Bringing Architectural Designs to Life with 3D Printing

Faulkner Industrial brings the digital world of architectural design to life with 3D Printing. Garrett Faulkner, Founder and CEO of Faulkner Industrial, has been around architecture his entire life but wasn’t introduced to the 3D printing world until he took an automated manufacturing, CNC, and 3D printing class in college. He quickly realized that he needed to find a way to incorporate 3D Printing technology into architecture.

He seized the opportunity by starting Faulkner Industrial, which offers customers 3D printing and architectural file fixing services with quick turnaround times. “The advantage of 3D printing models over classic balsa and cork architectural models is huge. Models that formally took weeks to produce can be completed in 2-3 days with 3D Printing” Garrett explains. This drastic improvement in lead-time encourages iteration in the design process by allowing architects to quickly see their design changes in a 3D printed model.

Challenges of 3D Printing Architectural Models

Garrett started using the default slicer that came with his 3D printer and remembers, “I had lots of failed models and a lot of wasted PLA. Support material was either all-or-nothing and to make matters worse, I ruined several big prints during the support removal stage. That frustration is what eventually led me to purchase Simplify3D.”

Bringing the Digital World to the Physical

With a business model based on a fast turnaround time, Garrett cannot afford time wasted on failed prints. He was quickly impressed with the amount of customizable Simplify3D settings, “It has been a joy to work with the amount of parameters Simplify3D lets me control.” Some of Garrett’s favorite Simplify3D features include:

• Version 4.0 Bridging Settings – “The latest 4.0 release included some unexpectedly useful bridging features. You can bend the rules on these FDM printers and cover small gaps. With the suspension of the fans during this bridging, my success rate has gone up. This feature allows me to print more complete models rather than cutting up in CAD and gluing together after the fact, creating a faster, literally seamless model.”
• Printing Small Features – “I stumbled upon single extrusion walls in the latest release and was blown away.  This is amazing and is enabling me to print even smaller more intricate features. Seriously a game changer!”

• Reducing Failed Prints – “The ability to preview your tool paths has allowed me to make sure all the super small intricate features are visible prior to send the file to the printer.”
• Multiple Processes – “I frequently use multiple operations in my prints to save time. Starting the model at 5% infill offers a couple advantages – it speeds up the print  and also lays down a little less PLA, which reduces the warping forces. Toward the tops of the models, I go up to 10% infill to ensure high quality without holes in the surface of the model.”

Due to success with 3D printing, Faulkner Industrial continues to grow and plans to add more 3D Printers to keep up with demand. You can check out more of Faulkner Industrial projects on their Instagram page: @faulkner_industrial3d.

Want to see what other users are 3D printing in the Simplify3D community? Be sure to check out our blog where we feature some of our customer’s coolest projects every month. What are you creating with Simplify3D? Share your story with us at stories@simplify3d.com.