ArchiCAD for 3D Printing

[Aidan Newsome]

I'm starting a general discussion going from an ArchiCAD model to a 3D printer. I'm currently researching this process at an architectural firm in Canada. There's not much information on the IoT, so I think it's a good idea to get a discussion going. I'll post my weekly updates here.

To begin, here are some of the resources out there:

https://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/knowledgebase/85780/
https://community.ultimaker.com/topic/24380-the-architecture-of-3d-printing-10-archicad/
https://www.instructables.com/id/Refining-ArchiCAD-BIM-Models-to-Print-Buildings/

If you have more useful information on your ArchiCAD to 3D printer process, then please share it here. The goal is not to go through other software (Rhino or other 3D mesh-based software) because most of the people on these boards and in our firm are most comfortable using ArchiCAD to draw their models.

Also, I'd be interested to see if anyone has been able to print a detailed/almost-completed ArchiCAD model successfully. For instance, without redrawing it.

[annanikolson]

I started working in Archicad recently for the development of models, which in the future should be printed on a 3D printer. Started looking for any information that could help me and came across this thread. @Aidan Newsome Thanks for creating it. Are there any new successes?

[Voytek]

Thanks for sharing Aidan Newsome. Lots of useful advice. I just got into 3D printing and intend to do it directly from Archicad. I am starting from small samples/components. I haven't printed anything yet, but already face issues when running the process on my Simplify3D slicer. To explain the issue, I am giving example outlined in the workflow below:

3D view of Bathtub25 in AC 25 > Convert Selection to Morph(s) > Check Solidity > Warning: The current selection contains one or more non-solid Morphs > Solidify > Warning: One or more Morphs in the selection could not be solidified. 

I get corrupted print on slicing software with the bathtub saved to .obj or .stl (with or without converting it to Morph). I understand the object needs to be solidified to overcome the issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.