3D Construction Printing - A Shift To An Industrialised Manufacturing Style Approach

A visual representation of estimated output achievable with an assembly line style 3D construction printer set-up on site. *Projections based on a 6-unit 3-storey residential building, the number of buildings indicated should therefore be multiplied by the number of units produced (i.e., 6 ) to attain the number of units per annum.

The construction industry is becoming a more digitally native industry where the processes in homebuilding have been streamlined, digitalised, and refined to continuously improve productivity during planning, design, construction, and operation.

3D construction printing (3DCP) has enjoyed sustained global proliferation in recent years which has been further prompted by the increasing costs of materials and labour, and a global housing crisis.

The UK is now beginning to see the practical implementation of this technology. Changemaker3D has announced its involvement in the UK’s new HS2 rail network, constructing building elements on-site in physically restricted areas using a graphene-reinforced high-performance mixture. Versarien recently announced the launch of the first application of 3DCP in the UK with off-site prefabricated lifestyle pods which can illustrate the level of detail, flexibility and precision offered by 3DCP. 

“Printing coarse aggregate concrete is critical to the financial feasibility and life-cycle performance of planned residential developments.”

HTL.tech focuses on methods to sustainably increase affordable housing supply and has developed a code-compliant construction detailing package specifically tailored for 3DCP which will be used in their upcoming 46-unit social housing scheme in Accrington, UK, in collaboration with Building for Humanity, the first phase of which is to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022. This step forward for the region is facilitated by HTL.tech’s partnership with COBOD International and CEMEX.

To maximise the impact that 3DCP can have, we must spend time listening to the sector’s needs and focus on developing, demonstrating, and deploying solutions that yield sustainable value to the areas of the market that require it most.

To propel 3DCP to the point where it can deliver the change that the construction industry needs, collective efforts are needed in standardisation of practice, a collaboration between industry partners, training and R&D, and equipment.

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