News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Ørsted and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Denmark) are testing how 3D printed reefs can benefit biodiversity in the Kattegat, a strait between Denmark and Sweden, which is experiencing a historically low cod stock. This is the first time 3D printed reefs are being used in Danish waters, and they will complement existing boulder reefs that Ørsted established when constructing the Anholt Offshore Wind Farm in 2012-13.
IAAC, the Institute for Advanced Architecture, continues its research towards 3D printing architecture with local earthen materials by completing a housing prototype in the natural park of Collseolla, in the outskirts of Barcelona, this winter. The result is a small constructed prototype with 100% natural and locally sourced material recipes that will be inaugurated with a live event on February 28th [register here].
Space architecture and technology firm AI SpaceFactory presented its designs for LINA, the first 3D printed lunar outpost developed in collaboration with NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) engineers and planetary scientists.
A plan from Texas A&M University researchers to 3D print new resilient buildings using hempcrete has the potential to lower the environmental impact of traditional construction methods and make housing more affordable and available, according to an article posted on the University’s College of Engineering website by Alyson Chapman.
Power2build has finished its largest 3D printed building with a COBOD BOD2 construction printer, using the D.fab concrete solution from COBOD International and CEMEX, in Angola. The company intends to transform the housing market and is a pioneer aiming to solve the challenge of affordable housing in Angola, with 3D printed buildings.
Luai Kurdi is the Founder and CEO of PRINT4D, a company based in Prague, Czech Republic, consisting of a group of engineers with a passion for technology and construction. PRINT4D utilizes the latest advancements in digital tools to revolutionize how the environment around us is imagined and constructed. According to a post on Luai Kurdi’s LinkedIn profile, he has replicated Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia Double Twist Star-Shaped-Base 14m high column, using parametric design in Grasshopper – demonstrating the real advantages of parametric design, digital fabrication, and 3D concrete printing.
The Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI Park), in the UAE, is set to become the region’s largest and most advanced 3D printing technology platform, with major international companies and specialized startups, such as General Electric and 3DTIV Tech, already establishing their presence there.
GE Renewable Energy has made a minority investment in COBOD International, the company providing the 3D printer used at the Bergen research facility. Officials from both companies said the investment will build on an existing relationship with COBOD International, a leading player in 3D construction printing solutions, first undertaken in 2019.
Black Buffalo 3D Corporation, a leading provider of large-scale 3D construction printers, and MAPEI Corporation, a leading construction materials provider for the building industry, have entered a strategic partnership involving research, development, and manufacturing for the 3D construction printing industry. Their first collaboration, Planitop 3D construction ink, is made to work with NEXCON 3D construction printers for better performance at a fraction of the cost of existing building materials. The combination of equipment and materials will be utilized in the recently announced 200 home community being printed by Alquist 3D in Pulaski, VA.
CyBe Construction has opened its new production facility in Oss, Netherlands, for its suppliers and back-end partners. Due to the company’s rapid growth over the past year, and the increasing demand for solutions to the global housing shortage problem, CyBe has had to scale up its production process and has moved into larger premises. At these new premises, CyBe can scale up the current production process and work on new developments.