Timo Harboe

Visualization Tool for 3D Print

We built a visualizer embedded in Rhino to show project stakeholders how concrete printing will look on site.

2026
A green print head above layers of concrete in the print preview.

Overview

Challenge

INSTATIQ needed to turn G-code into a clear 3D preview to show project stakeholders how each building would be printed.

What We Built

A tool that animates the full print, showing the moving print head and concrete building up layer by layer.

The Work

The visualizer reads G-code from INSTATIQ’s existing tools and animates the print smoothly at a high frame rate in the context of the 3D model, with all other design tools available at the same time.

The tool also provides a starting point for future 3D analysis of the print process.

Results

  • Easier explanations of the printing process in client presentations.
  • Greater confidence in how printing will work on site.
3D concrete printing at INSTATIQ

Gallery

An INSTATIQ print head placing a layer of concrete on a wall.
Concrete printing on site. Photo: INSTATIQ.
A green print head above layers of concrete in the print preview.
The print head and concrete layers shown in the visualizer.
The print animation running inside Rhino.
The IQ Visualizer controls and a partly printed building model inside Rhino.
Playback controls and the print preview inside Rhino.
An INSTATIQ print head placing a layer of concrete on a wall.
Concrete printing on site. Photo: INSTATIQ.
The print animation running inside Rhino.
A green print head above layers of concrete in the print preview.
The print head and concrete layers shown in the visualizer.
The IQ Visualizer controls and a partly printed building model inside Rhino.
Playback controls and the print preview inside Rhino.