Case study from Massivit

As most business gurus will likely agree with, standing out from the crowd and distinguishing your offering is crucial to retaining and building your client base. Subscribing to this principle is what lead two former leading signage & display professionals to establish Australia’s first dedicated large format 3D printing house, OMUS.

According to Robert Grosso, co-owner of the Melbourne-based company, one of the main factors that led him and his business partner, Matthew Huber to re-enter the printing industry was the unique capabilities of the Massivit 1800 3D Printer. “With decades of printing expertise between us, we wanted to differentiate our proposition from other sign and display suppliers and produce applications that go beyond those that can be achieved with 2D large format printing solutions,” Grosso explains. “This is where our Massivit 1800 comes into its own. It enables us to offer our clients the most advanced, eye-catching large format visual communication in a matter of hours.” The company, based in Melbourne suburb, Bayswater, is the first Australian customer to install a Massivit 1800 and is now an established pioneer of bespoke large format 3D printed applications within the retail, staging, events and architectural design arenas. With the ability to produce objects up to 1.8m (5.9ft) high and with unparalleled print speeds of up to 35 cm (14’’) per hour, Grosso is confident that the company will be able to deliver eye-catching added-value visual communications that better engage target audiences. “Our customers are always seeking ways to push the boundaries and create promotions with stopping-power,” Grosso explains. “Our Massivit 1800 3D Printer is fundamental to achieving this. From a production perspective, the very nature of building from the ground-up not only enables us to exactly replicate our customer’s complex designs, regardless of the scale, it is also an efficient and cost-effective solution.” This boundary-pushing potential is exemplified in a recent project that saw OMUS construct what is believed to be the world’s first 3D printed pop-up retail store on behalf of luxury fashion brand, Louis Vuitton. Open for a month-long campaign in the Westfield shopping centre, Sydney, the spectacular 9m-wide, 10m-long and 2.7m-high (29.5ft x 32.8ft x 8.85ft) structure was created using the company’s Massivit 1800 3D Printer in just 18 days. The project saw OMUS work closely with Louis Vuitton’s design agency, Gold Coast Displays, to build an unforgettable superstructure that would launch Louis Vuitton’s new menswear collection. According to Grosso, given the complexity of the design and the limited time available (just three weeks from the point at which OMUS received the confirmation to go-ahead until the date of the pop-up store’s grand opening), 3D printing was the only viable manufacturing method. “Utilising the Massivit 1800’s large build-tray, we were able to 3D print supersized panels in record time,” says Grosso. “These large-scale parts allowed us to substantially accelerate our production time compared to traditional methods. In order to meet the project’s stringent deadline, OMUS enlisted the support of another Massivit 3D customer, Sydney-based, Composite Images. Utilising the Massivit 1800’s unparalleled print speed of up to 35 cm (14’’) per hour, two printers were deployed around the clock, each using dual print heads to produce two hollow panels simultaneously. This allowed the companies to achieve more than 30 panels that would serves as the walls, in a matter of days. To ensure that the panels could tolerate the massive 243m3 (797ft3) structure, OMUS 3D printed several panels with thicker walls while also inserting support ‘ribs’ into them to ensure they didn’t deform throughout the campaign. The 3D printed outlet was then covered in chrome mirror self-adhesive vinyl and adorned with distinctive Louis Vuitton-designed animal prints, reflecting the theme of the menswear collection on display. According to Grosso, Louis Vuitton and its design agency, were delighted with the final result. “3D printing completely exceeded their expectations in terms of its WOW-factor and ability to realise their original vision and radiate the opulence of the company’s new line,” he explains. For Grosso, this particular project underscores the potential of the company’s large format 3D printing firepower. “As this project demonstrates, Massivit 3D printing is fundamental to our business offering,” he says. “Thanks to the fantastic support we received from Massivit 3D we have truly unlocked the potential and unique capabilities of the Massivit 1800. With the ability to produce premium three-dimensional large format displays at a competitive price and timeframe, we are now working in new markets that were previously unattainable to us. For any supplier in this space, this is fundamental and offers terrific potential for profitable growth.”