Construction 3D printing
A number of different approaches have been demonstrated to date, which include on-site and off-site fabrication of buildings and construction components, using industrial robots, gantry systems, and tethered autonomous vehicles.
Robotic bricklaying was conceptualized at explored in the 1950s and related technology development around automated construction began in the 1960s, with pumped concrete and isocyanate foams.
[8] Many of these early approaches to on-site automation foundered because of the construction 'bubble', their inability to respond to novel architectures and the problems of feeding and preparing materials to the site in built up areas.
Around 2000, Khoshnevis's team at USC Vertibi began to focus on construction scale 3D printing of cementitious and ceramic pastes, encompassing and exploring automated integration of modular reinforcement, built-in plumbing and electrical services, within one continuous build process.
[citation needed] In 2005, Enrico Dini, Italy, patented the D-Shape technology, employing a massively scaled powder jetting/bonding technique over an area approximately 6m x 6m x 3m.
[13] In 2008 3D Concrete Printing began at Loughborough University, UK, headed by Richard Buswell and colleagues to extend the groups prior research and look to commercial applications moving from a gantry based technology to an industrial robot.
[citation needed] On January 18, 2015, the company drew press coverage with its unveiling of two buildings that integrated 3D-printed components: a mansion-style villa and a five-story tower.
The ACES project resulted in three demonstrations: An Entry Control Point, the first Reinforced Additively Constructed Concrete Barracks, and the printing of civil and military infrastructure (Jersey barriers, T-walls, culverts, bunkers, and fighting position) at the US Army Maneuver Support, Sustainment, and protection Experiments (MSSPIX).
[36][37][full citation needed] Serial production of construction printers was launched by SPECAVIA company, based in Yaroslavl (Russia).
[citation needed] XtreeE, initiated and backed by Founding CEO Philippe Morel,[38] has developed a multi-component printing system, mounted on top of a 6-axis robotic arm.
[53][54] In November 2022, researchers at the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center completed a 600 square feet (56 m2) home composed of modular sections printed from wood byproducts.
[76] In Spain, the first pedestrian bridge printed in 3D in the world (3DBRIDGE) was inaugurated 14 December 2016 in the urban park of Castilla-La Mancha in Alcobendas, Madrid.
[82] Tests of 3D printing of an architectural structure with simulated lunar material have been completed, using a large vacuum chamber in a terrestrial lab.
[citation needed] A variety of lunar infrastructure elements have been conceived for 3D structural printing, including landing pads, blast protection walls, roads, hangars and fuel storage.
[82] In early 2014, NASA funded a small study at the University of Southern California to further develop the Contour Crafting 3D printing technique.
[85] As of December 2022, NASA awarded the Texas based company ICON with a $57.2 million contract to build 3D printed habitats, landing pads, and roads on the lunar surface and to support its ARTEMIS program.
The low-carbon housing was printed by two large synchronized arms from a mixture of locally sourced soil and water as well as fibers from rice husks and a binder.
[51][87][52] Such buildings could be highly cheap, well-insulated, stable and weatherproof, climate-adaptable, customizable, get produced rapidly, require only very little easily learnable manual labor, mitigate carbon emissions from concrete, require less energy, reduce homelessness, help enable intentional communities such as autonomous, autark eco-communities, and enable the provision of housing for victims of natural disasters as well as – via knowledge- and technology-transfer to local people – for migrants to Europe near their homes, including as an increasingly relevant political option.
[51][52] Data and projections indicate an increasing relevance of buildings that are both low-cost and sustainable, notably that, according to a 2020 UN report, building and construction are responsible for ~38% of all energy-related carbon dioxide emissions,[88] that, partly due to global warming,[89][90] migration crises are expected to intensify in the future and that the UN estimates that by 2030, ~3 billion people or ~40% of the world's population will require access to accessible, affordable housing.
[51] Disadvantages of printing with clay-mixtures include height-limitations or horizontal space requirements, initial costs and size of the non-mass-produced printer, latencies due to having to let the mixture dry with current processes, and other problems related to the novelty of the product such as their connection to plumbing systems.
[51][52] Large-scale, cement-based 3D printing disposes the need for conventional molding by precisely placing, or solidifying, specific volumes of material in sequential layers by a computer controlled positioning process.
[81] The Chinese company WinSun has built several houses using large 3D printers using a mixture of quick drying cement and recycled raw materials.
COBOD International (formerly known as 3DPrinthuset, now its sister company) has recently led a research oriented towards exploring the current state of the technology worldwide, by visiting more than 35 different 3D Construction printing related projects.
Recently, COBOD International, formerly known as 3DPrinthuset (its sister company) has gained wide media attention with their first permanent 3D printed building, the first of its kind in Europe.
The story gained extensive coverage, both on national and international media, appearing on TV in Denmark, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, among many others.
The ability to use local materials, reduce waste, and adapt to complex and customized designs are just a few of the advantages that make 3D printing particularly suitable for construction in hard-to-reach areas.
Additionally, 3D printing can contribute to environmental sustainability and community involvement by enabling active participation in the construction process and maintenance of structures.
This construction method has the potential to transform the landscape of remote housing, providing more affordable, efficient, and culturally aligned dwellings for local communities.
The 3D printed house was also found to be an economically viable option, with 78% reduction in the overall capital costs when compared to conventional construction methods.
[121] Based on four examples, it has been estimated that the contribution of greenhouse gas emissions per square meter associated with the construction of 3D-printed houses is lower than that of conventionally built ones.
