The latest 3D printing application? Form concrete. According to a team in Zurich ETH, the team claims that the use of foam templates can reduce the amount of concrete by 70%. It also provides improved insulation. You can see a video of this process below.
Typical concrete works rely on formwork usually made of wood, steel or plastic. This is easy to do, but it is difficult to make complex shapes. However, if you can create complex shapes, you can easily place materials where they increase strength, ignoring locations that do not carry loads. By using mechanical arm 3D printing technology, researchers can arrange prefabricated foam blocks to form highly complex shapes.
Foam components are made of traditional wooden forms, usually using high-performance fiber reinforced concrete placement. Its structure is strong, but lighter than traditional concrete structure. Foam parts can be left or removed at the end of the process.
The design requires 12 different shapes and 24 separate elements. 3D printing material is a mineral foam made from recycled materials.
We have seen 3D printing through a manipulator before. Of course, 3D printing structure is very popular recently, and we have seen it made of concrete many times.