Transforming Construction Through 3D Printed Structures with Scott Denney – Ep. 027

Main Take-Away’s From This Show

The 3D concrete printing idea has been around for decades, but the implementation of such technologies is far from becoming mainstream at the moment. The people at Pikus Concrete & Construction really are on the leading edge of implementation and this discussion was eye-opening to say the least. Construction technology has always been somewhat slow to implementation but in my opinion could benefit the most from the adoption of certain technologies, such as 3D concrete building. The main take-aways I got from my conversation with Scott in this “unofficial” Construction 3D Printer 101 course are as follows:

1. The technology for 3D printing in construction is there, the slow down has been mainly with the materials needed.
2. 3D printing could allow for more efficient designs once structural codes and designers are able to catch up to the technology.
3. 3D printing affordable housing is currently still not economically viable at this time.

As always, I will dig into each of these “take-away’s” every week on the blog. So, without further a due, here we go!

The technology for 3D printing in construction is there, the slow down has been mainly with the materials needed.

3D printing as we know it has been around since the early 80’s. This fact initially blew my mind as it seemed like this is a fairly recent technology. The recent boom in the construction sector has come from increased development in materials suitable for construction. The materials used in these concrete printers consist of cement, sand, and various other admixtures needed to give the concrete additional strength. The exact mixtures vary from supplier to supplier.

As mentioned on the website all3dp.com, “For now, mostly the start-ups have been working with a concrete mix consisting of sand, cement, fly ash, and silica fume. However, there are a few others focusing on 3D printing construction with earth-based materials.” The reason for using such common materials in construction is due to the fact that it is familiar to not only those in construction but also the building inspectors and other various jurisdictions that will review these structures as we will discuss further in the article.

The exciting news in all of this is that new materials are being studied and developed that could increase the sustainability of construction materials and ultimately structures themselves. “According to new research by construction blog Bimhow, the construction sector contributes to 23% of air pollution, 50% of the climatic change, 40% of drinking water pollution, and 50% of landfill wastes. In separate research by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the construction industry accounts for 40% of worldwide energy usage, with estimations that by 2030 emissions from commercial buildings will grow by 1.8%.” Needless to say, the construction industry has not been the most environmentally friendly one, but a necessary industry no doubt. Much of this pollution could be addressed by the advent of 3D printing structures out of sustainable resources and the introduction of a 3D printer that can produce entire structures on its own.