News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Spain-based sustainable infrastructure company ACCIONA has opened a new global 3D printing center in Dubai, which houses the world’s largest operational 3D printer based on powder bed technology. The new center will be used to 3D print infrastructure elements to meet the growing demand for construction 3D printing in the region (in line with Dubai’s 3D Printing Strategy).
Just outside of Bologna, work is advancing on an ambitious construction 3D printing project spearheaded by Italian company WASP and Mario Cucinella Architects. Together, the companies are constructing the first prototype of a sustainable, 3D printed habitat called TECLA.
The government of Dubai today announced another milestone for the UAE city in the area of construction 3D printing. Now, not only is Dubai home to the first 3D printed office building, it also hosts the largest 3D printed two-storey structure in the world. The building, which spans 640 square meters and is 9.5 meters in height, was recently recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
A multidisciplinary team from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering has received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop autonomous, mobile construction 3D printers. Down the line, the researchers hope that their work will untether 3D printers, so to speak, and enable them to build structures with more mobility.
Architects Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, founders of the Emerging Objects studio, are not known for shying away from ambitious work. Their most recent project proves that once again. The partners have 3D printed four structures made from a mud-based material which are inspired by the historical Rio Grande river.
Vertico, a Dutch firm that has developed a concrete 3D printing technology, recently demonstrated its capabilities by 3D printing a concrete footbridge in collaboration with the University of Ghent. Not only a feat for its concrete AM technology, the bridge showcases Vertico’s ability to utilize optimized design to reduce material consumption without compromising strength or stress-resistance. According to the Amersfoort-based company, the bridge’s design allowed for a material reduction of 60%!
Singapore’s Housing and Development Board (HDB) is reportedly preparing to introduce 3D printed landscape furniture and architectural elements to new estates being built in Tengah and Bidadari. The announcement, reported by The Straits Times, suggests that Singapore’s Housing Board is interested in exploring the potential of 3D printing not just for design or furniture elements but also for construction applications.
One of the moments that will likely stand out when we look back at the history of construction 3D printing is the construction of Europe’s first 3D printed building in 2017 by 3D Printhuset (now COBOD). As a call back to this original structure, which still stands in Copenhagen, and to show how far its come with its construction 3D printing technology since 2017, COBOD recently reprinted The BOD building.
Engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV partnered with CEAD and DSM to design the first lightweight 3D printed FRP pedestrian bridge prototype using a composite material. It consists of a glass-filled thermoplastic PET (Arnite), combined with continuous glass fibers which are added in CEAD’s 3D printing process. This unique combination offers high strength with extreme versatility and sustainability.
Marines from Marine Corps Systems Command and 7th Engineer Support Battalion, along with engineers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, conducted the first known 3D concrete printing operation with a three-inch print nozzle at the CERL headquarters in early August in Champaign, Illinois.