First 3D-printed Bridge in the World Inaugurated in the Netherlands

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The Netherlands has witnessed the world’s first 3D-printed bridge -made of concrete- designated for cyclists. However, BAM Infra, which is the bridge’s construction company, claims that it can take up to 40 trucks.

The bridge was created from pre-fab blocks of concrete that were 3D-printed by the means of robots. The bridge has a length of 8 meters and it is just a portion of a ring-road -still under construction- that will surround Gemert, Brabant province.

BAM Infra collaborated with the Eindhoven University of Technology to produce the bridge. The robots took three months to make the 800 layers of pre-stressed reinforced concrete in the lab of the Dutch university.

The new design utilizes a lesser amount of concrete than the custom poured-concrete design. Thus, rendering its construction a sustainable one.

“We are connecting for the future,” commented the director of BAM Infra, Marinus Schimmel. “Innovation plays a crucial role in this. 3D printing does away with the need for auxiliary materials, such as formwork.”

“This greatly reduces the amount of waste and decreases our use of scarce raw materials. And this working method also has a positive effect on CO2 emissions during the production process of the bridge.”

A claim that the robots will not be replacing any of the labor hands was made by Professor Theo Salet at the Structural Design Department of Eindhoven University of Technology.  

“People need to build and maintain the robots, so the work will change,” the professor explained.

The Dutch designer, Joris Laarman, who created the bridge is now occupied with designing of a pedestrian bridge across the canal of Amsterdam. His new design will also be printed by robots.

As a precursor, Yingchuang New Materials- which is a Chinese company for materials- displayed the possibility to generate a whole house made of 3D-printed concrete. In a single day, 10 frames were made by a machine from construction debris and cement. The roofs were individually installed.

3D printing technique is currently applied using a vast variety of materials. Hong Kong University has had a pavilion to display the promising features of 3D-printed Terracotta bricks.

 

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