Boston CityPrint D-15

thingiverse

Finally - you can download and 3D print the terrain and buildings for any part of Boston, or all of it! These 1km x 1km tiles cover the entire city, leaving no building unaccounted for. First, use the map at the BPDA 3D Smart Model site (link below) to locate your tile. Then, head to our Collection of tiles (link below) and find the code ("J-9" for example). Finally, just download and print! We recommend using white PLA, setting layer heights to 0.2mm, with 4 top and 2 bottom layers, and applying a little retraction to prevent stringing between buildings. Alternatively, if you'd like a set of printed and finished tiles, please contact us for pricing. The geometry is measured in mm, so printing it as-is will yield a 100x100mm (4"x4") tile at 1:10,000 scale. At this scale, all of Boston would be 6 feet high and 7.5 feet wide. If you print it 200% size, the model will be 1:5,000 scale and each tile will measure 200x200mm (8"x8"). If you printed every tile, the resulting map would be 12.5 feet high and 15 feet wide! In fact, this is a collaborative project with the CityPrint initiative, which can be seen in progress at the Boston Society for Architecture Space at 290 Congress St. All models come equipped with four cylindrical holes at the bottom, which perfectly accept 6mm diameter, 1mm thick disc magnets when the piece is printed to original size. We recommend gluing two or four Neodymium magnets into those spaces - the magnets cost approximately 20 cents each from various online retailers. Two will provide a sufficient grip for a refrigerator, while four offers a strong hold. Scuff the top (glued side) of the magnet with 100 grit sandpaper for better adhesion. If you print the piece at 1:5,000 scale, you'll need to use 12mm diameter by 2mm thick disc magnets. While the BPDA site already has 3D models of all terrain and building geometry in various formats, none of those are ready for 3D printing due to gaps, holes, and overlaps. We've done the necessary work so you don't have to. Just download and print any tile at home, or contact us for pricing. MiniCty offers remarkably detailed, professionally 3D printed cityscapes for dozens of US and world cities, utilizing data far more detailed than what's seen in these tiles. Check out our web site (link below) to see our work. This project wouldn't have been possible without the freely available data from the Boston Planning & Development Agency (provided without warranty) and support from Artists For Humanity. The work to prepare and post these tiles was done by Suleiman Hussein and MiniCty founder Mark Stock. [BPDA 3D Smart Model site](http://www.bostonplans.org/3d-data-maps/3d-smart-model/3d-data-download) [Thingiverse Collection of all Boston Tiles](https://www.thingiverse.com/minicty/collections/boston-city-tiles) [CityPrint project](https://www.architects.org/exhibitions/cityprint) [Boston Planning & Development Agency](http://www.bostonplans.org/) [Artists For Humanity](http://afhboston.org/) [MiniCty](http://minicty.com/) [MiniCty on Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiniCty)