News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Ai Build, a company that the readers of this website should know well, collaborated with a team of other creative firms in the UAE 3D printing scene, to create the Deciduous 3D printed pavilion, a digitally and additively manufactured structure that invites us to revisit our relationship with nature, through an experience reminiscent of walking through an abstracted botanical form.
Bridges have become a popular way for research groups and additive manufacturing companies to demonstrate their technologies. It makes sense. Bridges combine architecture and performance while also engaging directly with people. While not every person may recognize the ingenious nature of a topologically optimized engine component, a state-of-the art bridge can appeal to all.
Singapore-based construction 3D printing company Hamilton Holdings has teamed up with Ang Cheng Guan Construction (ACG) and Saint-Gobain to establish Hamilton Labs Additive Manufacturing & Robotics Hub and to drive 3D concrete printing and digital construction in Singapore. The Hub will see the deployment of robotics, automation technologies and advanced manufacturing methodologies.
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.