3D Printing Concrete on temporary surfaces: The design and fabrication of a concrete shell structure

C. Borg Costanzi, Z. Y. Ahmed, H. R. Schipper*, F. P. Bos, U. Knaack, R. J.M. Wolfs

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

56 Citations (Scopus)
60 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

One of the geometrical restrictions associated with printed paste materials such as concrete, is that material must be self-supporting during printing. In this research paper a new methodology for 3D Printing Concrete onto a temporary freeform surface is presented. This is achieved by setting up a workflow for combining a Flexible Mould developed at TU Delft with a 4-degrees-of-freedom gantry printer (4 DOF) provided at TU Eindhoven. A number of hypothetical cases are studied, namely fully-printing geometries or combining 3D printing with casting concrete. The final outcome is a 5 m2 partially-printed and partially-cast shell structure, combined with a CNC-milled mould simulating a Flexible Mould.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)395-404
Number of pages10
JournalAutomation in Construction
Volume94
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2018

Keywords

  • Adaptable mould
  • Concrete additive manufacturing
  • Shell structure

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