Reproducing existing roof tiles

In the Netherlands, it can be cold and windy in the autumn months. During one of those months, a storm tore a roof tile of the house of one of our clients. Unfortunately the manufacturer of these tiles did not make the specific tile anymore. Next to 3D printing, injection moulding could be an option to reproduce the tiles, however this is very expensive. This is why our client chose to contact 3Delft.

Because of the complexity of the object our first step was to scan the roof tiles in order to create a 3D file. Due to the fact, we wanted to ensure that the tiles would have a long lifetime, we chose to use PETG as a material. PETG has a lot of useful characteristics like it does not degrade under the influence of UV radiation and withstand other influences like the weather, compared to standard PLA. Therefore, it was the perfect material.

After printing the tiles, some post-processing was necessary to ensure that the prints were watertight. The roof tiles were given two epoxy layers to make them look better and to ensure that water cannot get inside the product. 

During this interesting order we gained a lot of knowledge such as the 3D scanning of existing objects and the importance of post processing. Therefore we would like to thank our client for giving us this opportunity to learn and grow as a company.