Massivit 3D Helps Create World’s First 3D-printed Retail Store During Christmas Season
January 2, 2017 | Tony Curcio
Massivit 3D Printing Technologies (Lod, Israel) has announced that its customer, OMUS (a specialist 3D printer in Australia) has constructed what is believed to be the world’s first 3D-printed, pop-up retail store on behalf of luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton.
Thirty panels in 18 days
The eye-catching 9-metre-wide, 10-metre-long and 2.7-metre-high (29.5 ft. x 32.8 ft. x 8.85 ft.) structure was created using OMUS’ recently-installed Massivit 1800 3D Printer that produced 30 panels in just 18 days and captured the imagination of shoppers at Sydney’s Westfield Shopping Centre until it closed December 18.
According to Robert Grosso, co-owner of Melbourne-based OMUS, working with Louis Vuitton’s design agency (Gold Coast Displays), the company was tasked to produce a “statement mega-structure” that would serve as an attention-grabbing platform for the premiere of the brand’s latest menswear collection. “Having received the design brief, we essentially needed to produce a visually-stunning, structurally-sound outlet that could endure sustained use in a busy public environment – and in record time,” Grosso explained. “Given the complexity of the design and the short turnaround time, 3D printing was really the only viable production method available to us.”
To assist with the print job, OMUS enlisted the help of another Massivit 3D customer, Sydney-based Composite Images. Utilizing the Massivit 1800’s “unrivaled” print speed of up to 35 cm (14’’) per hour, two printers were deployed around the clock, each using dual printheads to produce two hollow panels simultaneously. A total of 30 panels were 3D printed in 18 days and served as the walls of the pop-up outlet.
Once created, OMUS placed solid support ‘ribs’ in each panel to ensure the weight of the huge 243 m3 (797 ft.3) structure could be tolerated. The entire display was then finished in chrome mirror self-adhesive vinyl, and adorned with distinctive Louis-Vuitton-designed animal prints matching the theme of the menswear collection on display.
“Louis Vuitton and its design agency were delighted with the finished result. It surpassed their expectations in terms of its striking visual appeal and realized their original vision to radiate the opulence of the company’s safari-inspired men’s line,” Grosso added. “Their staff was also happy to explain to visitors how 3D printing was pivotal to the project and how it encapsulated Louis Vuitton’s innovative and fresh-thinking attitude.”
