3D printing is a process for turning 3D computer images into model form. Since 2006 we have built up a wealth of experience using the latest 3D printing technology to offer a wide range of modelling services. Whether you require a model of a building, design product, landscape or practically any three dimensional object, Gilberts3D can transform your design into physical reality.
The 3D printing process offers significant advantages over traditional model making methods:
- greater level of complexity and detail
- more accuracy to the original design
- faster speed of production
- relative ease of amendment
- ability to reproduce models efficiently by simply reprinting
We produce a diverse range of model types for an increasingly broad selection of clients. For examples of what we can provide please browse our gallery.
The Z Corp Spectrum Z510 that we operate uses design-jet technology to print fixative into a bed of powder in layers of about 0.1mm thick. The fixative combines with the powder to form the solid model, while the residual powder is blown away and reused. We have refined our modelling technique to produce very fine detail, to the point where we can now print thinly enough to represent translucent glazing! Models can be printed in a wide range of colours, allowing a realistic representation of any object capable of being drawn digitally.
We have developed, and continue to expand, our model types. Initially we foresaw architectural modelling as the printer’s main task. This led on to providing structural and services modelling for clients such as consulting engineers Aecom, and display models for National Museums of Scotland. However, largely in response to client enquiries, we have also produced:- fully contoured landscape plans, archaeological record models, coloured novelty items, computer gaming figures, exhibition display stands and business cards.
The printer operates for the practice in a number of ways. Internally, it provides a means for designers to analyse the merits of alternative solutions at an early stage in the design process. It can also demonstrate designs to non-technical viewers, clients and planning authorities, in forms that are easy to visualise. Externally, the 3D printing process can provide marketing, presentation and exhibition models for our existing clients, at a speed and level of accuracy previously unattainable using traditional methods.
REFERENCES
Tenae Francis and Steven Ferguson from Aecom write:
"Having a close working relationship with Gilberts, we were aware of their 3D printing capabilities and were very impressed with their early efforts to model the built environment physically. We were already using 3D cad modelling for drawing and interactive computer animations, so we were intrigued about how we could use this new technology. A demonstration of the rapid prototyping process revealed its potential for our practice, although further investigation was required to establish how the intelligent 3D parametric models we produce for drawing production could be exported into a readable format for 3D printing. We established that through a little user interface, we could export a 3D model into a format that allowed printing of our first prototype model. The result was an incredibly detailed physical model that impressed our department and enthused our clients. As a result we decided to commission a number of prototypes for Aecom offices throughout the UK."
"It is unusual for an engineering practice to invest in physical models of building structures, but rapid prototyping is more effective than traditional model-making methods and has allowed us to take the 3D animations that we produce as a matter of course to more tactile and realistic environments. The prototype model allows easier visualisation of the structure and more flexibility in transferring ideas and concepts during design development. It also has the advantage of allowing us to show a finished project to a client before works begin."
The 3D printing process offers significant advantages over traditional model making methods:
- greater level of complexity and detail
- more accuracy to the original design
- faster speed of production
- relative ease of amendment
- ability to reproduce models efficiently by simply reprinting
We produce a diverse range of model types for an increasingly broad selection of clients. For examples of what we can provide please browse our gallery.
The Z Corp Spectrum Z510 that we operate uses design-jet technology to print fixative into a bed of powder in layers of about 0.1mm thick. The fixative combines with the powder to form the solid model, while the residual powder is blown away and reused. We have refined our modelling technique to produce very fine detail, to the point where we can now print thinly enough to represent translucent glazing! Models can be printed in a wide range of colours, allowing a realistic representation of any object capable of being drawn digitally.
We have developed, and continue to expand, our model types. Initially we foresaw architectural modelling as the printer’s main task. This led on to providing structural and services modelling for clients such as consulting engineers Aecom, and display models for National Museums of Scotland. However, largely in response to client enquiries, we have also produced:- fully contoured landscape plans, archaeological record models, coloured novelty items, computer gaming figures, exhibition display stands and business cards.
The printer operates for the practice in a number of ways. Internally, it provides a means for designers to analyse the merits of alternative solutions at an early stage in the design process. It can also demonstrate designs to non-technical viewers, clients and planning authorities, in forms that are easy to visualise. Externally, the 3D printing process can provide marketing, presentation and exhibition models for our existing clients, at a speed and level of accuracy previously unattainable using traditional methods.
REFERENCES
Tenae Francis and Steven Ferguson from Aecom write:
"Having a close working relationship with Gilberts, we were aware of their 3D printing capabilities and were very impressed with their early efforts to model the built environment physically. We were already using 3D cad modelling for drawing and interactive computer animations, so we were intrigued about how we could use this new technology. A demonstration of the rapid prototyping process revealed its potential for our practice, although further investigation was required to establish how the intelligent 3D parametric models we produce for drawing production could be exported into a readable format for 3D printing. We established that through a little user interface, we could export a 3D model into a format that allowed printing of our first prototype model. The result was an incredibly detailed physical model that impressed our department and enthused our clients. As a result we decided to commission a number of prototypes for Aecom offices throughout the UK."
"It is unusual for an engineering practice to invest in physical models of building structures, but rapid prototyping is more effective than traditional model-making methods and has allowed us to take the 3D animations that we produce as a matter of course to more tactile and realistic environments. The prototype model allows easier visualisation of the structure and more flexibility in transferring ideas and concepts during design development. It also has the advantage of allowing us to show a finished project to a client before works begin."
