B4 - Term Project Outline

I am doing a project with Harvin Bhandal on the use of 3D printing technologies in construction.
Our outline is shown below:

Team: Harvin Bhandal and Tyler Madden

Title: The Development of 3D Printing Technology for Use with Different Construction Materials

General Information/ Technology Overview:

●       3D printing in construction is not a common practice and most are not even aware it exists.

●       Offers more flexibility and creativity when it comes to design.

●       More expensive than traditional methods.

●       Currently being used mostly for simple construction such as homes in poor countries.

●       Also being used in very expensive upscale projects.

Materials:

●       Concrete

○       Advantages:

■       Able to create complex geometries without formwork or temporary supports.

■       Uses additive manufacturing to create custom designs.

■       Some machines are smaller and more portable

○       Drawbacks:

■       Special mix design required so concrete will set quickly in order to support its own weight, but not too fast that it would set in the machine

■       Machines move slowly and require a large amount of space.

■       Construction must be monitored live to ensure layers are bonding together well

■       Mix design must also allow for concrete to be pumped through machine.

■       Needs a constant flow rate in order to maintain uniformity

●       Steel

○       Advantages

■       Successful production of large scale structural steel members.

■       Offers the ability to make custom connections and joints

■       Can make complex shapes and geometries

■       Different methods of 3D printing steel

●       Powder Additive manufacturing (over three different methods of just this method)

●       Welding small metal rods in layers

○       Drawbacks

■       Significantly more expensive than common shapes (W, C, MC, T)

■       More difficult analysis (FEM)

●       Other Materials

○       Binded sand

■       Almost a 3D printed mortar except bonding takes place in between layers of sand instead of within the mix itself.

○       Ceramics

■       Several different methods

Implementations:

●       3D residential homes in Russia have been created

●       3D bridge in spain

We are doing our project to learn more about how 3D printing is being used in construction and the advances currently being made in the industry. We will look at reasons why this technology is the future but also why it is not feasible in its current state. 
We will look into the different materials that are being used and the advantages and disadvantages of each. So far we have identified steel and concrete as two of the most successful materials for this technology however we are looking into others. 
3D printing is being used for more and more applications every day and we want to learn about the limits it can be taken to and what is next in the development of it. It is already being used for creating buildings in developing areas because it is material cost efficient and can be repeated many times with great accuracy and without many man hours or effort involved. I believe it is going to be a big part of the future of construction if not the main focus. 

Julie:
We are doing similar projects it seems. We are doing 3D printing in general, dealing with the materials but that specific application of 3D printing seems to be one of the biggest markets for the technology. Even after preliminary research, it seems like people are most excited about using it for buildings like you discussed because of the impact it can have on developing countries which I think is great.

Samantha:
Your topic seems difficult but worth it. I do not know anything about using Dynamo, but it seems like a huge time saver because I used to have to do schedules and things like that manually on AutoCAD which takes forever. 

Robert:
Your project seems really cool. AI for use in the life cycle of a building is probably the most useful aspect of it and can probably tell us more about the building than regular property management methods being used today.