Heidelberg Materials: first anti-seismic building made in Italy with 3D printing

Construction with 3D printing: safer construction site

THE advantages of this construction technology concern its adaptability in terms of specific needs and better mechanical performance «GrThanks to the high degree of digitalisation, 3D printing allows you to increase safety on site and to build structures with complex shapes And personalized details which would be difficult or impossible to achieve using traditional methods» confirms the engineer Martina Palombaresearcher at the Research and Development laboratories of Heidelberg Materials.

The buildings were manufactured in the industrial area of ​​Volla (NA): here, in fact, thanks to the collaboration with the University of Naples Federico II and with Etesias – a spinoff of the same University – the two foundations and the walls then assembled in Montalto by a team of workers, like a kind of enormous Lego. A robotic arm he fabricated the two foundation plinths, walls and other components through the deposition of a continuous filament of 3D printable materialseveral kilometers long, following a digital model and a route previously designed thanks to specialized software.

The manufacturing procedure makes the creation of the product simple. The robotic arm, following a pre-established path, allows the cement material to be continuously deposited i.tech 3D manufactured by Heidelberg Materials (the brand that has inherited Italcementi’s legacy in Italy). The process is almost completely automated, and only requires the team of technicians to verify the quality of the mixed and pumped material and control the printing parameters, such as the filament extrusion speed or the geometry of each individual block.

The advantages of 3D construction: faster construction sites, less costs and less CO₂

Even if the Printable concrete is currently more expensive than the traditional one, but the construction process is much quicker and more convenient: we are talking about a time savings of at least 50%. And in the energy market, especially renewable energy, being fast means being more competitive. First of all, the use of formwork is eliminated (the temporary structure used in conventional techniques to contain the concrete until it solidifies) and the hardening time of the cementitious material used is shorter than traditional concrete.

If printing of items occurs directly on sitesavings on transportation costs are also achieved, improving the sustainability and overall efficiency of the project. This system also requires a smaller amount of material (up to approximately 50% less), because 3D printing optimizes the distribution of concrete compared to traditional technologies and reduces waste. By decreasing the quantities of material, there is also a lower environmental impact in terms of CO₂ produced.

The history of 3D Printing

Since 2015, Heidelberg Materials has been studying 3D printing technology in the cement sector at its research and innovation laboratories. The results were not lacking: the cementitious formulation that was developed is suitable for all the main types of printers on the market. The material once mixed with water is fluid enough to be pumped and transported from the mixing machine to the nozzle, but once extruded is able to self-support its own weight and that of the subsequent layers without deforming.

Over the years, Heidelberg Materials has refined its know-how and the technical skills to continuously improve the product and its sustainability. The research and development laboratories are equipped with a 3D printer to test and validate the developed material throughout the entire printing process. The research project saw the participation of a multidisciplinary team made up of engineers, materials chemists, architects and technicians, for a total of approximately 15 people and over 15 thousand hours of research.

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