Seminar On

“3D CONCRETE PRINTING TECHNOLOGY”

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the Requirements

For the award of degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
In

CIVIL ENGINEERING

By
MAHEK SULTANA 20R91A116

SUBMITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

TEEGALA KRISHNA REDDY ENGINEERING COLLEGE

(AUTONOMOUS)
Medbowli, Meerpet, Saroor nagar, Hyderabad-097.

2023-2024
 INTRODUCTION
3D printed concrete is a special type of concrete that can be used for construction just with a
3D printer. It is a technology that transforms three-dimensional digital drawings into three-
dimensional objects as desired by the users via a 3D printer. The 3D printed concrete combines
the advantages of spray concrete and self-compacting concrete. The concrete material is pushed
through a nozzle of the concrete 3D printer to form layers that print in 3D. The concrete 3D
printing can print the wall and frames of the building unit, bridges, benches, or any outdoor
decors, etc. 3D printing technology attracts attention since it is faster than traditional
construction, less costly, less labour and less error margin. The prestigious honour goes to
engineer Chuck Hull, who designed and created the first 3D printer in 1984.

It is possible to produce structures with complex designs and small scaled various products,
under favour of this technology. The application of 3D printers has taken its place in the field
of engineering because this technology has emerged as a joint product of materials science,
robotic coding and architectural design studies. Optimized cement-based mortar material is
used in 3D printing printers. In order to be able to build layers on top of each other without
collapse, and to perform 3D printing without shrinkage cracks, a building material recipe
should be prepared by obtaining appropriate mixing ratios. While placing the building material,
layered production is made without using a mould, and the width and thickness of the printing
layer is constantly controlled during placement.
Construction 3D Printing (c3Dp) or 3D construction Printing (3DCP) refers to various
technologies that use 3D printing as a core method to fabricate buildings or construction
components. Alternative terms for this process include "additive construction. "3D Concrete"
refers to concrete extrusion technologies whereas Autonomous Robotic Construction System
(ARCS), large-scale additive manufacturing (LSAM), or freeform construction (FC) refer to
other sub-groups.

At construction scale, the main 3D-printing methods are extrusion

(concrete/cement, wax, foam, polymers), powder bonding (polymer bond, reactive bond,
sintering), and additive welding.

A number of different approaches have been demonstrated to date, which include on-site
and off-site fabrication of buildings and construction components, using industrial robots,
gantry systems, and tethered autonomous vehicles. Demonstrations of construction 3D printing
technologies have included fabrication of housing, construction components (cladding and
structural panels and columns), bridges and civil infrastructure, artificial reefs, follies, and
sculptures.
 CONCRETE FOR 3D PRINTING

Large-scale, cement-based 3D printing disposes the need for conventional moulding by

precisely placing, or solidifying, specific volumes of material in sequential layers by a
computer controlled positioning process. This 3D printing approach consist of three general
stages: data preparation, concrete preparation and component printing.

For path and data generation, a variety of methods are implemented for the generation of robotic
building paths. A general approach is to slice a 3D shape into flat thin layers with a constant
thickness which can be stacked up onto each other. In this method, each layer consists of a
contour line and a filling pattern which can be implemented as honeycomb structures or space-
filling curves. Another method is the tangential continuity method which produces 3-
dimensional building paths with locally varying thicknesses. This method results in creating
constant contact surfaces between two layers, therefore, the geometrical gaps between two
layers which often limits the 3D printing process will be avoided.

The material preparation stage includes mixing and placing the concrete into the container.
Once the fresh concrete has been placed into the container, it can be conveyed through the
pump–pipe– nozzle system to print out self-compacting concrete filaments, which can build
layer-by-layer structural components. In the additive processes, pumpability and the stability
of the extrusion is important for the applications of mortars. These properties will all vary
depending on the concrete mix design, the delivery system, and the deposition device. General
specifications of wet concrete 3D printing are categorized into four main characteristics:

• Pumpability: The ease and reliability with which material is moved through the
delivery system
• Printability: The ease and reliability of depositing material through a deposition
device
• Buildability: The resistance of a deposited wet material to deformation under load
• Open time: The period where the above properties are consistent within acceptable
tolerances.
To execute the printing process, a control system is required. These systems can be generally
split into two categories: gantry systems and robotic arm systems. The gantry system drives a
manipulator mounted onto an overhead to locate the print nozzle in XYZ cartesian coordinates
while robotic arms offer additional degrees of freedom to the nozzle, allowing more accurate
printing workflows such as printing with tangential continuity method. Regardless of the
system used for printing (gantry crane or robotic arm), the coordination between the nozzle
travel speed and the material flow rate is crucial to the outcome of the printed filament. In
some cases, multiple 3D printing robotic arms can be programmed to run simultaneously
resulting in decreased construction time. Finally, automated post-processing procedures can
also be applied in scenarios which require the removal of support structures or any surface
finishing.

Requirement of 3D Printing Concrete The current concrete construction industry faces

several challenges. One of them is the high cost. According to a recent study conducted
formwork is responsible for about 80% of the total costs of concrete construction. The
significant amount of wastage generated in the construction is another challenge. Formwork is
a significant source of waste, since all of it is discarded sooner or later, contributing to a
generally growing amount of waste in the construction industry. Astonishing data showed that
the construction industry is responsible for generating approximately 80% of the total waste in
the world. Furthermore, the conventional approach of casting concrete into a formwork limits
geometrical freedom for the architects to build in various geometries, unless very high costs
are paid for formworks. Another challenge is the slow speed of construction (i.e., long and hard
to control lead time). The concrete construction often comprises many steps including material
production, transportation, and in-situ manufacture of formwork, and each step is time
consuming. Moreover, the current concrete construction industry is labour intensive and has
issues with safety.

Last but not least, the current construction industry has serious issues with sustainability. In
general, the current construction methods and materials are not environmentally friendly. The
entire construction process, including off-site manufacturing, transportation of materials,
installation and assembly, and on-site construction, emits huge amounts of greenhouse gases
and consumes large quantities of energy.

In addition, conventional concrete made by ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is not

sustainable. Manufacture of OPC is highly energy and carbon intensive. However, based on
sustainability assessment it is found that 3DCP technology is more environment friendly
because the mining of raw materials used in cement and aggregate production, transportation
of concrete and other materials, CO2 emission, energy and water consumption, carbon
footprints and global warming potential can be minimized.

Concrete is most widely used construction material on our planet. Construction is

expected to go through large transformations through 3D concrete printing (3DCP) technology.
In recent decades, 3D concrete printing technology has taken a growing stride, which enables
design optimization field, benefits over conventional construction methods like a reduction of
the overall construction cost and time, reduce environmental pollution and provides safety to
the workers by reducing accidents on construction sites. 3D printing is a technology for
producing 3D models of an object of any shape or size in layers using computer software. 3D
printed concrete is a special mix of concrete, specifically prepared to flow with ease through
the nozzle of the printing equipment. In the last few years, different 3D concrete printing
(3DCP) technologies have been evolved. This paper presents the current progress of 3DCP
technologies and their future scope to transform the conventional concrete construction. 3D
printers can complete the construction of a single storied building within 12 to 24 hours leading
to speedy construction of structures. With the advancements made in technologies it has been
proved that the structures constructed using 3D printing have higher strength and durability
which can withstand extreme exposure conditions. This method is more sustainable because
most of the materials used in these processes are recyclable and reusable. Also, the carbon
footprint produced by this method is lesser than the conventional methods. By creating
prototypes of desired structures using 3D printer the occurrence of errors may be eliminated.

The design of the appropriate machine that would function as a 3D printer for the
concrete mix is critical to the project success. Several criteria had to be taken into consideration
during the Design, as the machine had to account for both the fresh and the printed properties
of the concrete previously discussed. The machine is basically composed of three main
components: the concrete tank and pumping mechanism, the printing nozzle, and the motion
control system. The concrete starts its journey at the tank and is manually pumped to reach the
nozzle, which is responsible for pouring it. The machine is designed to move on a tri-axial
plane (x-y-z) in order to print a 3- dimensional element. The concrete mix must be designed to
meet certain vital criteria that have a direct relationship with the methodology of printing the
concrete. Thus, it is critical to ensure a complementary connection between the designs of the
mix and printing machine. The five most important aspects of the mix that are studied are
extrudability, flowability, buildability, compressive strength, and open time.
• Extrudability: It refers to the capacity of the concrete to be extruded out of the nozzle.
This is assessed on the basis of the distance over which the paste can be printed without
blocking the nozzle. Also, the printed paste should be clear of cracks and separations.

• Compressive strength: The target strength of the concrete is determined using BS 1881-
116:1983 and 5x5 concrete cubes. Strength is particularly important since what is printed
is the structure in layers rather than its entirety at once. Since setting time should be
assumed to be instantaneous, and since the printing process happens only in a matter of
minutes, the target strength and strength gain should be high.

• Flowability: Measurement of flow ability is achieved by performing the slump flow test.
The concrete is spread out of an inverted cone. The time required for the mix to spread by
a specific diameter is measured and the rate of flowing can subsequently be obtained. An
easily expanding mix corresponds to a greater flow ability and workability.

• Buildability: this is measured by the number of layers of the printing specimen that can be
achieved without collapse. The target average number of layers is 5.

• Open Time: This criterion is important since the printed concrete isn’t poured in one go as
in the traditional method. In the latter, the initial and final setting times are more
representative but do not have much relevance in concrete printing. Thus, open time
measurement is a better representation of the concrete workability change with time. It is
calculated using the slump flow test to get the flowability over specific time intervals.
Printer used for 3dcp:

The printers have numerous subsystems that ensure its operations. These are integrated using
our proprietary software to streamline the printing process. The printers have been designed to
follow two methods of machine movement, namely, Gantry and Robotic Arm.

Gantry-based Concrete 3D Printers

These printers consist of printheads mounted on a gantry system. The printheads print the
proprietary material through screw-based extrusion. The range of printers includes;

• R&D scale Concrete 3D Printer

Research 3D Printer aiding 3D Printing with a variety of materials has been developed by the
Agency, which is compatible with various materials and designs, easy and user-friendly in
machine operation.
• Off-site Concrete 3D Printer
This printer can be used to print large-scale concrete parts that can be used individually or
assembled to form a bigger structure. It implements a novel multi-pallet printing mechanism,
allowing fast printing.

• On-site Concrete 3D Printer

The on-Site Printer developed by the Agency is a system intended to print largescale concrete
structures such as residential buildings. This printer can be assembled on-site and can be made
ready to print (24/7) in a short duration of 2 days. A unique truss framework allows ease of
transport and assembly. It has a real-time feedback system with sensors for precise printing of
layers and an automated material supply system for dust-free operations.
Robotic-Arm based Concrete 3D Printers

These printers consist of printheads developed by the Agency mounted on a robotic arm.

The printheads print the proprietary material through screw-based extrusion. The range

of printers include;

• Stationary Robotic Arm-based Concrete 3D printer

It is 6-axis robotic arm with 3 m reach equipped with a unique extrusion system that allows
ease of printing and movement for both large and small-scale production. This also provides
greater design flexibility, faster production times and seamless deposition of layers through
advanced nozzle and smart sensor systems. The streamlined arm enables access to tight spots
without potentially interfering with printing.

• Mobile Robotic Arm-based Concrete 3D Printer

This printer utilizes a distinct 7th axis motion system in addition to 6 axes of a robotic arm. The
motion system consists of a crawler that enables printing large and 11 small-scale structures.
The printer has larger reach than a fixed robot and can be used ideally in a factorysetup for
production.
Mixer

A batch-type mixer (Pan type planetary mixer or Drum mixer) is preferred. However, an inline
continuous mixer can also be used to prepare the concrete. The dosage of admixtures needs to
be optimized to reduce the probability of segregation or bleeding depending on the mixing
system and parameters such as speed etc.

Pumps

Any commercially available screw-based positive displacement pump (with maximum particle
size of 8 mm) or piston-based pump with the provision of zero dead volume can be used to
pump 3D printable mix. Both pumps are used for different projects. No special modification to
the available commercial pumps is required for this process. The accelerator/chemical
admixture is pumped using a commercially available centrifugal pump to the nozzle head/
extruder.
 CONSTRUCTION METODOLOGY
C3DP System manufacturing details

In the first step, the concrete needs to be designed and prepared using specified raw materials.
The quality check and control of the raw materials are performed as per quality assurance plan.
After batching of the concrete, the quality is checked again, and the concrete is transferred to
the pump for pumping. Simultaneously, the software file for the robot to function is processed.
The 3D module in the form of .stl file is further sliced to form the Gcode. The G-code is needed
for the control of the print path. The robotic movement needs to be ensured before the initiation
of the real print. The printing of the modules is controlled by both machine and material
parameters.
 WORLDWIDE EXAMPES ON 3DCP
• Dubai Municipality has won the UAE Ideas Award organized by the Dubai Quality
Group under the slogan, ‘Nothing is Impossible,’ for the category of ‘Innovation in the
field of inventions’ for constructing the World’s largest 3D Printed Building. Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE
and Ruler of Dubai, had launched the Dubai 3D Printing Strategy as a unique global
initiative. The initiative aims to construct 25% of Dubai’s buildings with 3D printing
technology by 2030. The structure of the building was built directly on-site without any
extra assembly works. The 3D printing process was done in natural weather conditions,
this meant that there was no tent covering the printing area. The main goal with this
project was to conduct extensive R&D dedicated to testing the equipment under harsh
climatic conditions, in this case heat and humidity. But also developing the 3D printing
material and construction technologies, and testing the equipment during a long period
of time.

World’s largest 3D Printed Building in Dubai.

World’s largest 3D Printed Building in Dubai.

• It seems the future has arrived for the construction industry, as India’s first 3D printed
home is now ready. Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions has built a full-scale 3D house
 using 3D Printing technology, focusing on substantial construction and providing
lowcost solution for housing needs.

India’s first 3D-printed home, built by alumni of IIT-Madras

• China Has Built World's 1st 3D Printed Concrete Bridge in Shanghai in Just 450 Hours.
• Germany's first printed house is ready for occupancy. End of July 2021, the
single-family house printed by PERI using a COBOD BOD2 printer was officially
opened in Beckum, North Rhine Westphalia.

Germany's first printed house

 APPLICATION OF 3DCP IN CONSTRUCTION
When compared with conventional construction processes, the application of 3D printing
techniques in concrete construction may offer excellent advantages including:

• Reduction of construction costs by eliminating formwork.

• Reduction of injury rates by eliminating dangerous jobs (e.g., working at
heights), which would result in an increased level of safety in construction.
• Creation of high-end-technology-based jobs.
• Reduction of on-site construction time by operating at a constant rate.
• Minimizing the chance of errors by highly precise material deposition.
• Increasing sustainability in construction by reducing wastages of formwork.
 REFERENCES

[1]. Wikipedia.

[2]. 34th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISRAC 2017).

[3]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364131014.