News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Part of the magic of 3D printing is that it has, in its own manner, helped us to see our relationship to the natural world in new and interesting ways. That is, while many technologies might obstruct our relationship to nature, 3D printing – in the hands of the right designer or researcher – can bring us closer to it. Such is the case in Sanhelden’s most recent project: Grotto Façade.
Given plans to revisit the lunar surface by the late 2020s and to take a crewed mission to Mars by the late 2030s, critical technologies must mature. In missions of extended duration, in situ resource utilization is necessary to both maximize scientific returns and minimize costs. While this presents a significantly more complex challenge in the resource-starved environment of Mars, it is similar to the increasing need to develop resource-efficient and zero-waste ecosystems on Earth. In a recent paper published on PLOS One, scientists at Singapore University of Technology and Design used recent advances in the field of bioinspired chitinous manufacturing to develop a Martian biolith to be used with additive manufacturing technology within the context of a minimal, artificial ecosystem that supports humans in a Martian environment.
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.
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.
Barberio Colella Architetti and Dr. Angelo Figliola proposed a design to ameliorate temperature perception in Abu Dhabi’s urban microclimates using 3D printed sandstone. The design focuses on a city whose average temperature for 2019 was 28.9 degrees Celsius. The United Arab Emirates’ annual average in 2019 was 29.1 degrees Celsius. The city’s warmest month is August; the architects and Dr. Figliola’s design projects temperatures of 26 degrees Celsius in August. This substantial cooling effect helps make targeted areas more comfortable.
LafargeHolcim is calling on the world’s brightest students to reinvent the building industry, along with its partner Witteveen+Bos, a Dutch engineering and consultancy firm and with the support of COBOD and Ecole des Ponts. Students in engineering, architecture, and material science are encouraged to join in a construction 3D printing hackathon to pioneer new solutions, leveraging concrete 3D printing technology for more effective and efficient housing construction.
In anticipation of the 2024 Olympic Games, Plaine Commune Grand Paris has awarded the Freyssinet / Lavigne & Cheron Architects / Quadric / XtreeE / LafargeHolcim consortium the design-build of a 40-meter pedestrian footbridge in Paris whose deck will be entirely made of 3D printed structural concrete.