One of the best things about 3D printing is that the technology has been used for versatile applications in a growing range of sectors. A particularly interesting example comes from the world of product design, with the work of Italian architect Marcello Ziliani, who used 3ntr’s 3D printing technology for the creation of stylish home furnishing products.

Looking at Ziliani’s work, we want to highlight a series of lamps that went into production in 2017, whose prototypes were created using one of the first 3D printers marketed by 3ntr, the A4. The professional 3D printing solution allowed Ziliani’s design studio to quickly test the quality of its creations, while maximizing the design freedom that 3D printing offers to creatives in order to create truly innovative products.

“By using 3D printing technology, we were able to build functional 1:1 scale prototypes that were presented to the customer and were used, in addition to the overall evaluation, to demonstrate the mounting system,” explained Ziliani. “It was a product intended for the contract sector—in particular hotels—and it was essential that the assembly, installation, maintenance and cleaning phases were extremely simple. The fact of having used a natural transparent polymer also allowed us to evaluate the result in terms of quality and quantity of light.”

Being able to showcase an early physical model that is highly faithful to what the finished product will be makes it easier to correct design flaws before going to production, improving the final result. Here, the real advantage of using 3D printing for prototyping lay in the reliability of 3ntr’s systems.

“As a studio, we follow the realization of the project in all phases, from the initial design to the realization of the prototype in order to verify the proportions and functionalities, up to the final presentation of the product to the customer,” added Zialiani. “On average, we need three or four prototypes for each project and it is very important to know that we can create these prototypes without having to worry about the printing process being successful.”

The example offered by Marcello Ziliani and his architectural firm offers a unique point of view in the world of 3D printing, demonstrating that there really is no limit to the possible applications of additive technologies and that an efficient solution can guarantee competitive advantages to every professional—regardless of the sector.