News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
The US and Canada have seen several single-story 3D printed buildings in recent years, but now Canadian 3D construction printing company, nidus3D, has finished the construction of the first two-story building in North America (in Ontario).
The city of Huntsville, AL, is a burgeoning technology town that is home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center as well as facilities for the Department of Defense. It is a community that is continuing to flourish. Downtown Huntsville is on the move with the redevelopment of Big Spring Park, which is home to new hotels, entertainment venues, and bars and restaurants. Part of that revitalization included renovations to the Monroe Street parking garage, across the street from the multi-purpose Von Braun Center. The parking garage provides event parking in the evenings and on weekends, and office workers use it during the weekdays. To achieve their goal of an attractive and dynamic façade for the garage that would make a bold statement, architects ultimately turned to Branch Technology and its game-changing approach to 3D printed facades for commercial construction.
In its effort to always be one step ahead of mounting competition, the current construction 3D printing industry leader COBOD has released the first-ever construction 3D printer configurator app, available on iOS and Android as well as a web app on the company’s website. The configuration looks to make construction 3D printing more accessible and more fun, in the era of 3D Construction 2.0. It’s a blast.
Dior opened a pop-up store at Jumeirah beach in Dubai. The initiative, which coincides with the Expo currently underway, included two 3D printed pavilions created in collaboration with Italian 3D printer manufacturer WASP and set up at the Four Seasons Hotel in Nammos.
PERI, the company that built the first multi-story 3D printed buildings in Germany, is now working on Austria’s first 3D printed building, using a BOD2 construction 3D printer, in Hausleiten, Lower Austria. The project is conducted together with Austria-based STRABAG, one of the largest construction companies in Europe.
Apis Cor, a company known for its unique construction 3D printing technology, has introduced Impreza, the first and only 3D printed home (project) to participate and win an award in a Space Coast Parade of Homes. Impreza received the HBCA Parade of Homes Diamond Award and was selected as a virtual entry among the top 20 projects.
Dutch technology provider CyBe Construction and Curaçao concrete expert Betonindustrie Brievengat (BIB) are joining forces for a strategic partnership. At the end of September, three operators of BIB will be trained by the team of CyBe to operate the purchased 3D printer. This is through a 10-day on-site training during which the first two buildings will be printed in the island of Curaçao, the first-ever 3D construction printing initiative in the Caribbean archipelago. These two buildings will serve as office space and café in Willemstad, the capital city of Curaçao.
Danish construction 3D printer company COBOD, the current segment leader in Europe, recently entered the US market via a partnership with Printed Farms in Florida. The company is now expanding its footprint in the US to address the widespread lack of affordable housing in partnership with the non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity. In US market COBOD will be squaring off with current local leader ICON.
The Austrian startup Printstones has been developing mobile robotic systems for 3D printing since 2017. After completing more than 100 pilot projects the young firm has now revealed a new prototype: Baubot. This new robot has a modular design approach and is open to external inputs for innovation. The stated goal of the tech company is to bring any tool into any location and utilize it there. This means that 3rd parties can develop and add their tools and applications to the mobile robot. Developers can use an SDK as an interface to the robot’s functionality.
Please note that this is a satirical article published on April 1st* for April Fools. If you’d like to learn more about real construction 3D printing advancements, see our Construction 3D Printing AM Focus eBook.