World's first 3D printed bridge opens in Holland

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Representatives of the city of Gemert, located in the southeast of Holland, held the opening ceremony of the world’s first concrete bridge built using 3D printing technologies. The bridge, which took three months to build, is made up of 800 layers of concrete. At the same time, not ordinary concrete was used in construction, but special high-strength concrete, designed specifically for a construction three-dimensional printer.

“The new bridge is quite small. But it was built with a 3D printer, which makes it unique and the only one in the world today, “says Theo Salet, spokesman for the Eindhoven University of Technology.” One of the advantages of 3D construction technology printing is that the 3D printer places concrete only in the places necessary for this. As a result, less building materials are consumed than with the traditional method, when ordinary concrete is poured into pre-prepared wooden forms (formwork). “

Before putting the structure into operation, the bridge with 8-meter spans was checked for safety by the specialists of the construction company BAM Infra. Although the bridge is designed exclusively for cyclists, it is designed to support the weight of a truck loaded with two tons of cargo.

“We are now looking at the future of building technology,” says Marinus Schimmel, CEO of BAM Infra. “We have long been looking for new methods and approaches that will enable urban infrastructure to be erected at a lower cost and faster. And in this case, we got convincing evidence that 3D printing requires less building materials, human resources, and practically no waste is obtained when using it. “

Note that the bridge in Gemert is not the first bridge built in Holland using 3D printing technologies. In addition, the Dutch company MX3D is now “printing” a stainless steel bridge in Amsterdam. More than a third of the work has now been completed, the printing process is expected to be completed by March next year, and this bridge, which connects the banks of the Amsterdam Canal, is scheduled to be completed by

June. Source: www.dailytechinfo.org