Blog Post Week 5 - 3-D Printed Steel

I am working on a project with Kyle Breiman that is called “Constructability and Engineering Properties of 3-D Printed Steel Comparing Traditional Manufacturing and Construction Methods”.  We will be examining the engineering properties and constructability of 3-D printed steel as compared to steel that is manufactured using traditional means.  The engineering properties that this project will look at include fire protection rating, localized climate effects on the steel’s molecular structure, compressive strength, tensile strength, and its brittle or ductile nature.  The hypothesis that Kyle and I have created states that we do not believe that there will be much difference in these engineering properties of steel, regardless of manufacturing method, although analyzing this information is extremely important in the event that our hypothesis proves wrong.  The constructability implications that 3-D printers have on an on-going construction project include primarily logistical concerns.  3-D printers, being fairly large, may cause concerns for providing raw material to the 3-D printer, allowing the physical space that the 3-D printer requires to complete its work, and the cost of manufacturing 3-D printed steel as compared to traditional methods.  The cost to produce steel in today’s construction industry is a known value that varies depending on the shape and size of the steel, and must be compared to if it were produced using a 3-D printer.  The final constructability concern is ensuring that the one 3-D printer that a construction job purchases or rents is able to manufacture all of the steel shapes and sizes that a job needs.  Most likely, if a 3-D printer is unable to be flexible enough to manufacture all of the pieces, then it may not be worth its cost. 

To show the information that we will research, Kyle and I will develop a paper that will show our findings about 3-D printed steel, the results of its engineering properties today, and where it will move towards the future (expected values once the technology is fully developed), and the results of its constructability concerns as this technology is integrated to ongoing construction projects to save time, money, improve overall efficiency, and reduce the overall time of project schedules.

Comment 1 – Richard Kimball:

Richard, learning Dynamo is a great task to undertake, and I believe that it will help you significantly as you grow your professional career after Drexel.  For most people, building a Revit model with an HVAC system could be their entire project, but good job working towards the extra goal of including Dynamo in your project.  I am also interested in learning how Dynamo works, and how I could apply it to my job after college, so I will be very interested in seeing how your project develops towards the end of the term, and also how your presentation will show its abilities.

Comment 2 – Kunlun Ren:

Ren, tackling BIM in a specific industry is a good idea that I don’t think I considered.  Each industry has extremely varied requirements in terms of building design.  Healthcare especially has strict HVAC requirements, structural requirements (with large pieces of equipment like MRI machines), and plumbing requirements for human waste, body fluids, and unique chemicals.  Typical plumbing systems would not need to handle large quantities of these fluids typically, and are not designed for them.  Seeing how BIM can be applied to a specialized industry like healthcare is a great idea, and I am looking forward to seeing your presentation.

Comment 3 – Albert Hanan:

Albert, building an in-depth Revit model, and applying Dynamo script to it is an ambitious project to pursue.  I know that there is another group that is working in Dynamo (I believe Richard Kimball in group A), and they may have some input if you are still looking for help (although they are also self-teaching how to use Dynamo).  Like a lot of the class, I have been very interested in Dynamo ever since it was introduced to our class in week 2, although I am not the best at learning how to code.  I am looking forward to your presentation in a few weeks as you develop your project, as I have been learning how to use Revit in the past few weeks for both this class and senior design, and I would like to see more about what Dynamo has the capability to do.