Steelblue – a creative agency dedicated to documenting the next generation of great places – has recently worked with computer aided design giant Autodesk to design a projection of the 2017 skyline of San Francisco. The result has been printed on a Stratasys Objet Connex500 3D Printers. The large 182.88 x 182.88 cm (6 foot x 6 foot) model was commissioned by TishmanSpeyer. The representation boasts a high level of detail and a scale that was mainly determined by its function as an architectural viewing model, and in part by the 500 x 400 x 200mm (19.7 × 15.7 × 7.9 inches) build area of the Connex500.
Steelblue rebuilt the entire design model, which features some 115 square blocks at a scale of 1:1250 and a highly detailed 30 microns, for the project. The president of Steelblue, O’Brien Chalmers spoke to Stratasys about the project in an enlightening interview. He informs that 3D printing offers a level of detail which is quite unique, influencing the decision to use our subject technology for the model. Other advantages include being able to ‘swap out’ buildings akin to the pieces of a part puzzle, rapid replication being a key benefit of 3D printing.
Steelblue printed the city model a number of times using different materials in the range on offer for the Objet Connect500. Chambers said: “The initial model was 3D printed with white rigid opaque 3D printing material (VeroWhite) so that we could project data and imagery on to the surface giving the city model more life. Demographics, zoning data, traffic patterns, locations of hotels and parks, and shadow studies are all able to be highlighted on the opaque material using a projector. The rigid white model was 3D printed to live on top of a screen, so this data is projected from below instead of from above.” He added: “we have included a photo that shows a portion of our city model 3D printed in transparent 3D printing material (VeroClear) at 1:2500 scale. The sides were frosted to maintain their form, but the streets were left clear to let light shine through from below.
Steelblue normally uses Stratasys Objet30 Pro3D Printers, and has printed a number of skylines including Boston and Manhattan, but for this two month project the company stepped up to the Connex500 for it’s increased print size, speed and the level of detailing. You can check out more about this fascinating 3D printing project in the following video.
