Custom Prototypes Creates a Unique Metal 3D Printed Faucet

This week a Toronto based 3D printing company, Custom Prototypes, revealed an impressive metal 3D printing project, an intricately designed bathroom faucet 3D printed in stainless steel.

Over the past couple of months, Custom Prototypes has been busy fulfilling an urgent request from an interior design company to help aid with a special project. Custom Prototypes was asked to help design and build a one of a kind bathroom faucet for a new house construction.

The interior design company had been planning the look of this house for years and wanted to push the boundaries of traditional design. Each room was set to tell a unique story and draw inspiration from all of the home owner’s life travels. 

For the house’s main floor bathroom the vision was to recreate the experience of feeling like you were in a water garden. As a child growing up in Kashmir, India, the house owner had spent endless hours paddling the rivers and picking lotus flowers.

Custom Prototypes took the symbolic Lotus flower and used it to guide their design thought process. The goal for them was to achieve a product that could act as a standalone art piece even when not being used.

Once the general idea was proposed, they began to sketch up some abstract ideas on paper eventually starting to digitally sculpt it using Freeform.

One of the biggest challenges they had to face was to make sure the faucet not only achieved the aesthetic the house owner and interior design company were aiming for, but also to make sure they would actually be able to build it. The design of the base had six very small winding structures which were all hollow to allow water to flow freely, making metal 3D printing the only option.

The faucet was 3D printed in stainless steel on a DMLS (direct metal laser sintering) machine. They managed to print the entire part with no internal supports making it possible to remove any excess metal powder left inside.

If you have any questions about metal 3D printing or would like Custom Prototypes to guide you in creating your own custom product, please email [email protected]

ABOUT Custom Prototypes:

Custom Prototypes is a rapid prototyping company located in Toronto, Canada. They are a local service bureau specializing in 3D printing working for industries ranging from automotive, to medical to general consumer product.

They have made international headlines and received a variety of awards over the years with a broad scope of projects. They are best known for their 2018 AMUG award winner with an entry of their creation of Marc Antony’s helmet using only 3D printing materials. Other well-known projects include their award winning reproduction of Van Gogh’s Starry Night and their stained glass window made only with 3D printing.