Architects look to 3D printing for design projects

At the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) round table held last week, media guests and bloggers witnessed a demonstration straight out of Tomorrowland.

Showcased with much fervor by the esteemed panel of architects was the latest in printing innovation: 3D printers that create scale models of any design in more or less 60 minutes. Present at the event was 3D Systems, a brand that carries a spectrum of printers and scanners that can make small-scale prints as well as large, industrial ones. Their products range from the Cube, a personal printer thats no bigger than a blender, to the herculean ProJet 7000 HD, which is larger than the average person.

The high-tech architect

3D printing is still in its infancy, said Lor Calma & Partners principal architect Ed Calma. Were still testing the limitations of this technology and we see its getting more sophisticated. Its really a matter of making models by hand or by a 3D printer. Thats really where the future is headed, he said.

Small plastic items created by 3D Systems' CubeX during the event.

Other strides on the design front for the 3D printer include furniture prototyping, interior schematics and, more incredibly, the construction of molds for pre-cast concrete products (the facades of houses, for example). Imagine pre-casting sections of your house in a factory then bringing them back to the site for assembly to piece together a jigsaw puzzleits as simple as that.

Realistically speaking, though, it might be a few years before we see 3D printers becoming as common as the laserjet printer.

Though manufacturers have been making the product more accessible to homes in terms of size, speed and user-friendly software, there is still the question of what to use it for.

The output of such 3D printers, at least of the personal use variety, is limited in size (3D Systems CubeX can print items as big as a basketball) and material (they use ABS and PLA plastic, shrewd material similar to that of Legos). So if youre thinking of making the furniture of your dreams into reality, you might want to think again. Plus, the hefty price tag of P90,000 to P185,000 for one machine might be too much for the typical household budget.

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Architects look to 3D printing for design projects