Props and set pieces

Large, with seams all but gone, and built for a week at a trade show.

Props, set pieces, trade fair models and demo builds. Built up in sections, bonded into one piece and finished until the seams are all but gone.

A technical part disappears inside a machine and is judged on what it does. A prop, a set piece or a fair model gets looked at and handled, often up close and often under lights. There, something else counts: the shape, the surface and the seams.

Almost always such a piece is also bigger than one build plate. So it is built up in sections without losing dimensions, bonded into one piece, and then worked back until you cannot see where the parts meet. We use ASA for this, a material that can be filled with its own solvent and then sanded smooth.

What it comes down to

Large, seams all but gone, and on time.

Bigger than the plate

The piece is split where a seam can be worked away afterwards, not where it happens to fall. Every section is printed on its own and then joined until the dimensions of the whole are right again.

Finished until the seam is all but gone

The seam is filled with ASA dissolved in acetone: the same material as the piece itself, so the filler becomes part of it instead of sitting on top. Then sanded until the surface runs through and the seam is all but gone. We do the sanding; if you want it lacquered as well, that runs through a fixed paint partner on request.

What it has to survive

A close-up, a shooting day, a fair week and the transport to get there. Say in advance whether it will be carried, hung or touched, because that decides how it is built on the inside.

Seen here

Large format work from the shop.

Raw off the printer Raw printed turquoise triangular frame on the workbench, with a tape measure beside it and clamps below.
Finished The finished white triangular frame with a PC build inside it, in front of a white brick wall with a neon sign.
Show build: frame and finished result.
Raw off the printer Raw printed grey pedestal in sections on the workbench, the seams between the sections still visible.
Finished The finished pedestal carrying a PC case, now in Las Vegas.
Show build: pedestal and finished result.

Design: MP Customized (Instagram Facebook)

Large format print on the build plate, printed in one piece.
Large format piece, printed in one go on the build plate.
Large costume piece on the build plate, support structures still attached.
Large costume piece, support structures still attached.
The owner in the workshop, smiling, holding a large printed red lobster.
In the workshop in Kruisem.

Typical work: props and set pieces for film and television, window and trade fair models, demo builds, enclosures and life-size display pieces. Work from this workshop now stands in Las Vegas.

What we need: the file. We start from your model, because we do not draw organic shapes ourselves. Splitting it into printable sections is our job, so you do not have to prepare that. Tell us the final size, the date it has to be there, and whether it still gets sprayed, because that decides how far we take the finish.

A piece that gets seen?

With a 3D file, the quote tool shows your price straight away. Under "extra information", add the final size, the date it has to be there and whether it will be painted afterwards. If your file is larger than 100 MB, email it to info@nworks3d.be.