Jun 20, 2015 | By Simon
While 3D printing has been used by architects and urban planners for years now to help communicate the kind of impact that projects will have in a specified environment, it appears that the urban planning aesthetic may be finally working its way into living rooms, offices and bedrooms, too.
ElevatedMaps, a new 3D printing service that’s being offered by Netherlands-based Elevate Graphics, has just launched as an online custom 3D printing service for creating one-of-a-kind 3D printed maps that not only serve as functional navigational pieces, but also lovely and unique pieces of artwork.
To create a custom map, users simply select an area from anywhere within the world and zoom in as far or as close as they desire to focus on a specific region. Once this region has been selected the user has the option to change the colors and appearance - such as “Minimal”, “Vintage” or “At Night” - including the layers of detail that are shown within the final, 3D printed map design. Among other choices that a user has in determining their final design includes the option of showing more modern engineering marvels such as roads and buildings or omitting them altogether in favor of the natural landscape.
Once a final map design has been decided upon, sending it off to be 3D printed is as simple as selecting the final size clicking an “order” button with no other work needed. Currently, the prices for the custom full-color 3D maps range from $108 for a 20 x 20 cm map to $393 for a 50 x 50 cm map and the company promises that the map will be delivered in just ten days.
For those who may have a special childhood memory or perhaps went on vacation to a particular location, the 3D printed maps are surely a great way of bringing those memories back to life on a daily basis while also making a living space look technologically-savvy and modern.
While experienced modelers with their own 3D printers could seemingly figure out how to make their own 3D printed maps by extruding a 2D design into a 3D model and breaking it up into smaller pieces that can print on a desktop 3D printer, it’s hard to argue that for just $108, ElevatedMaps is certainly onto something.
To order your own custom 3D printed map or to find out more, head over to ElevatedMaps.
Posted in 3D Printing Services
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