rapid prototyping

[J-G]

This is interesting, I got the link to the page from a user profile on SketchUP. They used a Revit model for the first prototype.
http://wwwwww.lgmmodel.com/rapidprototyping.html

[beegee]

Jon,

Did you see this thread (www.zoogdesign.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1150) also ?

Its very interesting stuff, I agree.

[J-G]

Yeah I was reading that,

I got a sample from Zcorp....pretty amazing. They printed a bearing with the balls and everything. The detail level is impressive, they say that you can print upto .003" layers...meaning that every layer would only be 3 thousands of an inch. It would be hard to justify the cost for such a toy - I mean tool :wink: - unless you were a huge firm, or doing side work for other firms...which is a possible

[hand471037]

A fine example: there is an architect in Montana that modeled a building in Rhino, used his CNC mill to carve complex concrete forms, poured the pre-cast peices, and then put them together on the job site like a big ol' jigsaw puzzle. That guy built a custom-made, complex, curvy four story concrete and glass and steel house for about $100,000 because he didn't have to make CD's, did it design-build, and the CNC mill did most of the work in making the forms for the precast bits so then he could use unskilled labor to assemble them. *thats* where the future of Architecture is in my mind, not in acedemic circles!

Sorry to quote myself, but whenever the topic of rapid prototyping comes up, I feel like I should mention this guy. Massie is his name, and here's his website: http://www.massiearchitecture.com/

(this first came up in the epic flatscreen/sketchup/Wacom/future of architecture posts...)

[adegnan]

Sorry to quote myself, but whenever the topic of rapid prototyping comes up, I feel like I should mention this guy. Massie is his name, and here's his website: http://www.massiearchitecture.com/

(this first came up in the epic flatscreen/sketchup/Wacom/future of architecture posts...)

Sorry for the late reply here. But I think that house was featured in DWELL magazine. Quite the fascinating process.

[Wes Macaulay]

Wow, Jon - Ronchamp, eh? Doesn't look quite like the Revit model for some reason... anyway -

I don't suppose there's much of a market for 3D printers except in the architectural community. Because if there were, someone would be working really hard on making them cheap so that everyone could afford to own one. I know architects who are using Revit who still insist on making a physical model of a building for demonstration purposes. 3D printers really seem an obvious choice... you get the form of the building, completely monolithic. Perfect, really.

[gregcashen]

Actually, I think the primary market for these right now is manufacturing and design, where the term rapid prototyping comes from! There were some amazing examples of this at AU. I saw one that required no bracing for independent parts within the assembly. This guy was popping out real working ball bearing assemblies in something like an hour. Pretty cool.

[J-G]

The process Massie is using to form his buildings is very interesting to me. I did a quick search, but did not find a ton of information. More specifics would be interesting - specifically how the forms are actually used, what machines/programs, he is using etc. Does anyone have links to more info?...I suppose I could contact him. I have recently been looking into concrete homes using modular aluminum forms, one of the major set backs is the price of forms and equipment to get a crew up and running, but the speed of construction is pretty incredible.

JLC (Journal of Light Construction) had an article on concrete homes in December and the firm featured in the article had 50 guys doing a thousand 2000 sqft homes a year. It takes a day to set the rebar and mesh, and a day to set the forms andpour!

[adegnan]

JLC (Journal of Light Construction) had an article on concrete homes in December and the firm featured in the article had 50 guys doing a thousand 2000 sqft homes a year. It takes a day to set the rebar and mesh, and a day to set the forms andpour!

JLC is a great magazine. I recommend it both for contractors and design/builders like myself, but also for all of you in the architecture community who want a little more insight into the world of contracting & carpentry.

I am also a member of the Remodeler's Council and a CGR, and I get Remodeling Magazine which has given me a lot of insight into business aspects of other remodeling companies.

I haven't gotten around to reading the article on the concrete homes in JLC. But from one of the graphics, it looks like he isn't using ICF's. I think that ICF's would have great benefit in any climate for the combination of thermal mass and insulation value that they incorporate. He has only a thin layer of insulation on the inside of the house (on furring strips it appears) and that may be "OK" where he is but it could be better. It would never fly here in the upper midwest. But true ICF's are great.

[PeterJ]

I found a magazine article this morning on rapid protyping where the company have a web front end with ever morphing light fittings that are controlled parametrically. When you see a shape you like you click on it and off it goes to be printed/manufactured.

If anyone is interested I will post the details

[beegee]

Can they do the same thing with buidlings ?

[GuyR]

Can they do the same thing with buidlings ?

They work like inkjet printers. So anything you can spray, like concrete might be possible.

An interesting one for model making would be water or laser cutting. Extremely fine detail possible. Laser/water cut walls, roof etc and assemble.

You could do much larger models more economically.


The process Massie is using to form his buildings is very interesting to me. I did a quick search, but did not find a ton of information. More specifics would be interesting - specifically how the forms are actually used, what machines/programs, he is using etc

Reading his site I'd guess he's using 3 axis milling rather than 4 axis. As he's milling foam the machine will be little more than a 3 axis router. Looks like he slices the model up into sections, probably as much to do with the size of milling machine. And uses keys to lock each of the sections together (one photo shows the detail). Software, all you need is a program like Rhino/solidworks etc and a CAM application to run over the model.

If you wanted to have a go at this I'd suggest finding a surfboard manufacturer that's milling blanks using CNC. I know of one locally that will do custom work and his table is 14 feet long I think.

Guy

[GuyR]

Just got a working STL file from Revit.

To get a STL file from Revit export DWG, convert with deep exploration (demo lasts 30 days) http://www.righthemisphere.com/ to STL.

The limit is about 1:50 for Zcorp models. This gives a 2mm thick wall for (100mm wall). So not sure how window mullions etc would go. SLA might be better as it's more rigid. Also more expensive apparently.

Guy

[cwentworth]

The new material from ZCorp has a much stronger green strength. I can print a house scaled down to 1" = 150', and get detail like columns to come out. SLA is stronger yes but very hard to clean up. SLA requires a lot of sanding to get a smooth surface. That's why no one uses it for architectural models, as well as the price.




Just got a working STL file from Revit.

To get a STL file from Revit export DWG, convert with deep exploration (demo lasts 30 days) http://www.righthemisphere.com/ to STL.

The limit is about 1:50 for Zcorp models. This gives a 2mm thick wall for (100mm wall). So not sure how window mullions etc would go. SLA might be better as it's more rigid. Also more expensive apparently.

Guy