BOSTON, Mass., USA - Today at the American Institute of Architects' 2008 National Convention and Design Exposition, Z Corporation will make the first public demonstration of the STL Exporter for the Revit platform for building information modeling (BIM). Developed by Autodesk with support from Z Corporation, this new software utility lets architects, engineers and designers easily and affordably "3D print" physical models of buildings and projects created in the Revit platform for BIM.
3D printing is the production from 3D data of physical models which are more accurate, affordable, durable and quickly produced than traditional handcrafted models. STL Exporter for the Revit Platform generates a high quality STL file from models created in Revit Architecture 2009, Revit Structure 2009 and Revit MEP 2009 software for easy 3D printing and is available now at Autodesk Labs (http://labs.autodesk.com/).
"3D printed models increasingly serve as a critical part of the design process to study design options and improve communication between project members and owners," said Emile Kfouri, Senior Platform Line Manager, Autodesk AEC Solutions. "Our customers are demanding seamless production of 3D models throughout their project life cycle especially during the initial formative design stage. STL Exporter for the Revit Platform will take full advantage of devices like those from Z Corporation, which are spearheading speed, quality and affordability in the 3D printing industry. We are also looking at other interesting ways to leverage Z Corporation's unique abilities to print even higher quality physical models."
"With this news, Autodesk is helping Revit platform users secure the business value of 3D printing, much as millions of mechanical engineers have done in the manufacturing community," said Scott Harmon, Z Corporation vice president of business development. "In this way, the Revit platform for building information modeling and 3D printing are focused on the same goals: gaining better insight earlier in the design process and rapidly iterating through different design options to improve collaboration and communication among all stakeholders."
Z Corp. is the industry leader in speed, color and affordability. Z Corp. 3D printers are the fastest commercially available 3D printers - five to 10 times faster than other technologies - and the only ones to print in multiple colors.
The Revit platform is purpose-built for building information modeling, an integrated workflow built on coordinated, reliable information about a project from design through construction and into facility management. By adopting BIM, architects, engineers, contractors and owners can easily create coordinated, digital design information and documentation; use that information to more accurately visualize, simulate, and analyze performance, appearance and cost; and reliably deliver the project faster, more economically and with reduced environmental impact.
About Z Corporation
Z Corporation makes products that enable users to capture, edit, and print 3D data with unprecedented speed, ease, versatility and affordability. These products include the world's fastest high-definition 3D printers — machines that produce physical 3D models from digital data in full color - and uniquely portable 3D scanners - handheld machines that digitize 3D surfaces in real time. Z Corp. technology is enabling a wide range of applications in manufacturing, architecture, civil engineering, reverse engineering, geographic information systems (GIS), medicine and entertainment.
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