This article is part of a blog series, in which you can find out how 3D printing is used in building replacement parts and components that are needed at the construction site, such as replacing broken parts on construction equipment. We have all heard the buzz around 3D printing in the last ten years but is it merited?

The infrastructure segment is expected to register the fastest market growth rate in the near future. The increasing use of 3D printing technology to construct infrastructure, such as bridges, using materials, such as metals, plastic, and composite, is driving the segment growth.

Various initiatives undertaken by key companies across the world to build 3D-printed bridges are expected to drive growth. For instance, in April 2021, Weber Beamix and BAM started constructing a 3D-printed concrete bridge for pedestrians in the Netherlands. This concrete structure will be 29.5 meters in length. In addition, Weber Beamix plans to construct four more 3D-printed bridges across the Netherlands.

Is there a future for 3D in Construction?

We believe that 3D printing in construction has real enduring potential and cannot be ignored.

It is difficult to imagine that one day it will be the only technology used in construction, but we are confident that it will become a state of the art solution that will bring a lot of benefits, as mentioned in our previous article on 3D printing. It offers cost savings and eco-friendly for the future of construction.

3D-Printing is accelerating automation

New solutions will be discovered thanks to 3D printing but it will also meet challenges due to the very nature of the construction industry.

Lennar, one of the USA’s leading homebuilders, and ICON, a construction technologies company establishing large-scale 3D, committed to building the largest community of 3D-printed homes using ICON’s innovative robotics, software, and advanced materials. Starting in 2022, the 100-home community will be co-designed by the architecture firm, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group.

This initiative is financed by Lennar’s investment in Austin Texas for $207-million and offers a promising future to overcome the lack of affordable, technology-driven homes to meet the high demand worldwide.

New possibilities are constantly developed by architects around the world, using the latest 3D-printed prototype. So we can be sure that the future is here to stay.

We can see partnerships forming to automate the construction of homes, offices, and other structures through techniques like 3D printing, robotic finishing, and automated bricklaying everywhere we look.

Governments and investors increase their support to help the automation of the construction industry to mitigate the risks of low efficiency due to waste, sustainability, and labor shortage, linked to the slow growth of new houses being brought to the market, alarmingly increasing house prices towards unaffordability.

Eric Holt, assistant professor at the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver said that the ball has moved really quickly. Mighty Building completed accessory dwelling units (ADUs) called Mighty Mods in Oakland, San Diego, San Ramon, and Hayward, California, employing a combination of high-tech composites, 3D printing, 3D scanning, and robotic finishing. The company is now building 3 bedroom houses priced between $290,000 and $410,000 and hopes to join forces with developers to create multifamily housing communities and more.

Engineers at Arup used 3D printing to fabricate a steel node for a lightweight structure reducing costs, cutting waste and enabling a very sophisticated design.

Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis at the University of California has developed a process to build the walls of a house in 24 hours.

Shanghai firm WinSun Decoration Design Engineering has used large 3D printers to spray a mixture of quick-drying cement and recycled raw materials to construct 10 small demonstration 'houses' in less than 24 hours.

Spain saw the first 3d printed pedestrian bridge in the world (3DBRIDGE). It was inaugurated on 14 December 2016 in the urban park of Castilla-La Mancha in Alcobendas, Madrid. The bridge has a total length of 12m and a width of 1.75m and is printed in micro-reinforced concrete.

An alternative approach to 3D printing of fabrication of buildings is presently in development and is called the 2D 'WikiHouse' project. WikiHouse is not an additive process, but an open-source set of construction data for building components you download to manufacture and assemble local, frequently used materials and equipment. This is low-tech prefabrication that requires little training. Using SketchUp you are able to develop pointed extracts for components to manufacture a standard piece of materials using a CNC (computer numerical control) machine. The subsequent frames can be constructed and amassed by hand, the cladding panels are attached and services and windows connected. With this method you can build a single-story house frame in one day.

Evaluation

You would agree that the above projects have a lot of potential to construct better, faster, more environmentally friendly, and lower-cost infrastructure or buildings.

In various parts of the world, systemization in construction is not widely utilized and when in use, for example, in panelized systems for high-rise apartment blocks in the United Kingdom, they can be boring and ugly, often with problems such as condensation. We have seen a worldwide revitalization of modularization and prefabrication, but the market share is still low.

All of these innovations are capital intensive as they require complex types of equipment. Technology is evolving so rapidly that we can envisage that less sophisticated equipment will be developed and their prices will be lowered, as they will be utilized on an industrial scale.

But will it replace more conventional methods of construction? We'll leave that to the market to decide.

In Conclusion

We have a severe shortage of housing in the USA. The White House says the U.S. currently has a housing shortage of about 4 million homes. Houses just can't be built fast enough. China, Europe, and the United Kingdom are also demanding faster, more efficient, and less wasteful construction. 3D-printing is no longer restricted to component, we are now printing entire buildings. This is part of the solution to the problem.

Giant 3D printers could make a difference and have, now, built the first 3D-printed homes in the U.S.

Throughout the world, big steps in 3D bridge printing have changed the industry within the last five years. These designs are using fewer materials to reduce environmental impact. Surely these earliest 3D printed bridges will continue to inspire future development as the 3D printing industry grows.

3D printing is a more sustainable approach than traditional construction, the use of concrete is still quite a carbon intensive process.

Companies should include additive manufacturing processes to improve construction automation such as bricklaying and others.

Implementing BIM can be daunting, but Driving Vision is here to help you at the pace you are comfortable with. Get started by getting in touch now