Frank Heyder, CEO at hpl structural.
Frank Heyder, CEO at hpl structural
hpl structural, a German engineering and construction bureau, has been using FELIXprinters desktop machines to produce scale models of building site designs.
The company acquired a FELIX material extrusion 3D printer earlier this year after recognising the potential the technology had in demonstrating some of the complex geometries involved in many of its projects. Beforehand, producing scale models was rare because of the costs involved, so hpl structural would typically only inspect the design on the screen in digital CAD programs. Yet the benefits of having a physical model in front of themselves and their clients, which would enable them to better understand and visualise the project, were abundantly clear.
After ordering some test 3D prints externally, hpl’s expectations were immediately met, and soon after the company purchased its first in-house 3D printer. Harnessing the FELIX TEC 4, the company began printing scale models of building sites and complex joint connections. One of its more recent uses of the machine was a 1:50 model kit of its Steinhavel lock renovation project, which involves building a large dam and will require all of the water to be taken out to allow the workers to do their job safely.
hpl has been in charge of the planning phases before local authority approval was granted, and also for creating a design that would allow all the required work to be carried out in a safe and efficient manner. A key aspect of those works is the excavators and cranes getting as close as possible to the excavation site. To illustrate how this could be done, hpl designed and printed a 1:50 scale model kit of the building site, including the wall in which excavators will need to stand on, and the vehicles which will be used. All the parts produced for the model are magnetic and can be rearranged on the baseplate so the team could arrive at the best possible plan ahead of the works being carried out.
Since bringing 3D printing in-house, hpl’s CEO, Frank Heyder has said he has identified a number of other possible applications for the technology within the business. He has also assembled a tension test machine to accurately establish the strength and flexibility of the 3D printed parts and assess suitable materials for small functional parts.
“Having a 3D printed model made it much ‘easier for the brain’ to understand the complex geometries [we were dealing with,” commented Heyder. “Looking back, I could have solved quite a lot of details much easier with a 3D printed model, especially some tricky sealing details.”
