The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), whose mandate is to tackle poverty and reduce inequalities around the globe through sustainable development, is leveraging 3D printing in its next initiative. Specifically, the UNDP has acquired a construction 3D printer from Italian company WASP, which it will deploy in Colombia to construct buildings using locally sourced materials.
The Crane WASP 3D printer is a deposition system that can be configured to meet the scale requirements of different projects. The machine, designed to print slurry materials like clay and cement, can achieve a printing area superior to 100 square meters and has been used for various construction projects to date, including a Dior pop-up store in Dubai and a 3D printed sensory garden installation at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Notably, the WASP Crane system can be used with materials made from local resources, like soil, clay and agricultural waste. This capability is central to WASP’s own mandate to enhance sustainability and provide greater housing equality, as well as to “develop technologies that deliver effective benefits to humanity through innovation and research.”
Manufacturing on Demand
The United Nations Development Program will utilize the WASP Crane 3D printer in Colombia to build facilities and services for local communities using local materials. The 3D printer was chosen for several reasons, including its mobility and adaptability—which enable it to be deployed in hard to reach locations—as well as its low energy usage when in operation, which also facilitates construction in remote areas.
Colombia is not the only place where construction 3D printing is being used to address issues related to resource inequality. Recently, we covered a story about how the government of New South Wales in Australia is turning to 3D printing to build a social housing property in Dubbo using Contour3D’s large-scale construction 3D printing technology.
We’ll be curious to learn more about the specific ways WASP’s technology is being used in Colombia—for now it’s unclear whether additive manufacturing will be used to build livable structures, like homes, or public facilities and shelters, like the 3D Printed Earth Forest Campus in the Parc de Collserola in Barcelona.
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Serendix purchases 3 new construction 3D printers: Based in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, and led by CEO Hiroyasu Koma, Serendix, along with its consortium partners, has installed these new 3D printers at locations in Kumamoto, Chiba, and Okinawa Prefectures. The printers are owned by Serendix and its partner companies, Shinshowa Co., Ltd. (Kimitsu City, Chiba Prefecture), and Tamaki Housing Co., Ltd. (Naha City).
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Author: Tess Boissonneault
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