Pushing the boundaries of bathroom design

The impossible has become reality

With the GROHE Icon 3D collection – Allure Brilliant Icon 3D and Atrio Icon 3D – what seemed impossible has become reality and GROHE, as a pioneer in the sanitary industry, has set a real milestone for future living concepts. Embracing the innovative technology of 3D metal-printing, GROHE’s designers and engineers are pushing the boundaries of how a faucet can be made.

3D-printed faucets are so light it makes you wonder how they can possibly work. So how did the vision of a 3D-printed faucet become reality? GROHE has reinterpreted the Atrio and Allure Brilliant lines by incorporating Icon 3D design, thereby taking product design and the joy of water to a whole new level: “Every innovation always starts with a bold vision. Rethinking what is possible is only a question of perspective for us. With GROHE Icon 3D, we are entering the future of product design as we are now able to create designs that at first appear impossible. By embracing the still-emerging technology of 3D metal-printing, we are pushing the boundaries of design and we are truly shaping the future of water”, emphasizes Paul Flowers, Leader LIXIL Global Design.

A new interactive experience of water

GROHE’s 3D metal-printing process makes the realization of virtually any geometry possible and invites you to rediscover materiality: By reducing shapes to their essentials, the stainless steel, which becomes a highly castable raw material in 3D metal-printing, comes to the fore in the final product.

Reducing a design to an absolute minimum and emphasizing the pure essence of shapes not only saves valuable resources, but also offers a new experience of water. The ultra-thin spout of GROHE Atrio Icon 3D and the hollow interior of GROHE Allure Brilliant Icon 3D with its familiar silhouette make the water flow seem like a magical, optical illusion and make the 3D-printed faucets with a brushed steel finish aesthetic highlights in any bathroom.

Sustainable production thanks to 3D technology

The 3D metal-printing process is a particularly resource-efficient method of manufacturing faucets. The process only consumes the amount of raw material that is actually contained in the finished product. 3D metal-printing makes it possible to manufacture components such as spouts and handles much thinner, thereby saving material. In comparison with its analog predecessor Allure Brilliant, which is made of brass, the Icon 3D faucet achieves a weight reduction of 55%. In addition, the energy consumption for producing a 3D metal-printed faucet is about 20% lower than the production energy for a brass cast body.

Cutting-edge digital technology meets craftsmanship

Icon 3D combines state-of-the-art digital technology with hand-crafted, proven GROHE quality. The components are produced by printing metal, using a powder bed laser melting process. Each component of the faucet consists of more than 4,000 layers made of superfine stainless steel powder that are each less than 2mm thick, providing it with forging strength. After printing, the component is mechanically treated on a CNC milling machine, followed by a manual grinding and fine brushing procedure as the finishing step. The elaborate process defines the exclusivity of the Icon 3D series: Each product is unique, and the edition of the collection is limited to a few pieces per year. GROHE Icon 3D is available on request as an exclusive piece for the bathroom.