News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Dutch construction design firm Studio RAP has been 3D printing ceramic tiles for their work on design elements of the pioneering New Delft Blue project in the historic Dutch city of Delft. After printing these tests at Studio RAP’s workshop, the tiles went straight into the kiln at Koninklijke Tichelaar where they were also beautifully glazed.
In yet another example of additive manufacturing in the automotive sector, Chevrolet announced that its 3D printing racing program supported over 80,000 miles of racing. This milestone is indicative of the competitive and manufacturing efficiency derived from AM products. Chevrolet’s announcement pairs with this Network’s recent reporting on Team Penske’s and Oxford Brookes Racing’s implementation of AM parts in their race cars.
A consortium of companies that operate in the construction and in the construction 3D printing area are participating in a selection in Holland to present new concepts for automated production of 3D printed circular viaducts, as part of the HONEYCOMB project.
PERI GmbH is building the first 3D printed residential building in Germany, and precisely in Beckum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The two-story detached house with approx. 80 sqm of living space per floor is being built with a COBOD system that PERI uses to provide 3D printing construction services. This segment is booming way beyond anyone could have imaged (except us: three years ago, when only a handful of companies were active, we forecast a €40 billion dollar industry by 2027, among general skepticism)
Following in the footsteps of construction 3D printing pioneers D-Shape and Contour Crafting, ICON, a developer of advanced construction technologies including robotics, software, and building materials, has been awarded a government Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. The deal includes funding from NASA to begin research and development on Project Olympus: a space-based construction system that could support future exploration of the Moon. ICON will also dedicate a division of the company to focus on space.
ACCIONA, a global leader in sustainable infrastructure solutions, is taking part in the United Arab Emirate’s 3D Emerging Technologies exhibition, the Middle East’s largest and most influential event for the additive manufacturing industry.
Scaled Ltd, a UK firm specializing in large format 3D printing via a robotic extrusion process, unveiled its Project Chameleon 3D printed electric vehicle. The company started working on the Chameleon vehicle less than half a year ago, aiming to demonstrate how the way vehicles are manufactured can be revolutionized through AM.
With the technological concept of the Bugatti Bolide, the french luxury car manufacturer is now providing the answer to the question “what if Bugatti built a radically light vehicle around its iconic 8.0-liter w16 engine?” The experimental study of the Bugatti Bolide is a track-oriented hyper sports car featuring a w16 engine derived from series production as powertrain combined with a minimal body for maximum downforce. It, therefore, promises to offer the ultimate Bugatti performance kick.
Yes, we write about 3D printing but we are by no means obligated to only write about 3D printing. We can just as easily cover competing, synergistic or similar technological approaches. Especially when they are as fascinating as the LightVault created by Princeton researchers using robots to deposit glass bricks. And who’s to say that bricklaying is not an additive process anyways?
It’s no longer a secret – if you’ve been following this website – that concrete 3D printing is skyrocketing. As further proof, the technology is now expanding beyond construction, into decorative products and even pranks. Video creator and technology reviewer Jerry Rig Everything turned to Pikus Concrete, developers of a concrete 3D printing system, to play the coolest prank on his best friend, who had recently moved away. How? with a 3D printed statue of himself, of course.