Loading...It may look like a fancy doll’s house but the 3D model of Nathanial Page’s home is an educational tool and set to be used on the popular show ‘This Old House’.
The Colonial house in Bedford Massachusetts, which the show discovered dates from around 1720, not 1687 as the owners previously thought, is on the country’s list of historic places. The house is being restored and featured on the show but as the show ends the long term renovations are still on-going. The 3D model will be used to show the house in a way that couldn’t be done with the real thing including the future plans as well as stripping back the extensions that have been added since Nathanial Page’s time.
3D models of homes and renovations are becoming something hat architects regularly use to get across the ideas to a client or to other stakeholders and so it made sense for the show This Old House to use models in the same way to get the idea and concepts of a renovation across to audiences. In fact the programs makers plan to use 3D models again and like most architects they will use a 3D printing service based on a ZPrinter by Z Corporation. Z Corporation is the industry leader in 3D printing services in general and architects models and prototype models for products are a big part of their business.
ZCorporation’s Z Printers have the huge advantage that they print in color and great detail so that a model is printed ready to be used: there is no extra work except blowing off the excess resin. The excess resin powder can be reused as well meaning no waste and a much cheaper and more efficient 3D printing service than using other printers on the market.
When compared to a hand made model for architecture or a show like This Old House a 3D Printing Service’s speed is much quicker of course and far less man hours are involved, ideal with tight filming deadlines. The accuracy is also far superior; all of the details from the architects 3D plans on their computer can be printed and the scale will be perfect as well. To get the best results especially for a renovation the original files can also use a 3D scanner to perfectly compliment a 3D printing service so that what you end up printing is a copy of the house in miniature with the planned changes added. The model even included a detailed interior and a removable roof and removable second floor so all the detail could be seen. Being a 3D printed item though only 14 pieces were needed to make the model and the ZPrinters are capable of creating internal as well as external detail.
Although This Old House do plan to use 3D printing services again this time the model actually already existed. The model had been made and used by the house’s owner and Z Corporation vice president Kevin O’Connor who even managed to get a piece into the program about how 3D printing works.