3D printed car kit installation for Toyota

Giant model car kits hung under a Toyota showroom ceiling, with car parts we 3D printed on a rush timeline.

Client: Toyota
Service: Art Installations & Wall Murals
Made for: The ceiling of a Toyota car showroom
Our part: 3D printing the car parts, cleaned and ready for primer and paint
Shown as: Model car kits, every part still on its frame

Plan an installation Send a brief

Car kits we 3D printed, of the five in the installation: 3
Classic Toyota models broken down into kits: 5
For the whole installation, from site visit to hanging: 4 weeks

What we brought

What we can do
Large parts, printed to a deadline
We printed three full car kits on a rush timeline, with overtime and weekend printing.
How we look after you
Cleaned and ready for primer
Every part left us with its supports cleaned off, ready for the installation team to prime and spray.
What you get
Hung in a Toyota showroom
Our prints hung under the showroom ceiling alongside the other giant Toyota car kits.

Gallery

The whole project at a glance. Drag or swipe to browse; tap a picture to enlarge it.

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The finished piece
An open car body hangs overhead, seen from below.
A car body and its wheels sit on the frame.
Seats, springs and doors are seen up close.
The briefThe showroom ceiling shows its ducts and pipes before the installation.
ConceptRenderThe kits are planned to hang at angles under the ceiling.
RenderThe kits are seen from below, each car laid out on its frame.
RenderOne car is laid out as a kit.
Design and prototyping · First designRenderA car's parts are laid out in 3D.
Design and prototyping · Kit layoutsRenderParts are marked for changes on the layouts.
ProductionA white part prints on an FDM printer.
A car body shell is printed in sections.
Finishing and installationThe pipe frames are laid out on tables.
The frames are built over the printed layouts.
Printed parts are coated in grey primer.
Sprayed parts are laid out to dry.
A kit stands upright after several coats of paint.
A car body is mounted on its frame.
The kits are wrapped for the trip to site.
An installer hangs a kit from a scissor lift.

The build

How we built it

6 steps, from the brief to the finished piece. Pick a step to jump to it.

The brief

Step 1 of 6

Idea: Five classic Toyota models as giant model car kits
Placement: Hung from the showroom ceiling
Timeline: Four weeks for the whole installation

At Additive Inn, our 3D printing studio in Singapore, we printed car parts for a ceiling installation in a Toyota showroom. With four weeks for the whole piece, the installation team needed three of its five car kits printed fast.

Looking up at the showroom's open ceiling before the installation: ducts, pipes and a steel grid — The showroom ceiling shows its ducts and pipes before the installation.

Concept

Step 2 of 6

Each Toyota was broken down into its parts and shown as a model kit, the pieces still on the frame. The kits were planned in 3D to hang at angles under the ceiling.

Render of four model car kits hung at angles from a white ceiling, with two figures standing below for scale — RenderThe kits are planned to hang at angles under the ceiling.

Render looking up at the kits from below, each car and its parts laid out on a frame — RenderThe kits are seen from below, each car laid out on its frame.

Render of one car kit lying flat: the car body, seats, wheels and doors on a grey frame — RenderOne car is laid out as a kit.

Design and prototyping

Step 3 of 6

Each car was modelled and laid out as a kit, with every part saved as its own file, sized to print. The layouts were marked up and corrected before the files came to us.

First design

A car's parts are laid out in 3D.

Render
Kit layouts

Parts were circled and highlighted on the kit layouts for changes before printing.

Render

Production

Step 4 of 6

We received the print files on 30/04/2022. We FDM printed three car kits on a rush timeline; some of the finer parts were resin printed. Every part was cleaned of supports before delivery.

The print head of an FDM printer laying down a white part, with finished white prints beside it — A white part prints on an FDM printer.

A printed car body shell in white around a black printed inner frame, on a studio bench — A car body shell is printed in sections.

Finishing and installation

Step 5 of 6

The installation team built the frames from PVC pipe, primed every part, then sprayed it off-white. The parts were mounted onto the frames, wrapped for transport and hung in the showroom from a scissor lift.

The grey pipe frames of the kits laid out on long tables in a studio — The pipe frames are laid out on tables.

Grey pipe frames set over printed drawings of a car's parts, each part labelled — The frames are built over the printed layouts.

Printed seats, wheels, springs and pedals laid on a board, coated in grey primer — Printed parts are coated in grey primer.

Wheels, steering wheels, springs and chassis parts sprayed off-white, laid out on a grey table to dry — Sprayed parts are laid out to dry.

A finished car kit standing upright: the car body in the centre, wheels and parts around it on the frame — A kit stands upright after several coats of paint.

A sprayed car body and its parts mounted on the frame, seen close up — A car body is mounted on its frame.

Finished car kits wrapped in bubble wrap, standing in the back of a van — The kits are wrapped for the trip to site.

An installer on a scissor lift hanging a car kit under the showroom ceiling — An installer hangs a kit from a scissor lift.

The final build

Step 6 of 6

The five car kits hung under the showroom ceiling, each Toyota and its parts still on the frame, as if waiting to be built.

Looking up at a hanging kit: an open car body with its suspension, exhaust and wheels on the frame around it — An open car body hangs overhead, seen from below.

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3D printed car kit installation for Toyota

What we brought

Large parts, printed to a deadline

Cleaned and ready for primer

Hung in a Toyota showroom

Gallery