AsianScientist (Jul. 19, 2018) – The Centre for Additive Manufacturing (AM.NUS) at the National University of Singapore has announced the launch of the AM.NUS Construction 3D Printing Program to accelerate the adoption of 3D printing building technology in the construction industry.
3D printing technology has transformed manufacturing in a wide array of sectors such as the medical, precision engineering and aerospace industries, enabling these sectors to significantly speed up production and lower costs. In the construction industry, 3D printing is being investigated to improve building structures and eco-friendliness with better building designs and materials.
Hosted under the School of Design and Environment at NUS and supported by the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC), the AM.NUS Construction 3D Printing Program will help to realize the value of 3D printing in the construction sector and establish an ecosystem of construction 3D printing capabilities in Singapore through cutting-edge research and collaborations with the industry.
In addition, the program grants members access to Singapore’s largest gantry-type concrete 3D printing machine. The technology will be used to test novel building designs and materials with the aim of developing concrete structures that can be easily mass-produced by 3D printing in a sustainable manner.
The AM.NUS Construction 3D Printing Program has since embarked on two research projects. The first is a project to 3D print toilets to accelerate the production of toilet units in India and improve sanitation in the country. Researchers have developed a toilet unit design that can be 3D printed in under five hours, which currently takes a day to build manually.
The toilet unit is also 25 percent cheaper to produce by 3D printing. The construction of the 3D printed toilet unit has been completed at NUS and will be shipped to India for installation. The researchers are also looking to incorporate recycled materials in the concrete used to construct these toilets.
The second project is the development of the world’s first 3D printed volumetric formwork for bathroom units. Formworks for concrete constructions are traditionally made with steel or timber. The new formwork, which replaces steel and timber with a polymer, could potentially construct up to 24 bathroom units in a day with the use of a semi-automated production line.
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Source: National University of Singapore.
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