Xinhua net: This office is printed by 3D technology

Abstracts

In Dubai, they printed 19 cool office buildings for the local government. The concrete printed by machine is 200px, 12 centimeters less than the traditional process, and is five times stronger than the traditional process. If traditional construction methods are used, these facilities usually require more than a dozen workers to complete a month or so. With new technology, the facility can be printed within hours. 

In 2008, Yingchuang Building Technique (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd. undertook the zenith project of the red hall of Shanghai world expo center. The perforation rate of the roof is 28% and the thickness is only 12 mm. It is difficult to build by using traditional technology. But Yingchuang has completed the task efficiently with 3D printing technology. Eight years later, president Ma have released a series of new achievements in Shanghai expo red hall, including 3D printing steel structure housing, 3D printing underground infrastructure. These green buildings not only appear in Shanghai, Suzhou, but also in the UAE Dubai, Italy and other foreign cities. Professor Shi Dinghuan, a former state department counselor, thinks that Yingchuang should work with the government to develop national standards for 3D printed buildings as soon as possible, paving the way for the promotion of such innovative technologies.

3D printing two-story cottage   

According to Ma, 3D printing architecture is printed according to predesigned drawing with special printing ink, which reaches the construction standard and has the practical function of the building. The process of printing a building in 3D seems to be squeezing the cream, adding layers of building blocks that are several meters high. Assemble the multiple components together and transport them to the construction site to build the house. The 3D printing equipment can also be transported to the construction site to directly print out the interior and exterior decoration house. Compared with the traditional process, 3D printing architecture can overcome the artificial deviation of workers, and the quality of products is better protected. It will not produce dust and construction waste, which also can save materials and manpower, and shorten the working period. 3D printing architecture is 100% assembly building, which has economic benefits and social benefits, in line with the green development concept of our country.” Ma said.     

In October 2013, The world's first 3D building printer developed by Yingchuang, was used to print 10 projects in Zhangjiang Qingpu park, which has attracted wide attention in the industry after the media report. At today's event, however, Ning Zhong, a professor of management at Fudan university, revealed that the company is hard in business. Ma told to me that he provided two companies with 3D printed building materials. These 2 companies brought at lower price but sell at high price. As a result, the company went public but Yingchuang got little profit. To help the innovator, Ning Zhong led MBA students to set a new position for Yingchuang: Yingchuang should be a supplier of 3D printing technology and solutions to build an innovative ecosystem instead of being a traditional supplier of building materials. 

3D printing of 1,100 square meters of villas

Two years on, Yingchuang develops well via its new business mode.  They printed 19 cool office buildings for the local government in Dubai. In order to make floor boards, the machine prints a concrete components with a thickness of 200px, which saves a lot of building materials and is five times stronger than the traditional process floor. Underground infrastructure such as buildings, sewage wells and septic tanks can also be built with 3D printers. If traditional construction methods are used, these facilities usually require more than a dozen workers to complete a month or so. With new technology, the facility can be printed in a few hours and the process quality is significantly higher than artificial construction, which can be finished by a few workers within 5 days.

“A series of technologies and products of our company have basically matured and obtained 129 authorized patents. The next major task is to promote the application.” Ma said. At conference, Yingchuang announced to implement “global dream factory” plans and planed to establish 12 dreamworks in Chongqing, Jiangsu Suqian, Zhejiang Lishui, Inner Mongolia Baotou, Hainan Haikou to produce various construction components.

Shi Dinghuan said that Yingchuang is expected to revolutionize the construction industry and promote its application worldwide. A 3D printing building standards is indispensable to achieve this goal. “This standard should not be regional standard, industry standard. Instead, the government should be involved in the development of national standards as soon as possible. Only in this way, the generic technology of the construction industry can be popularized and even developed to international standards.”