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According to a report published by Allied Market Research, the 3D printing construction market was valued at $1.4bn in 2021, and is estimated to reach $750.8bn by 2031, growing at a compound annual rate of 87.3% from 2022 to 2031.
3D printers used in construction generally fall into two categories: gantry-style set-ups and robotic arms. Gantry printers are the most common for on-site printing of entire building structures. The printers are totally automated and controlled by software, making the process faster, more precise and less wasteful than traditional methods as well as removing the possibility of human error. This can lead to faster completion times, increased productivity and improved safety.
Key benefits
Philip Lund-Nielsen, co-founder of 3D printer company COBOD International, says: “There are four key benefits of 3D construction printing: automation, speed, improved sustainability and added design freedom.”
He adds that the technology addresses up to 45% of the total cost of putting up residential buildings. This is because it cannot yet address some cost types, such as: finishing/surfaces, windows, doors and hidden components such as mechanicals, electrical or plumbing.
For more commercial and industrial applications the technology could save much more of the total construction cost. Marco Vonk, marketing manager at Dutch 3D concrete printing company Saint-Gobain Weber Beamix, says: “You save about 60% of the time on the job site and 80% in labour.”
3D-printing construction also enables architects and designers to create structures with more intricate and complex designs that are difficult to achieve with traditional methods, leading to more aesthetically pleasing and functional buildings.
The technology can reduce environmental impacts by minimising waste and using fewer materials. Additionally, 3D-printed buildings can be designed to be more energy efficient and sustainable, reducing costs.
However, there are challenges to the take-up of 3D printing. According to David Correra, research partner at Allied Analytics, these include limited scale, regulatory frameworks not yet existing and a shortage of skills and knowledge of the technology. He says: “Training programmes will need to be developed to support the growth of this industry. New developments here as well as in technology and materials may overcome its limitation in the future.”
Fast completion
However, Lund-Nielsen gives an example of what he says is the easy learning curve of 3D construction printing. He says: “In 2020 it took our partner, PERI Group, 36 days to 3D print their first building, a two-storey 1,700ft2 home in Germany, equivalent to 50ft2 per day. When they completed their second project a few months later, a much larger three-storey, 4,100 ft2 five-apartment unit, they reduced the print time to just 21 days, equivalent to 200ft2 per day.”
Productivity quadrupled from the first to the second project. Lund-Nielsen suggests that at some point in the future the walls of a typical 2,000ft2 home could be 3D printed in as little as five working days.
This looks probable owing to advances in technology over time, in the same way that other breakthrough technologies improved. It is likely that printers will become more reliable and faster as well as seeing an increase in scale, allowing for bigger projects and new use cases.
“We are certain that the technology will take the construction industry from one technological S-curve to the next, bringing with it the above mentioned benefits and more,” adds Lund-Nielsen.
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.