When applied to construction, new technologies can speed up projects, making the process safer and more economical. Robots that can ease hard physical labor and reduce injury are desirable devices on construction sites. They can do almost everything from building a brick house to building a steel bridge. Devices for various jobs have been created, for example, a 3D printer capable of building clay houses in developing countries. There are many challenges in construction, and machines will help us do our jobs better, faster and more environmentally friendly.
The latest robotic bricklayer can build a house in two days
As proof of robots' penetration into construction, Australian engineer Mark Pivak has created a fully automated robotic bricklayer that can build a house in just two days! Robot Hadrian - named after the Roman emperor who built defenses in England, can work around the clock, laying a thousand bricks per hour, and can erect 150 houses in a year. The Perth-based inventor claims that his brainchild is the first fully automatic brickwork robot, which took ten years to create.
Bricklayer is one of the oldest professions, difficult, time consuming and traumatic. And the robot Adrian works non-stop, and on the basis of an automated design system, it reduces waste to a minimum and ensures accuracy up to one hundredth of an inch. The machine creates a CAD project that includes the exact size and position of each brick, then separates the brick and places it in place using a 28-meter telescopic arm, and mortars together.
The robot makes it possible to reduce the cost of construction, but at the same time, experience shows that automation leads to the loss of jobs. But Pivak argues that there is a shortage of bricklayers in Perth, and this inspired him to invent. "We have nothing against bricklayers," he said in an interview. "The problem is that the average age of bricklayers is growing and it is becoming more difficult to attract young people to the profession."
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3D printed steel bridge in Amsterdam will revolutionize construction
The innovative Danish company Heimans, which is responsible for the construction of "smart" highway and illuminated bike paths in the Van Gogh style, presented its avant-garde project: a steel pedestrian bridge in the center of Amsterdam, created with a 3D printer. The project, created in collaboration with Danish start-up MX3D and executed by Danish designer Joris Laarman, is part of the work to create "spatial contours of the future". Robots with multiple degrees of mobility will build a footbridge using low-cost, scalable technology.
The goal of this experimental 3D printing project is to create an automated construction site. According to Jan van de Ven, manager of Heimans, such a site will be reliable and manageable, as well as environmentally friendly by optimizing energy costs and reducing waste. The use of 3D printing in construction is also beneficial in terms of design, and as it gains popularity, it can transform the design and construction industry.
“Design and construction are currently different areas in construction - an architect creates a project and a builder interprets it and builds what he sees fit,” says Jurre van der Vena, Innovation Manager at Heimans. “But 3D printing makes the design and construction of a bridge an interconnected process. So, these processes go simultaneously, not like the traditional construction of the structure and the subsequent finishing of the design. So we have to take a very different approach to design."
The location of the bridge has not yet been determined, but will be announced soon. The pedestrian bridge will block one of Amsterdam's old canals, allowing designer Joris Laarman to call it "a fantastic metaphor that combines the technology of the future with the city's historical past, bringing out the best aspects of both worlds." A visitor education center will open in September 2015 to track the progress of the project.
MX3D-Metal 3D printer creates complex metal structures in the air
The Amsterdam-based laboratory Joris Laarman, together with the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, have begun to develop a 3D printer capable of creating complex metal structures directly in the air. The MX3D-Metal integrates a 3D printer and a welder and is capable of printing lines in steel, aluminum, bronze or copper. The device was presented in Zurich at the Fabricate2014 conference.
The MX3D-Metal printer can create complex metal shapes that include irregular and non-horizontal surfaces. This breakthrough technology has moved away from the need for some kind of foundation for the formation of a structure, providing the possibility of truly free 3D printing without the need for additional materials … The robot hand squeezes out a special quickly solidifying polymer and can create objects regardless of their slope, smoothness or shape.
The device will be equipped with an interface that allows printing directly from CAD. Vertical, horizontal and spiral lines require different adjustments such as ripple period, pause, layer thickness and instrument orientation, which must be taken into account in the software developed by the Joris Laarman laboratory and the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.
The world's largest delta 3D printer creates houses from soil at almost zero cost
The future of affordable (and reproducible) housing may be based on 3D printing. The Future Conservation Project (WASP) unveiled the world's largest delta 3D printer that can create full-size houses from soil at virtually zero cost. The BigDelta printer is 12 meters (40 feet) high. The construction costs of the first house were 48 euros.
Italian innovator Massimo Moretti founded the WASP project with the aim of "creating a means to build affordable housing, and to provide such funds for residents of poor areas." WASP combines 3D printing with imitation of a burrowing wasp, which builds its home from what appears to be the oldest building material - mud. The choice of mud and clay as a material was quite reasonable. Although cement is often used in 3D printers, Moretti chose soil as having less environmental impact, affordability and natural insulating properties. Building on previous prototypes, the BigDelta printer is expected to build full-size homes using open source software from a mixture of mud, clay and plant fibers for reinforcement.
In a short time, WASP has made significant progress, especially given the lack of government funding. Last year, a prototype BigDelta 4 meters high was unveiled, and now the first 3D printed house is almost complete. The printer creates thick walls and is capable of stacking 60-100 cm high layer daily.
According to Moretti, “When work on the project resumes, we will raise the wall up to four meters, then we will make the door and roof. In the future, we will test new materials, and we will continue to research with soil and straw."
The timing of the project has been well chosen. A press release from the project says, “BigDelta is more than a dream come true. The fact is that, according to international estimates, by 2030 the number of people in need of suitable housing will grow by 4 billion people with an annual income of less than $ 3000. The UN estimates that meeting this need will require the introduction of 100,000 housing units daily over the next 15 years.
Vadim Tarabarko