Yahoo – AFP,
16 June 2015
 |
| An artist’s visualisation of the 3D bridge which a Dutch company is planning to print across an Amsterdam canal (AFP Photo/Joris Laarman) |
The Hague
(AFP) - A Dutch startup has unveiled plans to build the world's first
3D-printed bridge across an Amsterdam canal, a technique that could become
standard on future construction sites.
Using
robotic printers "that can 'draw' steel structures in 3D, we will print a
(pedestrian) bridge over water in the centre of Amsterdam," engineering
startup company MX3D said in a statement, hoping to kick off the project by
September.
The plan
involves robotic arm printers 'walking' across the canal as it slides along the
bridge's edges, essentially printing its own support structure out of thin air
as it moves along.
Specially-designed
robotic arms heat the metal to a searing 1,500 degrees Celsius (around 2,700
degrees Fahrenheit) to painstakingly weld the structure drop-by-drop, using a
computer programme to plot the sophisticated design.
"The
underlying principle is very simple. We have connected an advanced welding
machine to an industrial robot arm," said the bridge's designer Joris
Laarman.
"We
now use our own intelligent software to operate these machines so they can
print very complex metal shapes which can differ each time," Laarman said
of the project also involving the Heijmans construction company and Autodesk
software.
So far, the
robotic arm has been used to print smaller metal structures, but the bridge
will be the first ever large-scale deployment of the technology, MX3D
spokeswoman Eva James told AFP.
It is hoped
that the bridge will be a first step towards seeing the technique used on
construction sites, especially those involving dangerous tasks such as on high
buildings, she said.
The
technique also removes the need for scaffolding as the robot arms use the very
structure they print as support.
The
designers are now in talks with the Amsterdam city council to find a site for
the project which they hope will be completed by mid-2017.
"I
strongly believe in the future of digital manufacturing and local
production," said Laarman. "It's a new form of craftsmanship."
"This
bridge can show how 3D printing has finally entered the world of large-scale
functional objects and sustainable materials," he said.
Amsterdam
city council spokeswoman Charlene Verweij told AFP the Dutch capital was
supporting the project.
"We
are still in negotiations as to where exactly the bridge will be built,"
she said.
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