Construction 3D Printing (c3Dp) or 3D construction Printing (3DCP) refers to various technologies that use 3D printing as a core method to fabricate buildings or construction components. Alternative terms for this process include "additive construction." "3D Concrete" refers to concrete extrusion technologies whereas autonomous robotic construction System (ARCS), large-scale additive manufacturing (LSAM), and freeform construction (FC) refer to other sub-groups.
At construction scale, the main 3D-printing methods are extrusion (concrete/cement, wax, foam, polymers), powder bonding (polymer bond, reactive bond, sintering), and additive welding.
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. Demonstrations of construction 3D printing technologies have included fabrication of housing, construction components (cladding and structural panels and columns), bridges and civil infrastructure, artificial reefs, follies, and sculptures.
3D concrete printing is an emerging technology with the potential to transform building and infrastructure construction by reducing time, material usage, labor requirements, and overall costs, while also enhancing sustainability and minimizing environmental impact. Despite its promise, the technology faces several challenges, including the development and optimization of material mixes, ensuring process consistency and quality control, maintaining structural integrity and durability, and addressing gaps in industry regulation and standardization.
History
William Urschel
In 1939 William Urschel created the world's first 3D concrete printed building in Valparaiso, Indiana. Urschel patented many of his construction inventions and even had 3D printing that used tongue and groove structural designs.
Seeding technologies 1950–1995
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. Development of automated fabrication of entire buildings using slip forming techniques and robotic assembly of components, akin to 3D printing, were pioneered in Japan to address the dangers of building high rise buildings by Shimizu and Hitachi in the 1980s and 1990s. 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.
Early developments 1995–2000
Early construction 3D printing development and research have been under way since 1995. Two methods were invented, one by Joseph PegnaJ.B.Gardiner PhD Thesis - Exploring the Emerging Design Territory of Construction 3D Printing (p80), 2011 which was focused on a sand/cement forming technique which used steam to selectively bond the material in layers or solid parts, though this technique was never demonstrated.
The second technique, Contour Crafting by Behrohk Khoshnevis, initially began as a novel ceramic extrusion and shaping method, as an alternative to the emerging polymer and metal 3D printing techniques, and was patented in 1995.Khoshnevis, Original Contour Crafting Patent US5529471 A Khoshnevis realized that this technique could exceed these techniques where "current methods are limited to fabrication of part dimensions that are generally less than one meter in each dimension". 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. This technology has only been tested at lab scale to date and controversially and allegedly formed the basis for recent efforts in China.
First generation 2000–2010
In 2003, Rupert Soar secured funding and formed the freeform construction group at Loughborough University, UK, to explore the potential for up-scaling existing 3D printing techniques for construction applications. In 2005, the group secured funding to build a large-scale construction 3D printing machine using 'off the shelf' components (concrete pumping, spray concrete, gantry system) to explore how complex such components could be and realistically meet the demands for construction.
In 2005, Enrico Dini, Italy, patented the D-Shape technology, employing a massively scaled powder jetting/bonding technique over an area approximately .Patent by Dini et al., "Method and Device for Building Automatically Conglomerate Structures. Patent number US20080148683 A1" web cited 2016-07-18 This technique although originally developed with epoxy resin bonding system was later adapted to use inorganic bonding agents.J.B.Gardiner PhD thesis "Exploring the Emerging Design Territory of Construction 3D Printing, 2011 (p89) web cited 2016-07-18 This technology has been used commercially for a range of projects in construction and other sectors including for artificial reefs.J.B.Gardiner PhD thesis "Exploring the Emerging Design Territory of Construction 3D Printing, 2011" (p337) web cited 2016-07-18
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.J.B.Gardiner PhD thesis "Exploring the Emerging Design Territory of Construction 3D Printing, 2011 (p81) web cited 2016-07-18
Second generation 2010–present
Buswell's group succeeded in licensing that robotic technology to Skanska in 2014. 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."https://3dprint.com/38144/3d-printed-apartment-building/" web cited 2016-09-14 In May 2016, a new office building opened in Dubai, a space, touted by Dubai's Museum of the Future as the world's first 3D-printed office building."https://3dprint.com/126426/3d-printed-museum-office/" web cited 2016-09-14
In 2017, a project to build a 3D-printed skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates was announced. Jochebed Menon, Construction Week Online, March 12, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017 Cazza construction would help to build the structure. At present there are no specific details, such as the buildings height or exact location. Claire Scott, 3D Print. March 13, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017
FreeFAB Wax, invented by James B Gardiner and Steven Janssen at Laing O'Rourke, has been in development since March 2013. The technique uses construction scale 3D-printing to produce high volumes of engineered wax (up to ) to fabricate a 'fast and dirty' 3D-printed mould for precast concrete, glass fibre-reinforced concrete (GRC), and other sprayable/cast-able materials. The casting surface is then five-axis milled, removing approximately of wax, to create a high-quality mold (with approximately surface roughness). After curing, the mold is then either crushed or melted, with the wax filtered and reused, significantly reducing waste, as compared with conventional mold technologies. The benefits of the technology are its fast mold fabrication, increased production efficiencies, reduced labor, and virtual elimination of waste through material reuse for molds."http://www.iaarc.org/publications/fulltext/ISARC2016-Paper095.pdf, ISARC 2016" The system was originally demonstrated in 2014, using an industrial robot. The system was later adapted to integrate with a five-axis, high-speed gantry to achieve the rapid surface-milling tolerances, required for the system.
The US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research Development Center, led by the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL), in Champaign, Illinois, began research in deployable construction 3D-printer technology starting in September 2015. The pilot project, Automated Construction for Expeditionary Structures (ACES), focused on concrete 3D printing and covered a broad range of research areas, including printing systems, printable concrete materials, structural design and testing, and construction methods. 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).USACE ERDC, Entry Control Point (ECP), 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BodasNDLYzUERDC, First 3D printed Concrete Barracks, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qmqN1G5x4wNews Leader, Army shows off next-level tech at Fort Leonard Wood, 2018, https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2018/04/11/fort-leonard-wood-msspix-army-demonstrates-trio-experimental-technologies-faro-drones-3-d-printer/503766002/
In 2017 ERDC CERL began working with the US Marine Corps, resulting in the first demonstration of concrete 3D printing by military personnel, a structurally enhanced reinforced 3D printed concrete barracks hut,Engineer News Record, Army Researchers Refine 3D-Printed Concrete Barracks, https://www.enr.com/articles/45002-army-researchers-refine-3d-printed-concrete-barracksFox News, Marine Corps 3D print 500-square-foot concrete barrack, 2018, https://video.foxnews.com/v/5828338937001 the first 3D printed bridge in the Americas, and the first demonstration of printing with a nozzle.3D printing Media Network, US Marines 3D print concrete structure using a three-inch nozzle, 2019, https://www.3dprintingmedia.network/us-marines-3d-print/Marine Corps System Command, Tactical Tuesday: 3D Printed Concrete Bridge, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEN1x5Hc4qA Through this work, ERDC and the Marines were able to test structural performance of reinforced 3D printed concrete wall assemblies and bridge beams, print system resilience and maintenance cycles, extended printing operations, the publicized 24-hour building claim, and develop viable reinforcement and construction methods using conventionally accepted practices.Diggs-McGee et al, Print time vs. elapsed time: A temporal analysis of a continuous printing operation for additive constructed concrete, Additive Manufacturing, 2019
MX3D Metal founded by Loris Jaarman and team has developed two six-axis robotic 3D printing systems, the first uses a thermoplastic which is extruded, notably this system allows the fabrication of freeform non-planar beads. The second is a system that relies on additive welding (essentially spot welding on previous spot welds) the additive welding technology has been developed by various groups in the past. MX3D worked on the fabrication and installation of the metal bridge in Amsterdam for six years. The completed pedestrian and bicycle bridge was opened in July 2021. The bridge has a span of and a final mass of of stainless steel.
BetAbram is a simple gantry based concrete extrusion 3D printer developed in Slovenia. This system is available commercially, offering three models to consumers since 2013. The largest can print objects up to ."https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/emerges-first-manufacturer-3d-house-printers-38801/" 3D Industry article Total Custom concrete 3D printer developed by Rudenko is a concrete deposition technology mounted in a gantry configuration, the system has a similar output to Winsun and other concrete 3D printing technologies, however it uses a lightweight truss type gantry. The technology has been used to fabricate a backyard scale version of a castle and a hotel room in the Philippines.