3D printing produces complex steel construction elements - Arup
Engineering company, Arup said that for the first time, 3D printing has been used to create critical structural steel elements for complex projects and has the potential to cut construction costs and waste.
Pioneering engineers have used 3D printing to produce critical structural steel elements for complex construction projects.
By using the latest 3D printing techniques, which is also known as ‘additive manufacturing’, the Arup team says complex individual designed construction steelwork can be created far more efficiently.
In fact, 3D printing has the potential to significantly cut costs, waste and the carbon footprint of the construction sector, says the independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists, which is headquartered in London.
Using 3D printing, the team redesigned a steel node with a complex geometry that could be used in a lightweight structure, such as a footbridge. Previously, 3D printing has been used elsewhere to create other building components and to create simple houses.
Arup has considerable experience with similar structures, including the tensegrity a balance between compressive and tensile members structure of the Kurilpa Bridge, in Australia, where it was responsible for engineering design of the pedestrian bridge. While the geometry of the bridge is informal, the cables (in tension) and tubes (in compression) are arranged with a structural rhythm that provides strength and resilience.
Mr Salome Galjaard team leader said that “By using additive manufacturing we can create lots of complex individually designed pieces far more efficiently. This has tremendous implications for reducing costs and cutting waste. But most importantly, this approach potentially enables a very sophisticated design, without the need to simplify the design in a later stage to lower costs.”
At the moment, a traditionally produced steel node is still cheaper to produce than through 3D printing, but Arup expects that to change in the short term. The new production method had implications for reducing costs, cutting waste and cutting the embedded carbon. The work signals a whole new direction for the use of additive manufacturing in the field of construction and engineering.
This approach potentially means that designers can come up with very sophisticated designs that don’t have to be compromised later, for the reason of simplification to lower costs.
Source – Opp Connect