Articles
Loughborough University is to develop the world's first 3D concrete printing robot with Swedish construction firm Skanska.
The 18 month agreement will also see the technology used under licence in real construction applications for the first time.
The 3DCP (3D Concrete Printing) process developed at Loughborough University extrudes a cement-based mortar using a nozzle connected to a gantry and robotic arm is in its second-generation form. The computer-controlled system lays successive layers of concrete until the entire object is created. The printer can make things which cannot be manufactured by conventional processes such as complex structural components, curved cladding panels and architectural features and has been in development at Loughborough since 2007.
Partners in the project, which aims to develop a robot that will be made commercially available, include architects Foster and Partners, Buchan Concrete, ABB and Lafarge Tarmac. Skanska said it aims to explore opportunities opened up by the new technology and help develop a 3D printing supply chain during the project.
Rob Francis, director of innovation and business improvement at Skanska said: “3D concrete printing, when combined with a type of mobile prefabrication centre has the potential to reduce the time needed to create complex elements of buildings from weeks to hours. We expect to achieve a level of quality and efficiency which has never been seen before in construction.”
Dr Richard Buswell, from the Building Energy Research Group at Loughborough University, said: “The modern construction industry is becoming more and more demanding in terms of design and construction. We have reached a point where new developments in construction manufacturing are required to meet the new challenges and our research has sought to respond to that challenge.
“We are pleased and excited by the opportunity to develop the world's first commercial 3D concrete printing robot with Skanska and their consortium. We have been convinced of its viability in the lab, but it now needs industry to adapt the technology to service real applications in construction and architecture."
The project was started under the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s (EPSRC) Innovative Manufacturing and Construction Research Centre (IMCRC) and led by Dr Richard Buswell and Professor Simon Austin.