3D Printing of Buildings is a modern concept of Constructing the building and its components with Contour Crafting method using a 3D Printer which utilises Custom Blend Concrete mixture.
Methodology & Advantages
In this technology, the material is poured progressively layer by layer. A Computer Aided Drafted (CAD) design is used as a template, and the computer uses this to control the extruder arm to lay down the material in a Zig-Zag pattern.
This technology gives a great opportunity of automation of the construction process, by using 3D printer that will be able to print a whole house directly on-site.
The major advantage is that the process will be performed mostly by the machines, which will be safer and that too with a use of appropriate material with good parameters of the printer will reduce the cost and time for Construction.
3D printing will also allow to create large components with unlimited architectural flexibility and highest precision.
3D Printing Technology utilisation around the world
1. The Office of the Future, Dubai
The Office of the Future project is part of a wider push to make Dubai and the United Arab Emirates a world leader in 3D-printing. Taking up a footprint of 250 sq m (2,690 sq ft), this building is located within Dubai's Emirates Towers complex and will serve as a fully-functional office.
A very large 3D printer measuring 20 x 120 x 40 ft (6 x 36 x 12 m) did most of the work, printing the building by extruding a cement mixture layer by layer. There were also some additional smaller mobile 3D-printers used too. It took 17 days to print the basic building, but it then required finishing both internally and externally.
Considering the Cost Factor, the Government of Dubai stated that, the labor cost came in at half of what it would be for a building of similar size made using traditional methods.
2. Five-Storey apartment building by Winsun Company, China
WinSun Company has constructed a five-storey apartment building and a 1,100 square metre (11,840 square foot) villa, complete with decorative elements inside and out, on display at Suzhou Industrial Park using 3D Printing Technology.
The 3D printer array, developed by Ma Yihe, who has been inventing 3D printers for over a decade, stands 6.6 metres high, 10 metres wide and 40 metres long (20 by 33 by 132 feet). This fabricates the parts in large pieces at WinSun's facility. The structures are then assembled on-site, complete with steel reinforcements and insulation in order to comply with official building standards.
A CAD design is used as a template, and the computer uses this to control the extruder arm to lay down the material "much like how a baker might ice a cake". The walls are printed hollow, with a zig-zagging pattern inside to provide reinforcement also leaving space for insulation.
This process saved between 30 and 60 percent of construction waste, and can decreased production times by between 50 and 70 percent, and labour costs by between 50 and 80 percent.
In all, the villa costed around $161,000 to build.
So why is it not a trend yet in India?
Well, to say in a simple manner, REAL ESTATE.
India, being a developing nation has the 2nd Largest Population in the world. This leads to a greater demand for the land and to cater this, Indian Construction Industry has successfully embraced the High Rise structures in the form of Apartments where as individual plots has became something related to Premium Segment owing to its Sky Rocketing Costs.
Since 3D printing has no ability to construct a high rise structure yet and it being in a research phase still, we couldn’t see the trend of 3D printing yet in our country.
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Civil Scholar is a Blog by Aravind Samala on Construction, Environment, Technology, Trends and Innovation.