The First Residential 3D Printed Faucets: American Standard Brands Shows Off Avante-Garde Style with DXV Line

While building or remodeling a home can be an enormous endeavor overall, it’s the little things that can be so much fun. From picking out paint colors to choosing appliances, being able to show your personality with individual accents is exciting.

I’ve always thought you could tell a lot about someone by their kitchen sink and faucet, which is often the center of our universe, strangely. Many of us spend what might be considered an inordinate amount at that station, peering into the porcelain or cast iron abyss of dishes and draining water. Whether you choose just the basic stainless steel cheap-deal, an elegant design, or even a splashy color, having so many new choices today is just plain cool. And American Standard Brands is showing us that with 3D printing, they are able to open an entirely new world of customization–and offer such elegant, intricate designs that indeed, your envious neighbor’s brow will furrow, initially puzzled as to how water travels through the channels of your newfangled faucet system (that you, ahem, paid quite the pretty penny for).

Using metal 3D printing (tested and proven to be safe and nontoxic) through SLS, American Standard is indeed making works of art. With SLS, they are able to make detailed pieces that mesmerize with an almost waterfall effect–and without 3D printing, these faucets would not be possible. They are created through the following process:

• In what is a 24 hour process from start to finish, a computer-guided laser beam sinters the powdered metal into the shape of the faucet with high heat and pressure.
• A solid metal block is formed out of the powder, and as the team from American Standard says, this hints at ‘the masterpiece to be.’
• The block is hand finished to smooth extraneous metal and reveal the faucet design.
• After 3D printing, the DXV faucets go through a butler finishing process for a hand-polished look that mimics the look of distinguished, older silver.

As we reported previously when American Standard came on the scene with elegant prototypes, these are the first 3D printed faucets coming to market, and the company is now formally showing off their product line, beginning with this week’s Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas. Featuring their DXV line of residential faucets, history is being made–and beautifully so–with the first 3D printed line on display in their booth. DXV is being touted as their ‘flagship luxury brand,’ offering both superior style and high-tech crafting.

“American Standard is proud to reveal many game-changing new products at KBIS this year,” said Steven Delarge, chief executive officer and president of LIXIL Water Technology Americas, American Standard and DXV. “Our latest offerings raise the standards of daily living at home, at work, and around the world with never-before-seen technologies and unforgettable designs.”

Their comprehensive display at KBIS included:

• Many other beautifully designed bath products from DXV, including the high-tech AT200 SpaLet smart toilet and the charming Oak Hill collection of bath products celebrating classic American farmhouse design
• The sleek new Beale assortment of high-arc kitchen faucets, offering hands-free operation
• The new Townsend collection of bathroom faucets and accessories
• The new Edgewater collection of pull-down kitchen and bar faucets
• The dramatic Boxe semi-countertop sink, designed to provide a luxuriously roomy sink while comfortably fitting into a smaller bathroom
• The new H2Option and H2Optimum ultra-high-efficiency toilets
• The revolutionary VorMax toilet line ‘delivering the finest flush ever engineered’

American Standard was also doing more than just showing off their wares at the show, working with their sister company GROHE as joint exhibitors, and serving as sponsors for the Innovative Showroom Awards where they announced the winning names.

After 140 years in the business, American Standard is breaking the mold, literally, and showing off what the newest technology can do for an appliance that’s certainly been around through the ages and gone through many different variations. Their three 3D metal printed initial designs are being celebrated as ‘ready for market’ and definitely offer appeal to the more sophisticated homeowner, bold enough to forge ahead with an avante-garde design that breaks all traditional barriers and completely reinvents the simple process of turning on a faucet and getting some water. Prices are still set to retail at a lofty $12,000 – $20,000, as American Standard estimated back in June. Would you consider one of these designs for your home? Tell us about it in the 3D Printed Luxury Faucet forum over at 3DPB.com.