Combined Presentation by John Lee (ABC Imaging) & Michael Higgins (Summit Terragraphics) at the Blue Marble Users Group 2015.

1. Blue Marble Users Group 2015
Combined Presentations from John Lee
(ABC Imaging) and Michael Higgins
(Summit Terragraphics, Inc.)

2. 3-D Printing Color Raised-Relief
Terrains from Global Mapper
By John Lee
BMUC October 2015

3. 3D Services at ABC Imaging
3D print management
ABC3D
Pickup or delivery from local
ABC 3D print center Laser cutting & CNC
routing complimenting
3D printing
3D scanning of buildings &
structures to document
existing conditions
ABC3DSERVICES
CAD/BIM data repair
and conversion

4. ABC 3D Service Hubs
Seattle
Irvine
Bay Area
(Concord)
New York
City
Washington
DC
Chicago
(opening soon)
US Shops
International: Shanghai, London3D,
Frankfurt, Dubai3D
3D Print
Hub

5. Dimensions FDM on ABS
CJP – Color Jet Printing
ABC Imaging 3D printing options
High Resolution
w/ diverse polymer resins

6. • Some people have trouble visualizing in 3D from renderings.
• Tactile maps foster interaction.
• Easy mark-up and viewing from all angles.
• Can be an artistic installation in the office, a lobby or home.

7. Additive manufacturing is defined as the process of joining materials to make
objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive
manufacturing methodologies. (ASTM F2792)
Conventional manufacturing techniques are mostly subtractive.
You start with a block or panel of material and cut, route, etch and grind away
material to make your object. Or sheets of material are deformed around a
mold.

8. MIT Professor Neil Gershenfeld: “Additive fabrication technologies are to
subtractive technologies as potters are to sculptors.”
Among the advantages in many industrial niches and design practices:
 Complex geometry with internal cavities impossible to fabricate by any other
method.
 Setup/Tooling cost and time needed for a new unique design is much less.
 Generally less material waste.
 Manufacture parts on demand, as needed. No need for keeping inventory
and shipping. Local manufacturing.

9.  Not for mass production; it’s for mass customization.
 The flip side of the quick setup and low tooling cost is that if you want to
mass produce a design, the 1,000th copy costs essentially the same as the
1st copy in terms of materials and machine time. No economies of scale.
 Poor substitute for traditional manufacturing in some cases. Earliest 3D
Printers were used for rapid prototyping mostly.
 While there’s great freedom of geometry, there is a limit to the shapes that
the various 3D printing processes can make.
 High material costs can make larger parts prohibitively expensive. “Razor
and Blades” business model pervades the industry. With few exceptions you
must buy proprietary materials from the machine manufacturer.

10.  The more capable the machine, the higher the learning curve.
 File preparation is especially intensive for detailed architectural scale models.
 Every type of AM process has a post-processing step. Mostly this involves removing
support material (scaffolding) and may involve applying infiltrate hardeners. Can be
labor intensive for large and detailed model parts. Often requires additional
equipment like lab ovens, ultraviolet light ovens, water pick stations and bathing units

11.  The more capable the machine, the higher the learning curve.
 File preparation is especially intensive for detailed architectural scale models.
 Every type of AM process has a post-processing step. Mostly this involves removing
support material (scaffolding) and may involve applying infiltrate hardeners. Can be
labor intensive for large and detailed model parts. Often requires additional
equipment like lab ovens, ultraviolet light ovens, water pick stations and bathing units

12. Per ASTM International Committee F42:
Seven AM Process Categories
i. Binder Jetting* (multi color capable)
ii. Directed Energy Deposition
iii. Material Extrusion
iv. Material Jetting
v. Powder Bed Fusion
vi. Sheet Lamination* (multi color capable)
vii. Vat Photopolymerization
And within some of the categories,
there are three classes of machine models.
o Production
o Professional
o Personal

13. $100k to $1 million
Installation area may need HVAC and electrical outfitting.
Chamber sizes up to around 3 feet x 3 feet x 2 feet. Operator training required.
Used mainly by large engineering firms and service bureaus located in industrial areas of
mid-sized cities.

14. $20k to $80k
Designed to be office friendly, to varying degrees.
Chamber sizes typically not more than 14 inches in any dimension.
Service contracts are offered. Proprietary robust driver software.
Used mainly by design professionals, universities and service bureaus located
in large cities.

15. $1k to $3k
For hobbyists and tinkerers. Mainly the material extrusion process. Only
simple massing models are possible. Some simple end-use mechanical
parts can be made.
No onsite machine service is available. Driver software is open source in
many cases. Not as reliable as pro-level or production level machines.

16. • an additive manufacturing process in which a liquid bonding agent is
selectively deposited to join powder materials
• Color-Jet Printing (Zprinting) is one of the two multi color/texture map
capable processes. Production and Pro level machines only.
• Some processes use powdered stainless steel and plastic powder
• Good speed – and entire layer is solidified in several gantry passes can
nesting multiple models both horizontal and vertical
• Can even nest parts inside of larger hollow parts
• Raw parts are porous. Intricate geometry is possible.

17. ExOne metal process can be used for custom architectural fixtures like door handles,
murals and fixtures.

18. Advantages of Color-Jet Printing
• Fastest 3D printer build time on the market
• Lowest cost material and operating costs
• Detailed models convey your design effectively
• Model parts can be infiltrated with different resins
depending on the application
• Potential to print in multi color including textures
• Can create several iterations of the same design
quickly nested in the same build cycle

19. VIDEO: Color Jet Printing (CJP)

20. CJP- City of Rockville, MD

21. CJP + Dry-Mounted 2D Plot

22. CJP – Permitting Model

23. CJP from contours

24. CJP from DEM

25. CJP from CAD+Ortho
Reagan Nat’l Airport

26. CJP Shaded Terrain

27. Geologic Model-Dam Abutment

28. Dam Abutment Major Joints

29. Dam Abutment Major Joints Mesh Prep
Several removal pieces connect by dowels.

30. Hydro-electric dam abutment joints model assembled.
CJP

31. Hydro-electric dam abutment joints model assembled.
CJP

32. • an additive manufacturing process in which sheets of material are bonded to
form an object
• MCOR process uses common office paper and is multi color capable.
Capable of simple massing models only.
• Some other industrial machines weld very thin metal sheets with ultrasonic
vibration.

33. MCOR Paper 3DP Video #1

34. MCOR Paper 3DP Video #2

35. MCOR

36. File formats from Global Mapper for color 3DP
VRML (.wrl) Export web format menu
Or
PLY (polygon file) Export 3D format menu.
Before you send the file:
See scale, vertical exaggeration and other design
considerations in the Summit Terragraphics presentation.

37. Presented by:
Michael Higgins
Summit Terragraphics Inc.
BMUC
October 2015
www.summitmaps.com

38. “Flat” methods of presenting terrain can be very effective – as
shown in the samples below. But at times using a 3D model
greatly eases interpretation of complex terrain, particularly for
the untrained eye.
Contour Lines
Shaded Relief
Elevation Color-Ramp
Combined Topo – Shaded
Relief

39. The original National Park
Service 2D flat map of Glacier
Bay National Park is shown at
right. Summit very effectively
converted this map to a raised-
relief format shown below.
Notice on the raised-relief map
how easy it is to quickly
understand and interpret the
complex and rugged terrain.

40. Sampling of products:
At left, the National Park
Service Denali map, converted
to 3D raised-relief map format.
At right, a raised-relief map of
a private property in North
Carolina.

41. Sampling of products:
At right, a raised-relief map of
Kabul, Afghanistan and
surrounding area, produced for
the US Army.
At right, a large raised-
relief map of the Arctic
Circle, modeling the
ocean bathymetry as
well as the land
topography.

42. Summit is a leading designer and manufacturer of thermoformed
raised-relief maps and Solid Earth Models for National Parks and
recreation areas, government/military, corporations, and
individuals.
Up to 50” x 35” 3D area.
Up to 3” – 4” of relief.
Key Technology -- 3D printed thermoform terrain molds –
extreme resolution and accuracy with economical cost.
Key Advantage – low cost 3D map production once
design/tooling is complete.

43. 3D Printed Solid Earth Models
Pros:
 Very high terrain
shape fidelity –
particular in
steep/deep areas
 Very good image-
terrain registration.
Cons:
 Significant cost for
each model.
 Limited print
resolution and color.

44. Printed & thermoformed plastic sheets
Pros:
 High print image
quality.
 Accurate terrain
modeling.
 Low per map
production cost.
Cons:
 Significant tooling
costs.
 Image registration &
deep valleys/canyons
challenging at times.

45. Typical Work Flow for a Summit Terragraphics
Thermoformed Raised-Relief Map Project
Customer Requirements
– Extent, Scale, Format
Source/Generate
Map Image
• Earth-Imagery
Base layer
• Color-
Illustrated
Base Layer
• Vector Graphic
Overlays
Collect/Process
Elevation Data
NED, SRTM, Lidar,
…
Construct
Terrain
Thermoform
Mold
(3D printing/
composite
lamination)
Print - Review
Map – Wide-
format digital
printing on flat
vinyl sheet
Thermoform
Prototype
Raised-
Relief Map
Customer Prototype
Review -- adjust graphics
as needed.
Print &
Thermoform
Production
Raised-
Relief Maps
2 Weeks 2 - 4 Weeks 1 Week 1 - 2 Weeks
Customer Print Image
Review -- adjust graphics
as needed.

46. Typical Work Flow for a Summit Terragraphics 3D
Printed “Solid Earth Model” Map Project
Customer Requirements
– Extent, Scale, Format
Source/Generate
Map Image
• Earth-Imagery
Base layer
• Color-
Illustrated
Base Layer
• Vector Graphic
Overlays
Collect/Process
Elevation Data
NED, SRTM, Lidar,
…
3D Print Color
Tiles
Print - Review
Map – Wide-
format digital
printing on
paper, full size.
2 Weeks 2 Weeks 1 Week 1 - 2 Weeks
Customer Print Image
Review -- adjust graphics
as needed.
Composite
Reinforce and
Laminate Tiles
into full model

47. Horizontal Scale: Summit Terragraphics has worked across a
wide range…
From 1:4,000 (Torrey Pines, to right)
To 1:5,700,000 (Arctic Circle, below)
To 1:33,000,000
(Mini US map, to
Left) Most
Most of Summit’s
projects are:
1:50,000 to 1:500,000

48. Vertical Scale and Exaggeration: Summit Terragraphics has worked
across a wide range.
From .80x
(private ranch,
shown at right)
To 15x (Arctic Circle)
To 35x
(mini US
Map)

49. The optimal vertical scale and exaggeration are dependent
on both terrain geometry and scale. The data points
plotted below show the vertical exaggeration selected for
a variety of map projects.
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
0 100000 200000 300000 400000 500000 600000 700000 800000
Vertical Exaggeration vs. Horizontal Scale
Vert Exag
High
Exaggeration
Average
Exaggeration
Low
Exaggeration
Most
often
1.5x to
3x
1x
11,000’ drop over
8 miles =
.26 Height/Rad
2x
3x
4x
Mt Rainier
6x

50. Kauai Raised-
Relief Map and
Solid Earth
Model Project
1:60,000 horizontal scale
2x vertical exaggeration
Hawaii State Plane 4 projection
10m sat image base layer
10m NED DEM

51. Kauai Raised-
Relief Map and
Solid Earth
Model Project
Thermoformed Plastic RRM
40” x 30”
3D Printed Solid Earth Model
20” x 15”