Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers on Design qualities of 3D Printing lighting in Retail spaces

Will these materials and colours be available on the tailored lighting configurator?: Some may be! Some will only be available as ETO’s upon request. The available colors and textures may differ per product type.
What material does the 3D printing use for the metallic bronze? Is it plastic, but colored: The material is polycarbonate plastic infused with metallics. This means that when lit it has a shine much like the metallic paint on a car (but a little more subtle)!
Can you print in aluminum? Have you tested it?: We test various printer techniques and technologies regularly. Metal 3D printing is something we have not decided to jump into just yet! Currently we do not offer printed aluminium.
What is the min MOQ for a custom project?: That depends on the complexity of the request. Everything on the website has an MOQ of only 1!
https://www.tailored.lighting.philips.com/en/default.aspx
There are possibilities to open a flagship/factory in mexico¬?: Short term this is not planned, but if there is a business case to justify this, why not?!
Is the material UV resistant?: Yes! The material we use is resistant to UV inherently. The material is not rated for outdoor applications.
Where can I find more information on how to calculate the battery necessary for certain amount of Watts in the solar panel and the certain LED intensity, for example a 50W panel and a 150 lumen/watt LED. Thank you!: We didn’t have a portfolio with these pendants before, to compare. But we’ve been able to offer the 3D printed downlights at the same price level as the die-cast version, if that gives an idea? If you have specific requests, please reach out, we’d love to talk!
Do you check as a quality control for light homogeneity, and how?: We measure our products in our own testing facilities. Most of our platforms work on controlled reflector/ CoB platforms, however in the case of bespoke projects we verify our light effect both in the lab and in the real world.

We learn that our best informed clients often prefer to experience a product alongside a goniometric diagram! Yet another benefit of that speedy throughput time.
What software do you use for 3D printing?: The software is developed inhouse by our own R&D team.
If I am interested in the lighting field, from where can I start?: We’ve already gotten in touch, let’s talk! 😊
Are you producing all luminaires in-house? Is there a maximum order quantity?: Large quantities are no problem! 3D printing enables scaling up relatively fast and of course it’s all a matter of planning!
Are you already considering recycled plastics (apart from our own polycarbonate) or materials? Some customers are asking if some of the materials that they sent to be recycled could be maybe used for this second life as "luminaries"?: Thanks for a great question! Yes we want to be able to rework recycled plastics more than any other! Currently we have a few suppliers that means we can print from old CD disks and we are hard at work to try and print some plastics from our oceans! These developments are challenging but we are morally driven to achieve here!

Old luminaires can be recycled too!
You have not touched on what the led light source--it appears many can be E26 lamps: The LED light platforms we currently offer can be found on our website. This is currently primarily single COB led which gives you all of Philip’s own light recipe options and plenty of options for light output and quality!

We also offer a broad range of e26/e27 based products.
What is the max lampshade dimensions?: 600x600x600mm
How is the temperature dissipation done with polycarbonate?: The temperature dissipation is primarily managed with heat sinks. These metal parts are supplemented where needed with cooling via the PC housing.
Do we have a luminaire size limit to print?: 600x600x600mm
How's the durability of the luminaires (average life span)? Do you suggest them being replaced after X years?: That depends on the product and components. Lifetime is included in the specsheets online
What’s the maximum size (dimensionally) of luminaire that can be printed?: 600x600x600mm
Are you experimenting with overprinting?: We have experimented with this, yes!

The layered textures of our parts means printing on the parts is challenging. We have succeeded in doing so on parts that are printed flat on the build plate.

In other words: The bottom of the ‘sand castle’. This is experimental, but we can have a chat if you are curious! Let us know!
What lifespan do you suggest for material?: We cannot bank on evidence as we have not been around so long! None the less our aging tests suggest around 10-15 years in the field should be possible from a material standpoint 😊.
How do you manage large numbers of luminaries if the 3d printing takes hours for each?: We run most of our planning tools with SAP. We have very busy printers and the only way to meet the growing demands of our customers is to continue to grow our production capacity around the world!
How soon will you be able to print large modular products i.e. 600x600 decorative panels: What is the modularity you seek?
Large panels are challenging as long straight sections tend to cause warping of parts, none-the less I’m interested in learning a little bit more about what you are looking for. Feel free to let me know freek.rutten@signify.com.
How is your PC material compared with injection molded parts?: Aesthetically there will be a layer-line which you won’t find in injection molding. Otherwise the parts and the properties of the material are very comparable!
Is there any patent we use in our manufacturing process? or anyone can manufacture 3D luminaires?: We don’t not have patent for FDM. This tech was patented by Stratasys and upon expiry many companies including Signify jumped on the opportunities.

We file many patents regard the specifics of our process and what we learn in perfecting this, so I would speak of an intellectual ‘head-start’ but we definitely are not the only players!
Are there ies photometric files available?: The photometrics can be downloaded on the bottom of the product family page when clicking photometrics.
Can we visit your facility?: We arrange customer visits upon request. Feel free to reach out so we can discuss the objective and possibilities!

Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers on Design qualities of 3D Printing lighting in Retail spaces

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