Download 103 Morphosis Prints Models old

Topic Number : 103
Morphosis Prints Models
By Martin Doscher
Date: 18 Auguest 2004
Web Address:
http://www.architectureweek.com/articles/tools_articles.html
Presented By:
Rasha Abd El-Rahman Mohamed Abd El-Rahman Moussa
Morphosis Prints Models
Contents:
Introduction
Making The Model
How the Model Is Used
Evolution of the CAD Model
Morphosis Prints Models
Introduction
In many architecture firms, the introduction of computer-aided design
has resulted in less reliance on hand-crafted scale models. However in
some firms, CAD has enabled a happy marriage of new techniques with
the old-fashioned craft.
The Santa Monica, California firm of Morphosis has a long history of
handmade physical models and drawings. But as we began to integrate
computers in the practice, and as CAD models became the core medium
for project development, we looked for a way to produce high-quality
physical models that would remain consistent with the digital models.
In 2000, we acquired our first 3D printer, from the Z Corporation. This
device provides a direct link between the CAD model and the physical
output. We build digital models using form-Z or TriForma, and the data
drives the printer to create physical models.
Before 2000, Morphosis's models, such as this one
for the Nara, Japan Convention Center, were
almost entirely handmade.
Photo: Morphosis
Morphosis Prints Models
Introduction
Morphosis Prints Models
Making The Model
It takes us about a day to prepare a digital model for printing —
breaking it into appropriate pieces, carving voids into solids to save
material, and subtracting parts that will be built manually in other
materials. Then we facet the CAD model into a triangulated mesh and
convert it to a stereolithography- (STL-) format file. The 3D printer
comes with its own software that sections the STL file horizontally into
0.004-inch (0.1-millimeter) layers — the thickness of the plaster
powder we use.
An urban-scale model in the process of powder
removal after production on a 3D printer.
Photo: Morphosis
The 3D printer spreads one thin layer of powder over the print
bed, then passes over the powder just as an inkjet printer head passes
over paper. Where the digital model indicates a solid, the printer, using
a modified inkjet printer cartridge, injects the binder cyanoacrylate.
A designer in the Morphosis shop preparing a 3D printer
for production.
Photo: Morphosis
Morphosis Prints Models
Making The Model
After one pass, the print bed lowers by one thickness of powder, and the
printer spreads another layer of powder and jets another pass of binder. The
cycle continues until the top layer of the model has been printed. This
process takes about five hours for a 6- by 6- by 6-inch (15- by 15- by 15centimeter-) model. The actual time depends on the solid volume of the
physical model.
When the printing is completed, a 6-inch- (15-centimeter-) tall model is
immersed 6 inches (15-centimeters) deep in powder. Raising the print bed,
you remove the "part" and vacuum-clean out the excess powder, which can
be sifted and reused.
Morphosis has adopted the practice of baking the newly "printed" model
in a small oven for about an hour at 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees
Centigrade) to finish its curing. If parts are still fragile after baking, we
manually apply a coating of epoxy or cyanoacrylate to stiffen them.
In designing the Cooper Union New Academic
Building in New York, Morphosis built a 1:1000
context model with multiple plug-in design
schemes.
Photo: Morphosis
Morphosis Prints Models
Making The Model
After printing, about 20 percent of our models need touching up. But
only 5 percent are unusable, so we consider our success rate to be high.
The firm's designers have learned to anticipate the needs of the
physical model, making, for instance, pieces no thinner than 1/10 inch
(2.5 millimeters).
The process of finishing a 3D-printed model varies according to one's
stylistic preference. Morphosis' plaster models are typically primed with a
few coats of gray spray epoxy paint and finished with one coat of spray
epoxy. We have also experimented with gilding with silver leaf, and
plating in copper and nickel baths, then oxidizing the finish to achieve a
rich patina.
The 3D-printed model of Diamond Ranch High School
after a copper bath and patina.
Photo: Morphosis
Morphosis Prints Models
How the Model Is Used
We commonly use 3D-printed models for site studies. Morphosis prints
context models at a scale of 1:200, and leaves a hole in the model base where
the building would be. These site models are sent around the globe to our
clients and design team partners.
As design progresses and multiple schemes are developed in parallel, scale
building models are "printed" and sent to the remote locations. The
recipients can insert the new designs into the hole in the base model to study
the design variation in context. Because these models can be printed
relatively quickly, it is practical to provide weekly updates.
Morphosis often "prints" many variants of a parametric model, with slight
differences, to study design changes. Being able to see two versions side by
side is sometimes more informative than viewing two renderings. It enables
us to examine spatial detail at eye level.
The unfinished 3D-printed model of Diamond Ranch
High School in Pomona, California.
Photo: Morphosis
Morphosis Prints Models
How the Model Is Used
We also make larger-scale "exploded" or diagrammatic models. Now that
we develop more information within the CAD model, finer granularity of
the physical model is feasible. We sometimes "print" parts of buildings at
1:50, so we can view them both assembled, to study the exterior, and pulled
apart, to study the interior spaces.
We also produce structural details to study in collaboration with
engineers, detailers, and contractors. Steel detailers using Tekla Xsteel
software can give us their digital models, which we can import into CAD
and prepare for 3D printing. These models help us reach a consensus that
would be more difficult to achieve from drawings.
An "exploded" 1:100 scale model for a competition for
Perth Amboy High School, New Jersey.
Photo: Morphosis
Morphosis Prints Models
Evolution of the CAD Model
One benefit of developing designs in CAD for in-house model
fabrication has been that the Morphosis designers have necessarily
improved the accuracy of their CAD modeling. And because they spend
less time building physical models, they can spend more time on design
thinking.
These models have become the primary medium for studying the
building's geometry, while drawings have become secondary. Morphosis
is increasingly working in direct collaboration with building component
fabricators — for structural and miscellaneous steel and for interior and
exterior cladding.
A Morphosis CAD model integrating a digital model from a
steel detailer.
Image: Morphosis
We are exploring ways to further develop the same digital models to
extract more detailed information, such as steel centerlines and cladding
panel sizes and configurations
Perched on top of a computer monitor displaying a CAD
detail is a "3D-printed" model of a related detail.
Photo: Morphosis
Morphosis Prints Models
Evolution of the CAD Model
We're learning that design models need to be adaptable to various
output methods. What works as input for a 3D-printed 1:100 scale model
does not work for a full-scale steel plasma cutter. We plan to take
advantage of the 3D printer's mold-printing capabilities, to make it more
efficient to cast metal parts.
Just as we apply methods to analyze our CAD models for structure,
energy, and lighting, we also want to analyze material properties. Digital
analysis of curvature and thickness needs to be available to the designer
in near-real time.
As the collaborative relationship between design team and
detailer/fabricator evolves, we also need to learn to transfer the
knowledge gained from one project to the next. It is imperative that we
have tools that enhance the designer's ability not only to conceive
complex forms, but also to think intelligently about how the final product
is made.
A group explores interior and exterior spaces of the
Wayne L. Morse U.S. Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon,
using a 1:100 model on a clear laser-cut base.
Photo: Morphosis
Morphosis Prints Models
Q&A
Thank You for Listening