Do clients like 3d printed models out of revit

[Anonymous]

A teacher of mine wants me to take a house I have done recently and out for a 3d printed models. I know Revit can do it but I feel for the printer we have the details will get lost. Is it valuable to 3d print a model when virtual reality and mixed reality headsets offer for more details. I understand its use for prototypi ng on parts but the process feels very complicated for very little return. What are your thoughts?

[barthbradley]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH-zpnoNLEU

[Anonymous]

Talking about an 8"x 10" printer not a robot and it's a few years old. He wants to do the some thing that model makers do and I was not asking for a video I was asking for opinions.

[barthbradley]

8"x10"?  Well, we're just talking scale now; aren't we?  Beats cutting, gluing and taping chipboard.  Or, are you talking about printing isometric or perspective views?  

[SteveKStafford]

The average client has no idea what they are looking at when you show them drawings. They won't admit that or tell you that. They understand some things they see but as for imagining themselves inside the building or what it will really look like standing outside...much less common than you might think. For example, my wife studied architecture so she can read/understand plans but she can't tell me what room is directly above us in our own house. Spatial awareness and recognition is not so simple nor should it be taken for granted that the people you work with or for all have it like you do, assuming you do.

All that to say, a 3D model whether printed or built by hand out of balsa wood, matt board etc will all help to communicate your design to whoever you need to convince your solution is the one they want to build.

Making models by hand is a good skill to have and it helps by making you confront another way of looking at creating what you've been imagining.

Printing (3D Printer) a scale 3D model will most likely require some adjustments to your current model otherwise you'll find small details will break off easily or melt together during printing. Talk to a couple places that do 3D printing for their advice (and or do some searching for the topic itself). They'll have practical experience you can apply to your model and ensure you aren't paying for a plastic blob. 

[Anonymous]

I have seen things out of this printer. my teacher tried to do a large model out of acad arch and he had to do a lot of reconfiguring of the model to get it to work. I am just wondering with the advances in VR and MR tech does it make sense to pull the model down walls and floors, hide the windows and doors, make the wall thinners and copy the roof to another file then hide roof in the main model. by the time you're done, you could have also exported your model to revit live, put a headset on the person and let them walk through rather than wasting a ton of plastic for something not even close to the details you just created. I wish I could find tony starks drafting table.  

[Anonymous]

I will never show a client unless they are a contractor or architect the construction drawings or flat plans. maybe a furniture plan with elevations in the complicated parts I am always trying to strengthen my renderings to look like photographs and paintings. I learn that fact ten years ago when I lost a job because I made the mistake of showing a lighting plot to a director. I get the tactile appeal and maybe the printers have advanced. Ours is older and I feel may only be good for small parts out of creo, solid works or autocad 3d.  

Have a happy new year

[SteveKStafford]

For one client, yes. Another client no. If this is a real project and you're trying to convince someone to build it...I'd try to figure out which approach will serve them best. Maybe both... You can't see through their eyes. I wouldn't be inclined to subject an older person to VR unless they tell you they enjoy gaming. If they are comfortable with gaming and computers in general then virtual might be a good place to start. They might appreciate just having a 3D printed version of their project for a conversation piece. You might find the printing process opens your own eyes and helps you avoid a design problem you haven't already seen.

Since you wrote "teacher", this is probably a school project with no real client? Since you're learning/being taught...print away. Learn from the experience. Then you'll be ready for the real thing next time.

[barthbradley]

…and sometimes you just need something tactile.  After 35+ years, I still have to pull out the Popsicle Sticks, from time to time, and build something in order to understand how it is physically put together in the real world before I can virtually build it.    

[cory.simons]

Laser-cut/scored model:

The workshop I used to work in had a CNC router, and it would use a laser to cut, scorch, engrave, etc...We could put in balsa wood, have the router cut us out our foundation, walls, and roof, but then we would put it together.  The nice thing about this is that you could show more details, such as brick lines, window panes, etc because the laser could score these detail lines in.  It looks very sharp and it very simple to assemble.  If you had to show this kind of level of details, then that could be one option.

Plastic/foamcore 3d model:

I have not used a 3d printer personally, but I would not use this for modelling unless you were going to show something solid, such as a topographical view, or a neighborhood with the mass representing each structure.  Keep in mind, you won't be able to take apart individual structures.

VR walkthrough models:

This is digital, and an effective way for your client to visualize the space.  You could make walkthroughs.  You could personalize things in the model, and show more detail in this model than a laser-cut model.  You could use a rendering plug-in, send them a personalized video experience of your walk-through, and they can take that on any smart device on the go.

In the end, it all comes down to what you are trying to present, how much detail, and whether they need digital or hard copies.  I hope this information helps.