology used by the Projet x60 printers (ZPrinters) is Color Jet Printing or CJP. This brings the product in line with 3D Systems preoccupation with ProJets "Jetting" stuff. Again no one can remember what CJP stands for and the acronym blends into a background of stand-back jargon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The thing is the full ProJet range has some great machines and some proper clankers. With a fistful of completely different print engines that are suitable for completely different applications.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since the explosion in interest in 3D printing and the following blizzard of silly stories what we want most in this industry is clarity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ZPrinter had brand power</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yup, that is the bottom line. The ZPrinter brand was distinctive and effective.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ProJet brand is just confusing. It makes sense for the 3500 range where the material is all jetted to build the part. At both the top of the Projet range the 7000 is an SLA machine and again at the bottom of the range the 1200 is a kind of miniature SLA - the funny thing is that the SLA process cannot be described as jetting - there ain't nothing jetted there!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ZPrinter really is a 3D printer. It uses HP inkjet printheads and prints in layers to build depth - that is in the Z axis. It was a good name, a good brand, now it is history, so this is an attempt to record its passing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">RIP ZPrinter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ZCorp/3D Systems machine release timeline</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1997 - Z402</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2000 - Z402c (colour)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2001 - Z606</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2002 - Z810</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2003 - ZPrinter 310</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2005 - Spectrum 510</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2007 - ZPrinter 450</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2008 - ZPrinter 650 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2009 - ZPrinter 350</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2010 - ZPrinter 150, 250</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2012 - ZPrinter 850</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information about ZPrinting please visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-88598021516524536392015-02-10T12:51:00.000+00:002015-02-10T12:51:30.361+00:00Notes on the cost of 3D printing<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post sets out to address the cost of plaster 3D prints - also variously known as ZCorp, Sandstone and Colorstone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All 3D print technologies have different pricing parameters so the points below do not necessarily translate to other processes. Plaster printing does not need supports to be printed as the part is fully supported in the bed of plaster powder as the print progresses. Unlike the SLS process which is also powder based, all of the unused powder can be reused in the next print. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition to the powder used to make the part, a greater expense in binder fluid, cleaning fluid and printheads needs to be factored into the material cost of the print. Despite this it is usual (but not universal) to charge per cubic cm (£/cc) of material used.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For many parts including most architectural massing models consideration needs to be given to whether or not a part can be hollowed out to reduce the amount of material used and ultimately to save cost.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Parts need to be cost effective for the long term success of a bureau and hollowing parts is key to this.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For many heavier 3D printed parts there are 3 possible outcomes to treating a 3D print:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Print solid</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Print hollow and leave unused powder trapped inside the part</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Print hollow and leave an opening to remove unused powder</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buildings usually sit on the earth and are consequently not viewed from the underside. This makes it possible to hollow most building massing models leaving the underside open to remove unused powder.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PCltdSaWxJo/VNjXcusy9CI/AAAAAAAABVc/tk70zNC0kcw/s1600/hollow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PCltdSaWxJo/VNjXcusy9CI/AAAAAAAABVc/tk70zNC0kcw/s1600/hollow.jpg" height="317" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hollowed 3D print</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Solid models may be needed for vac forming etc and in some parts just have the wrong geometry for hollowing and need to be made solid.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other parts can be hollowed but a hole or other opening is unwanted and then unused powder may be left trapped inside the part. Consideration needs to be given in such circumstances as to whether it would be desirable for powder to leak out if a model were broken. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So let us take an example of a cube measuring 100 x 100 x 100mm.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Solid this occupies 1000cc</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hollowed with a 4mm wall thickness it occupies 221cc</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hollowed with a 3mm wall thickness it occupies 169cc</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This sheds some light on those stories of horrendously expensive prices sometimes quoted (and sometimes paid) for 3D printed parts. Be careful of this when getting quotes for parts online, software is not likely to pick up on the fact you are asking to print a lump of material that could do with being hollowed. A human is usually better able to spot this kind of thing.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the case of our 100 x 100 x 100mm cube it is worth noting that the difference in volume between the 4mm wall thickness and a 3mm wall thickness is 52cc. Which priced on a cubic cm basis could be a 23% difference in price. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Choosing an appropriate wall thickness depends on various things. The size and strength of the part, its purpose, whether it needs to travel and even on very tight deadlines the time available to remove it from the machine and get it to the customer.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Generally we hollow parts for customers as part of our file optimisation service at Lee 3D. To do this we use Magics RP, the industry standard software for preparing models for 3D print. This allows us to hollow complex parts with a uniform thickness.</span></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information about 3D printing at Lee 3D please visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span></div>
<div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-54425920755601227202015-02-06T13:59:00.000+00:002015-03-24T09:08:47.785+00:00Optimising CAD models for 3D printing in plaster or sandstone<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post is geared towards customers planning to use the</span><a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/online-quote" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank"> Lee 3D online quoting and ordering service</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. However, it should be useful to anyone modelling for 3D printing using these materials. Please note - optimising is not the same as fixing. If you are considering using an online service it is assumed that your data is print-ready. Optimising is about getting best results.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Material<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plaster printing using ZPrinter (renamed as Projet x60
series) is sometimes called sandstone, colorstone or similar. Whatever you choose to call it, the
material is predominantly plaster of Paris bound with a water based binder in
the printer and most commonly hardened afterwards with cyanoacrylate
(superglue).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When freshly printed, the models do not have their full
strength. We sometimes use the analogy of concrete vs steel to describe the
material properties of unfinished and finished parts. Concrete is great under
compression but poor under tension, whereas steel is strong under both
compression and tension. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, parts fresh from the printer have limited strength in
tension and therefore thin parts are liable to fail and more especially, thin
cantilevering parts are liable to break off. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finished parts, hardened with superglue have good all round strength.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part Orientation<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part orientation affects surface finish and strength of parts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strength of parts due to orientation only needs to be considered for thin
parts. A thin column printed horizontally </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is stronger</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">than if printed vertically. Thus, part orientation will affect minimum part size (fig. 4).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scale<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Architectural models rarely get printed at 1:1. If you are
modelling in software at 1:1 and you want to print at scale, you need to think
in advance about the size of the final model. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are printing to scale and want to use an online
quoting service you must think about the size of parts as they will
be printed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember that you are making a model. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Columns may look
weirdly thick in software but when they are printed at 1.2mm diameter they will
be thin!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hollowing<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hollowing parts reduces cost. However, if you hollow parts
and leave the powder trapped in the model we will have to charge for the unused
powder as we cannot remove it. This may lead to your order being rejected. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, consider how unused powder will be removed from voids and remember that powder does not flow out like water - it needs to been blown out with an air brush. Small holes are not adequate for removing large quantities of powder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is not easy to model complex structures with consistent
wall thicknesses. If you are not careful, weak points can appear as illustrated
below (fig.1). From the outside, these can be difficult to see
without viewing the part in section. Thin parts, if they do not break, can
become translucent once glued giving the part a patchy finish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is usually better to model parts as solid in design software and then use Materialise Magics (or similar) to
hollow the part effectively. This will produce a uniform wall thickness which will produce uniform strength and finish. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5X9wwMTS7pA/VM0Rbyo9e5I/AAAAAAAABRc/XXDHlyqPLD8/s1600/hollow01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5X9wwMTS7pA/VM0Rbyo9e5I/AAAAAAAABRc/XXDHlyqPLD8/s1600/hollow01.png" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fig. 1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Minimum Part Thickness<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everyone asks what the minimum size we can print is, to
which I usually answer that it is geometry dependent. It is also usually worth
considering the end use of the part. If the part is likely to be handled a lot, then make it strong. If the part needs to fly to the antipodes, make it strong. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If its useful life is for a single meeting in which you need to make a crucial
decision, then perhaps take some risks to make it look great for that meeting.
If the model will spend the rest of its days inside of a Perspex display case, make it
detailed (it may take us a little longer though).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Below are some rules of thumb to determine minimum thickness for various features:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Freestanding wall features</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fig.2 below shows a fine wall detail well supported by the core of the model which is hollowed to about 3mm. The table shown in fig.3 contains suggested minimum wall thickness for differing wall heights.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTOFS4YBCDQ/VM0R74JWGeI/AAAAAAAABRk/qGxvanrr6Pc/s1600/wall%2Bfeature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTOFS4YBCDQ/VM0R74JWGeI/AAAAAAAABRk/qGxvanrr6Pc/s1600/wall%2Bfeature.png" height="400" width="370" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fig. 2</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7fCMX9pLGUk/VM0SO2JtKbI/AAAAAAAABRs/HZ-Eifmt8aE/s1600/freestanding%2Bwall%2Bthickness.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7fCMX9pLGUk/VM0SO2JtKbI/AAAAAAAABRs/HZ-Eifmt8aE/s1600/freestanding%2Bwall%2Bthickness.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fig. 3</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Column features supported at both ends</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As shown in fig. 4, these features are strongly dependant on print orientation. Some files cannot be oriented so that all fine details are horizontal and in this case all parts need to be thickened for printing horizontally. Table fig.5 shows suggested column heights for parts printed in either orientation.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please note that free standing columns are much less sturdy than columns supported at both ends and need to be made significantly thicker.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-kUS5FY_CE/VM0SrUUrcaI/AAAAAAAABR8/rAkGt7t8DYs/s1600/column%2Bvertical.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-kUS5FY_CE/VM0SrUUrcaI/AAAAAAAABR8/rAkGt7t8DYs/s1600/column%2Bvertical.png" height="348" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PqK0bGemdq4/VM0Srez_UAI/AAAAAAAABSE/XHm4ihxQqcU/s1600/column%2Bhorizontal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PqK0bGemdq4/VM0Srez_UAI/AAAAAAAABSE/XHm4ihxQqcU/s1600/column%2Bhorizontal.png" height="337" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fig. 4</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q1dhEhvdd3Y/VM0S8a2aZxI/AAAAAAAABSQ/d06ONlxdVl4/s1600/column.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q1dhEhvdd3Y/VM0S8a2aZxI/AAAAAAAABSQ/d06ONlxdVl4/s1600/column.png" height="192" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fig. 5</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Shadow gap and surface relief size</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fig. 6 shows shadow gaps on the surface of the model. The smallest readable shadow gap is of the order of 0.3mm. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bold shadow gaps should be 0.5mm or greater.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some thought needs to be given to depth of shadow gaps. It is difficult to remove powder from gaps narrower than 1mm, so there is little to be gained from making these deeper than a couple of mm.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6LRLa1i7rmk/VM0XPZY-eII/AAAAAAAABSc/6smdBFJVBZk/s1600/shadow%2Bgap%2Bdetail.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6LRLa1i7rmk/VM0XPZY-eII/AAAAAAAABSc/6smdBFJVBZk/s1600/shadow%2Bgap%2Bdetail.png" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fig. 6</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Relief details are readable from 0.2mm at the minimum. To clearly see surface relief, a minimum size of 0.5mm or more is </span><span style="line-height: 15.6933336257935px;">recommended</span><span style="line-height: 107%;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Hollowing</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.6933336257935px;">Hollowing thickness depends on the size and strength of part required, usually 3mm or more.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.6933336257935px;">Walls need to be of adequate thickness after hollowing </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933336257935px;">to give the part sufficient strength for us to remove it from the printer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.6933336257935px;">You cannot make a part the size of the build volume with a thickness of 1.5 or 2mm - it will collapse. We will check every part and will need to modify or reject parts that are too thin. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.6933336257935px;"><br />For further information about the Lee 3D online quoting and ordering service see<span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://3dprinterlog.blogspot.com/2015/01/optimising-sandstone-or-plaster-models.html">Optimising sandstone or plaster models</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.6933336257935px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.6933336257935px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information about Lee 3D go to<span style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.lee3d.co.uk </a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-5099430345979445732014-09-26T12:30:00.000+01:002014-09-26T12:38:48.584+01:00Wiktor Kidziak - Colour 3D prints<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These two guys were designed by Wiktor Kidziak while studying at UCL, 2014. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not sure what they represent. The forms remind me of trees growing on an exposed hillside, leaning away from the prevailing wind. They also appear to be walking in the image below. As for the colour they remind me of marble mosaic cubes swept up in a vortex or whirlwind.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kPGOVgxBd0g/VCVHcfsgRKI/AAAAAAAABG8/Ct0SgHtT9Uw/s1600/Kidziak-colour-3d-print-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kPGOVgxBd0g/VCVHcfsgRKI/AAAAAAAABG8/Ct0SgHtT9Uw/s1600/Kidziak-colour-3d-print-01.jpg" height="246" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wiktor has worked closely with 3D printers in the past and his confidence in the media shows in the ambition of the project. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hArd7nnLb_s/VCVJNaPY1bI/AAAAAAAABHI/6ct03SJ5Hqo/s1600/Kidziak-colour-3d-print-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hArd7nnLb_s/VCVJNaPY1bI/AAAAAAAABHI/6ct03SJ5Hqo/s1600/Kidziak-colour-3d-print-04.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The parts were generated using parametric design tools including SoftImage XSI. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ptRVWhgXDL4/VCVLQKbBF5I/AAAAAAAABHU/55HHyVuSfm0/s1600/Kidziak-colour-3d-print-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ptRVWhgXDL4/VCVLQKbBF5I/AAAAAAAABHU/55HHyVuSfm0/s1600/Kidziak-colour-3d-print-02.jpg" height="241" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is something very edible about these prints. Certainly they we very satisfying to make and proved quite photogenic too.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t90VhepsT4Q/VCVMsiWG1II/AAAAAAAABHg/1z5p9PpB2lY/s1600/Kidziak-colour-3d-print-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t90VhepsT4Q/VCVMsiWG1II/AAAAAAAABHg/1z5p9PpB2lY/s1600/Kidziak-colour-3d-print-03.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information about colour 3D printing at Lee 3D please visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-81208272427002095092014-07-02T10:27:00.002+01:002014-07-02T10:27:52.840+01:00A smashing new art work!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When Adam gave us the brief for his new work titled "You & Me", I was not just taken aback, I was simply shocked. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He showed us a sketch of the piece and explained that we would print two identical parts but one would be broken up and stored in a large glass vessel. The two parts "You & Me" would then stand together making up the whole artwork.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I spend all my working life trying not to break the work, from consideration of print files to careful handling of parts, our mission is not to damage, not to break, to deliver the cleanest, smartest, most blemish free part that we can. This even goes to the extent of mentally rehearsing the whole process on the way in to work each morning. So it really goes against the grain to make a piece and then wilfully break it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It goes further, each of these pieces are over 700mm tall and require four full machine builds to make. Making parts of this size that fit tightly together, retain good colour and generally avoiding defects is a real challenge. It really, really goes against the grain to make a piece as monumental as this and then break it.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/92115636" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/92115636">You & Me</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/adamnathanielfurman">Adam Nathaniel Furman</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a time I tried to persuade Adam to consider less violent alternatives but I quickly saw that he was resolved on the matter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Over several weeks </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">we did the work and made the parts, finished and assembled the two sculptures. Then</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> the time came the artist stood lump hammer in hand, paused, took a deep breath and demolished one of the pieces.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite my reservations the end result proved a real treasure. Standing next to the rather majestic whole piece, the glass vessel came to life when filled with bits of its broken other. The pair stand well together.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This kind of high stakes poetry is not you average 3D print job but then Adam Nathaniel Furman is not your average customer. You & Me</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is in many ways the culmination of years of Adam's output of amazing and colourful 3D printed designs, many of which we have had the pleasure of helping to bring into being. As a physical object the ambition of this piece and the final result are beyond anything that I have been involved with in this business. But this is the work of a poet and an artist too, the title, the initial sketch, the idea, the design and the execution. A work of poetry encapsulated in a work of art, recorded in a moment of theatre. Bravo Adam!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O5o4zkUgP0s/U7MIg8Cb8yI/AAAAAAAAA84/CnSkk-KtyWA/s1600/colour-3D-Print.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O5o4zkUgP0s/U7MIg8Cb8yI/AAAAAAAAA84/CnSkk-KtyWA/s1600/colour-3D-Print.jpg" height="640" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You or Me? Detail of upper parts</span>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the action<br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You & Me</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You & Me was exhibited at London's Hospital Club in 2014.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For more information about Lee 3D's colour 3D printing service visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-26904624473337828122014-06-24T10:51:00.001+01:002014-06-24T10:51:31.039+01:00Design Studio 13 - 2014<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year we printed a number of models for architecture students at Westminster University and in particular for diploma Design Studio 13. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The project was set in a development zone in Shenzhen. The brief seemed pretty open, located within an area with no existing context and produced a wide range of proposals. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three of the DS13 projects are featured below. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were many other 3D printed models on display across the show and many of them interesting in their own right. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps the most intriguing was the Anything Factory designed by Bryan Ratzlaff whose scheme calls for a multi-storey block split into 3 parts dividing logistics, data services and production. Interestingly Bryan </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">previously worked as a 3D print production engineer and understands commercial 3D printing workflow, he also know to model details to the exact capability of the ZPrinter which shows in the detail of the model.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The premise for the project is the notion that 3D printing can shift manufacturing from far flung factories to local made on demand products. So the design speculates on a future </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">where large machines are centralised in corporate additive manufacturing centres. Presumably an array of technologies producing parts that are assembled locally or sent out for assembly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Models printed using limited colour; white, grey and black. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wliD4C0PnXo/U6hfOLgxZFI/AAAAAAAAA6g/NUSiLT5KUss/s1600/3d+print+factory+04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wliD4C0PnXo/U6hfOLgxZFI/AAAAAAAAA6g/NUSiLT5KUss/s1600/3d+print+factory+04.jpg" height="392" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A 2D illustration of the concept</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Image showing the surface texture modelled to the capability of the printer with a 1mm black rail representing the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">conveying line weaving between departments delivering consumables to machines and bringing creations back for inspection and shipping. This black rail is carefully modelled to pick up support from the structure enabling the 3D printer to produce this fine detail running through the core of the building.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buildings will undoubtedly be built specifically to house additive manufacturing which often requires specialist environmental servicing in a similar way to conventional factories and labs. What would a suitable building typology for additive manufacturing look like? What kind of products would such a centre produce? What materials would they need to store? Could an additive manufacturing centre design and build itself? Will it require human intervention?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Certainly a project that asks as many questions about the future of additive manufacturing as it answers. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quite where this leaves the personal 3D printer is not addressed. It would seem to me that large multi material commercial 3D printers will always out compete the capabilities</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> of the personal printer but that does not mean there will not be a place for both. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alexander Sun, who we bumped into at the opening night of the China Design Centre, printed a 1:2000 space frame as part of a huge shipping terminal - the 8th Wonder Cruise Terminal. Ambitious to the point of gratuitous engineering, an overwhelming city entrance or modern day triumphal arch, a proclaimed "international spectacle" and a statement of Chinese confidence.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oej39BGly6Q/U6hki-GqRuI/AAAAAAAAA6w/2wd527zfDzo/s1600/Alex+Sun+8th+Wonder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oej39BGly6Q/U6hki-GqRuI/AAAAAAAAA6w/2wd527zfDzo/s1600/Alex+Sun+8th+Wonder.jpg" height="346" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The geometry of this model would usually cry out for printing in Nylon on an SLS machine. So this is not your typical plaster printed model but the result looks great. Personally I prefer the opacity of plaster models compared to the light absorbing Nylon material but I certainly acknowledge the increased strength and resilience of Nylon. In this case Alex did not have time to get the model made on SLS and opted for plaster. The part size of the structural members was 0.9mm diameter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The red ship was printed by Alex on a filament extruder. He also showed some very small scale master plans printed on his home machine. For student work or for any architect these machines can make a convincing contribution to presentations. They are slow and cannot print all geometry but I expect to see a lot more extruded building models in future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ryan Kingsnorth's law court designed to promote openness and transparency in the functioning of the law in China. An example of British meddling in other people's business? An ironic statement on British law and trial's held in secret? From my cynical view I see this "transparent" building</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> quickly surrounded by security fencing (for the best of reasons). Is architecture really able to influence human behaviour in this way.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Humans have a way of shrugging off buildings that do not fit their requirements and replacing them or moving (back) to ones that do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway from a presentational point of view this model exhibits a nice use of minimal 3D printing in a less costly but highly effective context model. We often have clients requesting 1:200 models because that gives the level of detail they expect from sketch models made in the office from card and foam. I am not suggesting that 1:1000 is always a good scale for detail models but with 3D printng the smaller scales can show a great deal of design detail. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lee 3D was proud to contribute towards DS13's final show along with PLP Architecture, Allies and Morrison, Urban Future Organisation, Dust Architecture and Base Associates.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information about Lee 3D please visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-9702345282012570642014-05-02T09:36:00.000+01:002014-05-02T09:36:14.753+01:003D Printing the KREOD pavilion<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">KREOD produced a trade pavilion for the London Olympics and plans to do the same for Brasil 2016. Lee 3D produced a model of KREOD's London pavilion which will initially be exhibited at the new China Design Centre which launched on the 1st May 2014. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 3D model of the pavilion was made using tools such as Rhino, Grasshopper and Evolute. This very neat structure naturally lends itself to 3D printing with the finest of margins. In this case the main construction is made up of elements that are 0.7mm in thickness. This allows a good amount of light to pass through the model expressing the geometry and the design intent.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pavilion is made up of three moveable pods</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ZPrinter 650 used </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to build these parts even picks up the floor detailing with gaps of just 0.125mm. Of course it is not all down to the machine. These parts are very fragile until they hardening resin is applied and require delicate handling and a certain amount of experience to remove powder from the surface of the parts with out breaking the models. Once hardened the parts can be handled with ease. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">KREOD's Chun Qing Li was suitably impressed and I think a little bit relieved when he came to pick up the model on the day before the China Design Centre launched. Lee 3D is now looking forward to working with KREOD to produce models of the proposed Brasil pavilion which will first be shown at the Clerkenwell Design Week later this month.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The China Design Centre showcases the unique design vision emerging from a country with a long history and rich culture, and whose dynamic economy is generating a new wave of talent in Architecture, Art and Craft, Furniture, Products and Materials. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Terry Farrell speaking at the grand opening <br />of the China Design Centre in London</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">China Design Centre - <a href="http://chinadesigncentre.com/">chinadesigncentre.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">KREOD - </span><a href="http://www.kreod.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">www.kreod.com</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information about Lee 3D visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-8027454509619594052014-04-21T16:32:00.002+01:002014-04-21T16:32:20.930+01:00 3D printed art - a pointless exercise?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Making art pieces using a 3D printer may in some respects seem a pointless exercise. "won't it just get 3D scanned and copied?" is a common response. If you can copy it then it is not unique and it has less inherent value.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In theory yes you could scan and 3D print a copy of a 3D printed artwork, but there are a number of reasons why this is not a likely outcome. Some reasons for this are:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A functional prototype is finished to a different standard to an art work. In one the physical attributes of the part are key where as the other surface finish is key. Achieving quality surface finish is likely to be achieved more with human labour than with the 3D printing system alone. All 3D printing currently requires post processing which usually involves physical human input and additional processes that make parts unique. With colour 3D printing, parts needs cleaning up and a strengthening resin applied and possibly further finishing to protect the part. Not all colour 3D printer technicians use the same techniques and finishes and each produces parts that have a distinct appearance to the trained eye.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3D Scanning an artwork is likely to be difficult, the presence of occlusions would mean that it would take a lot of time would be needed with the piece. Some areas of parts may not be possible to scan. You could not just scan an artwork while wandering around a gallery. The quality of scans makes it difficult to reproduce a part to to the same standard as the original. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> 3D Print technology is constantly changing after 5 to 10 years it would be difficult to find an original 3D printer running the right materials to reproduce a part. After 20 years it would be almost impossible. </span></li>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L-RlEJzbN7c/U1U4X317NlI/AAAAAAAAAxc/jYdoZN10AbE/s1600/Colour-3D-Print-Yantrament-Hornitation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L-RlEJzbN7c/U1U4X317NlI/AAAAAAAAAxc/jYdoZN10AbE/s1600/Colour-3D-Print-Yantrament-Hornitation.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It would certainly be possible to make an imitation 3D print, but it would be as difficult to make a true copy of a 3D printed art piece as it is of a traditional print or even a contemporary painting. It could be done but it would not be easy. It would take an amount of time and expense that would raise the bar to a counterfeiter undertaking this work. Considering that most art pieces take many years to rise in value it may become more difficult to achieve as pieces rise in value and technology becomes obsolete.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Techniques that may be used to make more difficult for counterfeiters include adding signature or watermark voids into the part that cannot be seen without special equipment, adding unique chemicals to binders or resins, inserting RFID tags etc. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-At5w4DTtcTY/U1QEG5yqmwI/AAAAAAAAAxM/F7HtCl7dDRY/s1600/3D-prints-Hospital-Club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-At5w4DTtcTY/U1QEG5yqmwI/AAAAAAAAAxM/F7HtCl7dDRY/s1600/3D-prints-Hospital-Club.jpg" height="271" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many of the 3D printed pieces that we made for Adam Nathaniel Furman's "Identity Parade" will be on public view at the Hospital Club from 22nd April for 2 months. You can make up you own mind how easy or difficult it would be to reproduce this amazing collection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Hospital Club</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For more information about Lee 3D visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">www.lee3d.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SP9yspidxew/U1PzvCVC1ZI/AAAAAAAAAw8/HaEsf0Ai100/s1600/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SP9yspidxew/U1PzvCVC1ZI/AAAAAAAAAw8/HaEsf0Ai100/s1600/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" height="120" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<br />3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-61042456558725991282014-02-20T19:01:00.000+00:002014-02-24T12:23:27.391+00:003D printing - its all about the service<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is a common mistake with 3D printing to get distracted by the technology and pay too little attention to the process and the outcome.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The mechanised action of the 3D printing process is a very simple one. The human processes of converting a 3D software model to a physical model using a 3D printer is a more complex process. The principle is straightforward but there are many ways for a simple job to go wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Our True Value</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our job as 3D print service providers is to protect the customer from the many opportunities for human error that exist along the path from digital to physical model. Errors in files, unrealistic print geometries, inappropriate materials, failed builds, poorly printed parts, broken parts, parts that arrive late, incorrectly sized and scaled and a whole bunch of other things that can go wrong along the way. Knowledge gained from years of experience doing this single operation over and over again is what the customer is really paying for when they commission work from Lee 3D's service bureau. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Success Through Service</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a small company, we are keenly aware that helping our clients to be successful in the long run ensures our success. As a service company repeat customers are an affirmation of our success. Enough said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Understanding Customers </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we have entrenched architectural backgrounds at Lee 3D, we really do appreciate the time it takes to get design work done and out the door. So when the client calls a meeting at almost no notice with their overworked architect, we are ready to pull out all the stops to get a model on the table for the meeting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Incremental Improvements</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you think you know what you are doing it can be easy to get stuck in the same old way of doing things. Keeping an open mind and being willing to take risks allows those incremental improvements. And owning the business certainly sharpens the instinct to innovate. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the award goes to...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To find out more about Lee 3D visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">www.lee3d.co.uk</a> or call George on 07563 243 891</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TaKc3EtW3ac/UwZAovfMuwI/AAAAAAAAAsc/xYdN8Xkfkho/s1600/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TaKc3EtW3ac/UwZAovfMuwI/AAAAAAAAAsc/xYdN8Xkfkho/s1600/lee3d-web-400px.jpg" height="120" width="320" /></a></div>
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3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290761142522882775.post-33402295703897939912014-02-20T14:46:00.001+00:002014-02-20T19:03:02.344+00:003D printing in architecture - update<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ever changing world of 3D print truly is a dizzying place at the moment. Late last year Fripp Design announced a full colour silicon based printer. Recently, I heard of the Mark One which allegedly 3D prints in Kevlar, carbon and glass fibre. 3D Systems recently announced 3D printers that print in candy, chocolate, ceramic and a full colour plastic 3D printer. Stratasys announced that the Connex3 will print multi materials in a palette of colours.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet with all this change the old ZPrinter range that was designed by ZCorporation and acquired by 3D Systems two years ago is still the number one 3D printer for many architectural models. What is it that makes this printer continue to hold this position?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ZPrinter 650 (relaunched by 3D Systems as the ProJet 660) has three significant features that lend it to making architectural concept models:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Speed</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quite simply, the machine makes same day or next day models. The longest build you could print would be completed in about 20 hours.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This means architects can design right up until the night before a presentation and have a model in their meeting in the morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Size</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This machine has a build size of 380 x 250 x 200(z)mm, giving a footprint a little smaller than the A3 paper size.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This allows a good size architectural model to be printed in a single build. Larger models can be tiled to make larger models.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Powder</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This may seem an odd characteristic. This gives two important advantages over other machines. Firstly, powder is self supporting so you do not need to build a support structure and then remove it afterwards. Secondly, parts can be hollowed thus reducing the amount of material used in the model.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Self supporting means just about any geometry can be created and hollowing parts mean much lower costs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, and it is a full colour printer too. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actually, most of the models we print are white but colour models photograph better!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3D printed at Lee 3D on ZPrinter 650</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To find out more about 3D printing of architectural models visit <a href="http://www.lee3d.co.uk/">www.lee3d.co.uk</a> or call George on 07563 243 891</span></div>
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3D Printer Loghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671881767792639250noreply@blogger.com0