3D printing

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone, I just did a quick search on zcorp, and found some posts from last year where people seemed to have issues getting a good 3D print from an AC model. We're a service bureau, specializing in architectural models using the ZCorp printer mostly, and some SLA as well. We've also been using AC for a couple of years, with great success. If anyone has questions on the process, I'd be happy to help. You can see many examples of these models at alchemymodels.com.

[Katalin Takacs]

ArchiCAD 17 can directly save and open Stereolitography (.stl) files using a built-in STL Add-On. In this article you can find the details and some useful tips to prepare your ArchiCAD model for 3D printing: http://www.archicadwiki.com/StlFor3dPrinting

[Anonymous]

I'm curious to hear if anyone has been truly successful with 1-click 3D printing from AC17?

We're still finding issues with 3D printing via AC17. The .stl save sort of works for us if we dumb the model down significantly (punched openings, deleting nearly everything, and most importantly, simplify wall connections)
But, it still seems like half the time we need to do some tweaking in an actual 3D editor to clean up the .stl file whether it's inverting face or remaking walls that don't export as solid...

It seems like the stl export could be improved to a full blown print process that not only scaled the model but automated the addition of supports and scale (or removal) of small elements. There's this major conceptual flaw in direct export from BIM to 3D printer due to the printing material which often doesn't share scaled structural capabilities with the elements that it's atttempting to represent. Just because it works at full scale in a building doesn't mean it will print properly. We've found a lot of printing services has some height to thickness ratios that get very restrictive at scale. We often have to "chunk" things up to 3" min. or remove all together to avoid sagging etc.

Our process has evolved to the point where we are simply exporting dwgs from AC and redrawing the entire building in sketchup with correct abstracted thicknesses.