New frontiers of 3D printing. Printing on concrete, metal, hard stone and concrete

A researcher with the MIT experiment with a system of three-dimensional printing can also be used with metal, concrete and hard stone. Print them from your own home? And why not?

Rome - In a not too distant future, perhaps, among the wonders of 3D printing could be the ability to print prefabricated elements to be used in buildings. This is at least what he thinks Blacks Oxman, researcher at the MIT Media Lab committed to advancing the technology of three-dimensional printing in the field of construction. 

Oxman's goal is to leverage the growing capabilities of printers in 3D, a technology that enables computer models "cutting" a polymeric material layer by layer and will soon be able to do the same with greater consistency of materials such as metals and cement.

The researcher at MIT working for example to allow 3D printers to change the degree of porosity of the concrete or the elasticity of a polymer during the "print", or planned, "print heads" to be mounted on robotic arms flexible so you can have greater freedom of movement with respect to 3D printers fixed.

An important part of the work of Oxman is the study of the natural elements in search of new constructive strategies that optimize the use of 3D printers - reducing labor and cost required for the manufacture of the materials.

An example of these optimizations "natural" is that of wood present in the trunks of palm trees, denser in the outer parts - where to withstand the stresses are greater - and more porous (and therefore lighter) in the center. Adopting a similar constructive strategy for 3D printing of columns for buildings, Oxman estimate, it could reduce the amount of cement required by more than 10%.

 

12/04/2011

----------------------------------------

Translated via software

----------------------------------------

 

Source:

Italian version of ReteArchitetti.it