A physical model still wins the room. Clients, councils and buyers understand a building faster when they can pick it up, walk around it and look in from every side. If you already have the 3D model for your renders, you are most of the way to a printed scale model. Upload it and see the price in seconds.
Upload your model for an instant price
What we print for architects and designers
- Concept and massing models for early design reviews, printed quickly and cheaply in a single colour.
- Presentation models for client meetings, development applications and community consultation.
- Site and masterplan models, printed in sections and assembled when they are larger than one print.
- Interior and detail models of a stair, a facade element or a joinery detail at a larger scale.
- Display models for sales suites and trade shows, including colour in up to 8 colours with multicolour printing.
From your CAD or render file to a model
Most architectural software can export a file we can print: STL, OBJ or 3MF from Revit, ArchiCAD, SketchUp, Rhino or Blender, or STEP from CAD. Our article on turning architectural renders into 3D-printed scale models explains how to prepare the file: closing the geometry, thickening thin walls and choosing the scale.
A few things that make a model print well:
- Choose the scale first. At 1:200 a 1 mm wall in the model is 200 mm in real life. Very thin elements such as glazing bars, railings and fins may need thickening, or leaving out, at small scales.
- Make walls thick enough. Aim for at least 1 mm (more for tall walls) so the model is strong enough to handle.
- Split large models. We print up to 400 x 400 x 450 mm in one piece. Bigger sites are printed in sections that join together.
Materials and finish
- PLA in white, grey or black is the classic choice for presentation models. Matte PLA gives a clean, modern finish without the plastic sheen.
- Resin gives the sharpest detail for small models and detail studies, up to 80 x 127 x 160 mm.
- Multicolour prints landscaping, roads and buildings in different colours in one piece.
For practices and developers
- An instant price for every model, so you can include it in a fee proposal straight away.
- Tax invoices with your practice name, ABN and purchase order number, and the option to pay by invoice. See 3D printing for business.
- Confidential. Unreleased designs are used only to price and print your model, and never shared. We will sign your NDA on request.
- Printed on solar power in Western Sydney, and shipped Australia-wide.
For a large or complex model, or a deadline for a presentation, email quotes@3dprinting.zone or call 02 9072 1669.