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3D printing for construction and architecture projects: The Ultimate Guide 2022

Introduction

Here is the ultimate guide to 3D printing in construction. We will tell you more about the benefits of 3D printing for the construction industry, and we will see the different technologies developed to revolutionize this sector.

Is 3D printing the future of construction? Can it become an alternative to traditional construction techniques in the future? That’s also what we are going to see! You will find some information about the first experiments of 3D printed houses or 3D printed buildings. Still, more importantly, we will see how additive manufacturing could be helpful for you and your projects. How could you use it at your scale? For which projects? 

We hope all these tremendous architectural projects will inspire you. 

Why you should start using 3D software for architecture

The advantages of 3D printing start with using the correct 3D software. Finding the right architecture software can be complicated. From ArchiCAD to Revit, many programs are dedicated to architecture and offer great toolsets. 

Why are these software so useful? Even if you are not planning on using 3D printing, these programs can help you better visualize your projects for yourself and your customers. You will be able to produce a photorealistic rendering and do and re-do your 3D models until it matches your expectations. 

Thanks to these advanced software, you can turn any of your ideas into detailed models and designs. Moreover, a 3D modeling software using the Cloud will allow you to optimize your team’s collaboration and communication. Your work will be accessible to anybody, and you’ll all be able to work on the same model.

Benefits of 3D printing for construction

Now that you know a little about how it’s done let’s discuss why we do it. One might think we have suitable technologies for building different structures, we make stable houses, apartments, and offices, is there still room for improvement? Oh yes. Rebuilding whole cities after a natural disaster, giving shelter to homeless people, and generally building more sustainable habitats- are only a few problems that 3D printing can help with.

Fast production

3D Printing in the construction industry means significantly reduced production time. That’s because the machines themselves are high-speed, some of them can manufacture 600 to 800-square-foot (55 to 75-square-meter) homes in just 24 hours. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it?

3D printers are also fully automated, which eliminates human error. The machine needs to be monitored, but most of the production process doesn’t involve human help. Also, 3D printers don’t use additional tooling. They have the construction programmed, and they produce it. There is no need for extra support, different materials, and other aspects to keep in mind that traditional methods require.

https://hypepotamus.com/news/new-story-unveils-3d-printed-home/

Almost zero material waste

The main advantage of using 3D printing in the construction industry is saving many production costs on material waste. That’s because a 3D printer, such as robotic arms, uses precisely the amount of material they need. Producing buildings layer by layer and with lattice structures inside allows for a considerable cost reduction. Not only that, but they are also capable of using recycled materials. With Topology Optimization, creating even more material-efficient models is possible. This software helps to eject not necessary material sections out of a model without interfering with the functionality. 

This factor also benefits the environment. 3D printing has a much smaller impact than traditional ways of manufacturing. An Italian company called WASP took 3D printing into a significant development and designed one of the largest 3D printers in the world capable of producing homes out of local materials and using green energy (hydro, wind, or solar power). This means much smaller emissions, a big problem in today’s construction industry.

Last year we talked about the first family to move into a 3D printed house. The house in question was produced in Nantes, France, and is called the Yhnova project. It took only 54 hours to print the house, and the overall cost was about 20% cheaper than building a traditional home. Additive Manufacturing can help to build a better future for the construction industry.

Cost-effectiveness of 3D printing in the construction industry

As mentioned above, using Additive Manufacturing allows for less material usage and involves fewer people working on the construction. 3D printing is also a much faster technology. Those factors radically reduce the costs of building any 3D printed construction.

 

While 3D printing structures, we use just the amount of material we need, therefore, we are eco-friendly and save money. This aspect can really bring the costs down. 3D technologies also reduce supply costs. We can also save a lot of time, 3D printers don’t need to eat or sleep, their working hours are more adjustable, and they are much faster than people. And the faster you build, the more money you save.

https://www.3dnatives.com/en/3d-printed-house-companies-120220184/

 

Innovative design

The last, but just as important benefit of using 3D printing in the construction industry, is all the innovative solutions it brings. 3D technologies can improve your project planning as they can be used already at the design stage. They are starting from CAD plans of the buildings, which are technical drawings with all the parameters. Based on those drawings, a 3D construction model can be made to meet the clients’ expectations and show them the best design solutions.

 

It is crucial to address the client’s issues and present the correct answers to their questions. Additive Manufacturing helps here. As we just mentioned, with 3D technologies, you can present your clients with 3D visualizations of the structure, but that 3D model can be 3D printed. One of our clients, Valoptim, did just that! The family could imagine themselves already living in the house. These models allow for high personalization of the structure.

//www.sculpteo.com/blog/2018/10/10/valoptim-and-sculpteo-3d-printing-architectural-models-for-customers/

 

Moving on to large-scale projects, Additive Manufacturing gives us new design freedom allowing for the production of new shapes and solutions to our needs. We have never had such an outstanding possibility to customize structures. Not only the structures themselves but also the locations. Setting up a 3D printer somewhere for a few days is more accessible than moving all the workers there. Also, some of the machines don’t need electricity as they run on green energy so that we can reach undeveloped areas more easily.

What are the different technologies

To start talking about Additive Manufacturing applications for construction, we should first look at the available technologies. Then we can discuss the advantages. Right now, we have a few options for 3D printing in the construction industry.

Robotic arm extruders

One of them is a robotic arm extruder. This technology is called contour crafting. It is fairly similar to how FDM desktop 3D printers work. The rails are arranged to let the robotic arm move, and within the limits of the rails, the arm will build the house layer by layer by extruding concrete material from the nozzle. This is the most popular 3D printing technology used to build XL structures.

Credit: XtreeE

Sand 3D printing

The following 3D technique is similar to industrial 3D Printing such as SLS or Jet Fusion. The pioneer who tested it was the Italian architect Enrico Dini, who built his D-Shape 3D printer. The machine spreads a layer of sand powder, then hardens the structure’s shape with a binder. This is precisely how our metal 3D printers work too!

Source: 3dnatives 

Metal technology

Last but not least, for structures such as bridges, which have to withstand more stress, Dutch company MX3D developed Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). The team described the technology: “we combined an industrial robot with a welding machine to turn it into a 3D printer that works with our software”. The robot allows for 3D printing metal structures in 6-axes.

Source: 3dnatives 

The best 3D printed construction projects

We talked a lot about the benefits that Additive Manufacturing brings to the construction industry. 3D printing opens new design possibilities, reduces costs, and produces sustainable construction projects with low environmental impact. We talked about theory before. Now let’s move on to how the advantages of AM are applied in reality!

We already told you about a family moving into a 3D printed house in France and many 3D printed houses projects. In the other real-life examples, we will introduce you to some stunning projects from the Netherlands, Dubai’s 3D published offices, and the first-ever 3D printed bridge. How about manufacturing a house in one day? Is it possible? Let’s see how far the 3D technologies for the construction industry have come.

Build a House in 24 hours?

Why not! Apis Cor is a Russian company specializing in 3D printers that can produce a contour-crafted home in just 24 hours. Not only that, but the machines can also work in winter. They have to be covered. 3D printers can be easily transported to the building site, and within 30 minutes, it’s ready to build your future house! The concrete is a unique mix that hardens fast, allowing the printer to work quickly. The company wanted to showcase also that the shape of buildings doesn’t have to be square. We can open architecture to take new forms. Experiments like this show that additive manufacturing could become a serious solution to the housing crisis in the upcoming years. 

3D printing a new life

New Story is a nonprofit organization aiming to bring homes to the poorest. They have built 850 houses worldwide in 3 years, but they knew they had to work faster. Brett Hagler, the CEO and co-founder of New Story saw the potential of Additive Manufacturing. They developed new designs and construction solutions, improving their building process and reducing costs. Thanks to 3D printing, they could manufacture 100 contour-crafted homes in just eight months. That’s more than 12 houses per month, and for the organization, that means 12 families that finally received homes.

 

New Story achieved many thanks to collaborating with Icon, who designed the Vulcan mobile 3D printer. The machine can be easily moved to developing countries and can operate without electricity. The printer can build a 600 to the 800-square-foot house (55- 75 square meters) in just 24 hours. Thanks to 3D technologies, the costs are established to be just 4 000$. This can truly change the future of housing and fighting homelessness.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-inside-race-perfect-3d-printed

An innovative form of offices: building offices of the future

3D printing brings new forms into construction. Thanks to Additive Manufacturing, the architects are no longer limited to abstract forms of the office building, and Dubai’s new offices proved that. They produced new, futuristic structures in just 17 days by 17 professionals. They are equipped with energy-saving devices, which are very cost-efficient. But also, 3D printing for construction has already reduced labor costs by 50%! Utilizing Additive Manufacturing allowed for massive cost reduction and was much faster than the traditional building process.

https://inhabitat.com/dubai-debuts-worlds-first-fully-3d-printed-building/

Stunning and marine-inspired facade

In 2016 the Netherlands was holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and celebrating such important leadership, a new facility was built for the politicians to gather. It was not just an ordinary, bland building. Given new design freedom by 3D printing, the architects constructed the elegant facade, resembling a sail stretched over the building.

The curtain-like slits uncover blue benches, which were 3D modeled geometrically and manufactured locally with a construction 3D printer. This innovative structure was produced with bioplastic, which was developed especially for this occasion. When the Dutch EU Presidency ended, the building was taken apart, and the bioplastic was recycled to be reused for future 3D printing projects. This proves the construction industry can have low environmental impact thanks to 3D technologies.

https://www.detail-online.com/blog-article/3d-printed-europe-building-by-dus-architects-26804/

3D printed bridges

Additive Manufacturing in the construction industry is not just about buildings. Applications of 3D printing can also be highly beneficial to manufacturing bridges. Thanks to the ability to create some complex structures but also build solid and durable constrictions. We just wrote about the longest 3D printed bridge in the world published recently in China!

But it wasn’t the first pedestrian bridge ever. The pioneers in 3D printed bridges were the Netherlands. The construction in question was built for cyclists. Thanks to Additive Manufacturing, it could handle the weight of 40 trucks, and thanks to Additive Manufacturing is sustainable! The Netherlands seems to see the potential of 3D technologies as the next project is also Dutch.

This bridge came to life with 3D technologies and was designed by MX3D. The company developed a unique robotic arm capable of 3D printing with steel. This impressive construction has an abstract and bio-inspired design, and the bridge builds itself thanks to the 3D software the engineers elaborated.

3D printing homes with rice?

Additive Manufacturing is a great way to bring more sustainable architecture to life. Wasp, an Italian 3D printer manufacturer, developed the Gaia project. They manufacture contour-crafted buildings with almost no material waste. The material used is raw earth and rice waste, both of which we have plenty of. The structure of the walls allows for thermal insulation and natural ventilation. This project perfectly showcases the possible eco-friendly and fully functional architecture thanks to 3D printing.

Concrete 3D printing 

Eindhoven is known for its many 3D printing concrete experiments. But do you know that a project of 3D printed concrete houses is planned in Eindhoven? This project will start to be 3D printed at the Eindhoven University, using concrete 3D printers, and move progressively to the construction site. The goal here is to allow the construction of delicate architectural designs while keeping in mind some sustainability aspects by avoiding material waste and CO2 emissions.

What is the future of 3D printing for architecture?

As you can see there are plenty of benefits to using 3D printing in the construction industry and the companies using it already are very successful. 3D technologies help to manage the whole production process, from the early stages of the project to produce it. Structures are being 3D printed at a fraction of the regular cost and time, they are much more eco-friendly thanks to almost zero material waste.

But besides these incredible experiments pushing the boundaries of the technology, you can access some amazing technologies such as SLS to create your next architectural models and rethink the way you develop your mockups and construction projects. 

Innovations that Additive Manufacturing brings are available not only in the construction industry but you can also improve your production today, with us. We offer you different 3D printing technologies, from plastic 3D printing to resin 3D printing and metal. Don’t wait for your competitors to do it, bring this cutting-edge technology to your business today.

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