3D Printing: Modernizing & Transforming the Standards of Construction Industry

‘With 3D printing, if you can imagine it, you can make it’

The construction industry is changing, due to the emergence of latest technologies. As construction demand continues to grow, it is essential to keep investing in the latest construction technology to facilitate digital transformations and stay a step ahead of the competition.There are so many different technologies available today to enhance the sustainable construction sector. In that way, 3D Printing is one of the prominent technological innovations of the 21st century.

3D Printing technology is a strategic emerging technology leading the future innovation and development of Construction industry by possessing greater significance to upgrade the industry. A few factors that are mostly influencing the growth of 3D Printing in construction are possibility of customization & architectural flexibility and rapid creation of models & illustrations using this technology.

"3D printing has the potential to democratize housing, making it possible for more people to afford to own their own homes”, - Jason Ballard

The Advantages of 3D Printing in Construction Industry

• Rapid Production: 3D printers are also fully automated, which eliminates human error, it means significantly reduces production time. 3D printing is much speeder and more systematic than conventional construction methods. The machine needs to be monitored, but most of the production process doesn’t require human help. Also, 3D printers don’t use additional tooling, they just support, different materials like traditional construction. Because of its stunning automation, 3D printers can sometimes create buildings or other structures within a few days with accuracy.
• Cost Effectiveness: 3D printing has brought outstanding cost savings for the construction sector by eliminating the requirement for labor and other expensive resources correlated with conventional construction. Construction labors often purchase raw materials before measuring and analyzing what they actually need for construction. But in the 3D Printing projects, the construction workers often intended to purchase the exact amount of materials, which is more cost effective.
• Environmentally Safe: When comparing with traditional construction methods, 3D Printing is environmentally safe in many ways. It can minimize the usage of harmful materials and results in lowering the emissions of hazardous air and water pollutants. Instead of that, 3D printing leverages components which have no hazardous chemicals, leading to significant reduction in energy and water usage and it allows to use recycled materials in projects.
• Designing Innovation: Another excellent benefit of 3D Printing in Construction industry is freedom of designing. It brings all the creative solutions on field. With the help of CAD planning, 3D construction model can be made to achieve the clients’ expectations and manifest them with best design solutions. Moving on to huge-scale projects, 3D Printing gives us creative designing freedom which allows the production of innovative shapes and solutions.
• Reduced Human Impact: The Construction industry is usually considered as a risky industry, because the concrete work can be hazardous to health. Using a 3D printer for these jobs could minimize the risks of injuries and fatalities which are one of the prime reasons to implement this technology in the construction sector. 3D printing can produce high-quality structures with reduced number of accidents on construction sites.
• Tailored Construction: Customization in construction was a very time-consuming and labor-intensive process in conventional methods. Additionally, there was no guarantee for durability of such constructions which are created on an experimental basis. 3D printing allows the alteration of desired parts to fit certain requirements and ensures the enhanced structural integrity.
• Sustainability: Moreover, 3D Printed structures can be made with organic and eco-friendly materials including bamboo, clay and even recycled materials that would normally go to waste. In some cases, 3D printers can also work with solar energy, which results in lower carbon emissions.

Eyes on Future

Although the advantages of 3D printing construction mentioned above is still in its infancy, the potential of 3D Printing in the Construction industry is seemingly endless. Overall, the future of 3D Printing looks intense in sustainable construction. Around the world, the count of 3D houses is increasing and even entire neighborhoods are already being built using this technology. If the industry can overcome some of the challenges facing on site at present, it could enhance even more with outstanding benefits in sustainable construction.