Jul 6, 2016 | By Benedict
Eco Concrete Ideas, an architectural concrete manufacturer, has used paper 3D printing technology from Israeli cutting and creasing specialist Highcon to develop Morpheus, a two-meter concrete bench cast in a mold made from 4,000 layers of recycled paperboard. It will be exhibited at World Design Capital Taipei this summer.
Whether you prefer to call it “3D printing” or not, the incredible cutting and creasing technology used by Highcon (and 3D paper printer company Mcor) represents an increasingly important part of the 3D modeling universe. Highcon, founded in 2009 by Aviv Ratzman and Michael Zimmer, creates cutting and creasing machines which turn stacks of paper, even regular 80GSM A4 office paper, into 3D objects by precisely trimming and creasing each page and stacking it upon the next. The company’s machines are capable of creating 3D sculptures, artworks, and even furniture—a capability that was demonstrated at drupa 2016, and which has now been taken to a new level by Eco Concrete Ideas.
Also founded in 2009, architectural innovator Eco Concrete Ideas has since become a leader in its field, and its latest creation uses Highcon’s paper 3D printing (Rapid Layer Manufacturing) technology to create an object that is both stylish and functional. While Highcon has been keen to point out that its technology can be used to create actual paper furniture, Eco Concrete Ideas has used the Israeli company’s 3D printing technology in a rather different way: Morpheus, a two-meter bench, is made from concrete, but was cast in a mold made from 4,000 sheets of recycled board, expertly cut and creased using a Highcon machine with no adhesive between layers.
According to Highcon, Morpheus took just three weeks to produce, from first concept to completion. Skitza Print, a Highcon customer in Israel, used a Highcon Euclid cutting and creasing machine to produce the mold in just a few hours. The recycled paperboard mold was then filled with concrete and left to set, after which the paper was quickly removed and sent back for recycling. Eco Concrete Ideas estimates that, while no other production method could have produced an item exactly like Morpheus, making a similar piece would have been around ten times more expensive than the Highcon method, taking months rather than days.
Using the Highcon Euclid digital finishing machine with a dedicated 3D Modeling workflow solution that converts standard 3D models into separate layers, Eco Concrete Ideas was able to produce a large mold in a short time and at relatively little cost, creating complex structures and textures that would have been difficult or even impossible to replicate using other technologies. As such, the concrete expert believes that the 3D printing technology used by Highcon represents a huge opportunity for the architectural world: “The collaboration with Highcon, combining design and technology, unleashes a whole new world of potential freedom and creativity for architects and designers,” said Elad Gerufi, Co-owner of Eco Concrete Ideas.
Eco Concrete Ideas will present the Morpheus bench at “Creative Roughness - Contemporary Israeli Design”, one of a number of exhibitions being held during World Design Capital Taipei 2016, which runs from July 9 until August 14.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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incredible - think it is a revolution !!