Publications / 2011 Proceedings of the 28th ISARC, Seoul, Korea

Development of a Viable Concrete Printing Process

Sungwoo Lim, Richard Buswell, Thanh Le, Rene Wackrow, Simon Austin, Alistair Gibb, Tony Thorpe
Pages 665-670 (2011 Proceedings of the 28th ISARC, Seoul, Korea, ISBN 978-89-954572-4-5, ISSN 2413-5844)
Abstract:

A novel Concrete Printing process has been developed, inspired and informed by advances in 3D printing, which has the potential to produce highly customised building components. Whilst still in their infancy, these technologies could create a new era of architecture that is better adapted to the environment and integrated with engineering function. This paper describes the development of a viable concrete printing process with a practical example in designing and manufacturing a concrete component (called Wonder Bench) that includes service voids and reinforcement. The challenges met and those still to be overcome particularly in the evaluation of the manufacturing tolerances of prints are also discussed.

Keywords: Concrete Printing, Construction Automation, Digital Fabrication, Additive Manufacturing