Dubai wants to become a city built with 3D printers

The original 3D printing technology is just a new way to create plastic objects, but now 3D printing has developed rapidly and become a technology that can produce anything, from body parts. people to bread.

However, some people have a further vision when they want to "print" real-size buildings from concrete.

The project of building houses by 3D printing method of Arabian Ranches III complex in Dubai.(Photo: Emaar Properties).

Last week, real estate developer Emaar announced that it was 3D printing a house in the Arabian Ranches III complex in Dubai.

According to CNN, worldwide, only 20 buildings are built in 3D and Dubai printing (United Arab Emirates - UAE) seems determined to acquire this new development.

The UAE is home to the world's first 3D printing office and the world's first 3D unmanned device research lab.

For the purpose of 3D printing about 1/4 of new buildings built in 2030, Dubai seems to be the center of this high-tech construction industry.

Billions of dollars in potential

First 3D printing office in Dubai.(Photo: Dubai Future Foundation).

The principle of 3D printing a building is similar to 3D printing of a toy, only with a much larger scale and using concrete instead of plastic.

Concrete is pumped into the hose mounted with robotic arms, rails or conveyors. Then, the concrete is pressed into strips to build the first-class building structure or to make building components.

It is thought that this technique may be faster, cheaper and more sustainable than traditional house construction. Market trend forecaster SmarTech Publishing forecasts that the 3D printing industry will be worth $ 40 billion by 2027.

Mr. Henrik Lund-Nielsen, CEO of Danish 3D printing company COBOD International (the first 3D building printing company in Europe in 2017), said Dubai may be the most interesting market.

COBOD company uses a square hose to print 3D concrete walls.(Photo: Construction Building on Demand).

He thinks the UAE has a clear need for 3D printing buildings. Therefore, construction companies can be assured that investing in this technology is worth the money.

Lund-Nielsen, who works with customers in Dubai, said 3D printing technology will save the most money in Europe or the US, where labor costs are expensive. However, it is the Dubai government's excitement with this technology that will help develop 3D printing to the extent that it can drastically reduce costs.

He said: 'Many of our similar startups have been selected by multinational construction companies. These companies see the potential and one of the reasons for their potential to see it is Dubai '.

Future 3D printing center

Gaia Ecological House was built by the Italian company 3D WASP in October 2018.(Photo: WASP).

Concreative startups in Dubai, a major international construction company of Vinci, recently launched a 3D printing facility. Concreative operations director Vincent Maillet said his company was the first company in the UAE to operate on an industrial scale.

The company's new facility will produce concrete pillars, stairs, beams, walls and beams. Maillet said: 'We will build parts . and build bigger structures by assembling'.

Ms. Helene Lombois-Burger, director of research and development projects at a large Swiss cement manufacturing company LafargeHolcim, sees 3D printing as a way to meet the demand for mass building but is sustainable, because of the courts This type of house is cheaper and easier to replicate.

The Milestone project in the Netherlands will be completed in early 2020. (Photo: Houben & Van Mierlo).

Ms. Helene is working on projects around the world and thinks Dubai's strategy is a great opportunity to experiment: 'Construction is a very conservative industry. It's always hard to change. We may have moved step by step toward the revolution. '

Thanks to improved and portable printers, construction will be cheaper and there will be many opportunities to adjust accordingly.

However, Mr. Lund-Nielsen is still cautious because the industry is only in the beginning. He said: 'We are a child who knows crawling. The potential is still great and great, but we have not mastered the technology yet. We are not quite ready to compete with the current construction industry. '

Mr. Sergio Cavalaro, an infrastructure expert at Loughborough University in the UK, agrees that currently building 3D-printed houses is not profitable. The best opportunity for this industry is that projects are not suitable for media construction.

He said that it is possible to print 3D shelters or areas where people have not yet arrived due to danger or toxicity.

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