Design studio Urban Scale Interventions (USI) was commissioned to renovate the Belfast, Capital of Northern Ireland site. The team had a brilliant idea: to use 3D printing technology to bring local history to life. Too abstract, right? Let's take a look:
Winecellar Entry, the city's oldest pub, was once a bustling and famous tourist hotspot. To revitalize the community, the USI team drew inspiration from "lighting" and focused on sustainable, fun, interactive, and safe design principles.
From designing the model to starting production, the USI team continuously modified and adjusted the shape and function, and conducted comprehensive testing and experiments throughout the manufacturing process, completely changing the production efficiency of the product.
There were a total of 43 designed spheres in 3 sizes, but even the smallest size was too large for a 3D printer to build in terms of volume (330 x 240 x 300 mm). So the spheres were made in segments using 3D printing ; the smaller size had 3 parts and the larger size had up to 15 parts. The team had to complete 450 parts within a tight deadline.
The USI team used three Ultimaker S5 3D printers as the main production machines for this huge challenge, using transparent PETG filaments made from recycled plastic (up to 89% of 3D printing filaments are made from recycled materials).
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team's factory in Ireland was forced to shut down, facing a crisis of not meeting delivery deadlines. The production team moved the Ultimaker S5 3D printer to a backup studio, successfully resolving the production issues. The architect of this project stated that in addition to the ability to move the 3D printer freely, the Cura software and Digital Factory cloud operating system in the Ultimaker backend acted like an extra pair of hands, ensuring the project could continue even under the constraints of pandemic-related isolation, providing a clear understanding of the project's progress, and allowing for timely resolution of situations and problems. ( Click here: Ultimaker's Five Major Systems Collection, the Top Choice for Enterprise Software! )
"Thanks to the Ultimaker 3D printer , even companies that aren't advanced manufacturing experts can execute the entire production line process from design to manufacturing." - Ralf Alwani, co-founder of USI
Did you enjoy this sharing? Combining industrial-grade 3D printing with street art is a brand new design spark. Unrestricted by size or delivery time, and even undeterred by the pandemic, Ultimaker 3D printers can meet the needs of various businesses. Contact us now to learn more about the full range of Ultimaker 3D printers .