Platonics is a Finnish startup that launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance architects’ first 3D printer, the Platonics Ark. A molten material deposition machine designed to facilitate printing and make it fast and efficient for architects.
Although the relationship between 3D printing and architecture grows stronger every day, no one had yet specialized in miniatures of the different buildings that are now possible to build. Most projects see things in a big way, with skyscrapers or even houses of 300 m² printed in 3D. Platonics was therefore interested in the development of models and created its 3D printer after two years of R&D.
“A three-dimensional model says more than a thousand representations and drawings,” explains the startup. A traditional model often requires a lot of effort and time and is only done once or twice during the project. With 3D printing, you can use scale models efficiently at every step of the design process. ”
The startup claims that the Platonics Ark is better equipped than any printer on the market for architectural work: it has interacted with hundreds of architects all over the world and carried out tests with five major architectural firms. Finnish. After this trial period, Platonics was able to make the final adjustments and adjustments.
The company decided to automate the majority of the processes to facilitate access for architects who do not have much experience with 3D printing. Platonics Arks automatically converts CAD files to 3D printable STL files while fixing internal design errors. It self-calibrates, configures and cleans itself automatically. It features filament detection and a web application to guide the user.
Platonics Ark offers other great features like automatic print bed leveling, minimum layer resolution of 60 microns, and nozzle temperature between 170-250 ° C. The 3D printer can print different materials like copper, bronze, clay, granite, wood or even concrete.
The Indiegogo campaign ends in ten days and the startup has already raised 66% of its initial goal. If you want to help finance the 3D printer, you can get it from € 2,095. For 2,575 € the package includes CAD complements for Archicad, Revit, Rhino, Vectorworks and Sketchup. And for € 2,995, investors will receive, on top of all that, one year of premium support from Platonics. The startup only delivers in the European Union for the moment, with an arrival expected in May 2018.
Can the Platonics Ark 3D printer help architects better design their models? Share your opinion in the comments of the article or with members of the 3Dnatives forum.