Making a difference

Why 3D printing is growing in popularity among region’s architects, engineers

BY KRIS BEVILL

The rapidly advancing three-dimensional (3D) printing industry is making its mark in the architecture and engineering industries as printers have become more affordable and userfriendly, perhaps sparking a sea change in the way building and engineering projects are designed and pitched for clients. It’s too early to say how widely adopted the technology will become locally, but several firms have recently added 3D printers to their offices and higher education institutions are making 3D printers a part of students’ daily lives in recognition of the vast potential for this exciting new technology.

‘Cool tool’

Fargo, N.D.-based Stroh Architects and Interiors has been using a MakerBot Replicator for a few months, producing 3D models of projects both for internal use and as visual aids for clients. Terry Stroh, founder and principal of the firm, says he purchased the machine after seeing one at global architecture, engineering and construction firm HDR Inc.’s office in St. Paul. He was impressed with the quality and potential usefulness of the printer, and was pleasantly surprised that it only cost about $2,000. “I bought one right away,” he says, adding that the firm recently ordered a second printer. “It’s just been a really cool tool,” he says. “It’s so much better than a drawing.”

Stroh’s firm recently used the machine to produce 3D models for the new Fargo City Hall to show various options and forms for the proposed project. At one meeting, the firm distributed three 3D concepts for city committee members to examine. Stroh says committee members commented that the models were fun and easy to look at and understand. “You can put up renderings and things, and obviously we had those, but when people can touch and feel it’s a huge difference in terms of communicating a project,” he says.

Without 3D printers, architects sometimes build models by hand for clients, but it’s a time-consuming process. Stroh says the 3D printer offers a faster method of creating conceptual models.

Being an early adopter of 3D technology could give his firm a competitive advantage, but only “until everybody else gets one,” Stroh says. “And at the price that they are, I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t.”

Bismarck, N.D.-based übl Design Group purchased its 3D printer, also a MakerBot model, about nine months ago. Principal Jeff Ubl says his team initially became interested in the technology to produce physical models of their 3D designs for clients, but they have also used it internally to study projects. He sees potential to use it for modeling specific details within a building to better describe them to contractors, or for specific product development or even furniture design.

“We’re still in that infancy, if you will, of learning what potential the printer has,” he says. “There may be other things that we haven’t discovered yet because we haven’t played with it enough.”

Both Stroh and Ubl say their staff members love using the machines and have found them to be relatively easy to use and maintain. “Like any piece of technology, you have to embrace it and have fun with it and play with it,” Ubl says.

Stroh agrees. “It’s kind of like going to work and playing all day long,” he says. “We’ve had some disasters and then we’ve had some successes.”

Education and Exploration

North Dakota State University’s architecture and landscape architecture department has been utilizing 3D printers for more than a year and provided Stroh and Ubl with advice when they began considering adding them to their firms.

Ben Bernard is the department’s computer services specialist and oversees the department’s 3D printer lab, which opened in December 2012 and currently includes six MakerBot printers, available for use by any of the department’s approximately 300 students.

It was a recent NDSU graduate who introduced Stroh to the 3D printer at HDR. Several of Ubl’s staff members were NDSU students when its 3D lab initially opened and brought that experience with to the firm, which led Ubl to explore the device and eventually purchase one.

That is exactly the kind of result Bernard hopes to achieve through the lab. Bernard was one of several speakers who participated in a recent NDSU Extension Services demo to introduce 3D printing to interested parties in Bismarck, N.D. About 80 high school students, educators, engineers and a variety of other professionals attended the seminar, including Bismarck-based engineering firm KLJ, which is researching the potential use of 3D printers at the firm. The company became interested in 3Dtechnology late last year and purchased four Cubify Cube 3D printers, three of which it immediately donated to Marketplace for Kids to support the organization’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs. The firm kept one printer in-house for staff to begin learning the technology and to support Marketplace for Kids activities. Emily Johnson, KLJ corporate executive director, says the firm opted for Cube printers because they are portable and designed for home or classroom use. As they identify professional uses, KLJ is considering purchasing a more advanced model. A small team has been researching options for how best to use 3D printers and has come up with some good ideas, she says, adding that she believes being an early adopter of 3D technology will certainly give the firm a competitive edge and the firm hopes to implement the technology soon.

“I think people like to see presentations that are outside of the box and I think 3D printing is innovative and exciting,” she says. “People are looking for ways to connect with their project, with their consultants and engineers, and we look to this as a way to make that happen.”

At Your Service

NDSU, Stroh and Ubl all purchased their printers and supplies directly from MakerBot, based in Brooklyn, N.Y., because there were no local distributors at the time they purchased their machines. That changed with the January launch of Fargo 3D Printing, a MakerBot distribution company owned by John Schneider and Jake Clark.

Clark says the inspiration to launch Fargo 3D Printing stemmed from his experience using a MakerBot printer in his

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