Sustainable Construction with Large-Scale Potential

The Cornell School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is making leaps in additive manufacturing with a 3D-printing robot that may be suitable for large construction projects and more.

“The robotic system is versatile and flexible,” said Sriramya Nair  , assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. “One of the ways we are using it is for 3D-printing of concrete, but it can be used in other ways, too. You can attach a welder or laser system. You can stack bricks or tie rebar. Many tedious processes can be automated.”

Transcript

00:00:05 The reach of this robot is 3.9 meters and it's on a rail or a track that also spans 3.7 meters. The robot by itself is very versatile so the robotic arm can be attached to any head for like various applications that are relevant for the construction industry. The actual printing area that we could cover is probably about eight feet by thirty feet which is a very large area to be able to print in

00:00:35 one structure without a mold. Currently we're going to be set up to to do research with 3D cementitious printing. Because I work on concrete I am most excited about the head that can be attached to the printer for layer by layer printing of concrete. In my research group our goal is to reduce the carbon footprint associated with the use of construction materials. We are trying to understand the role automation

00:01:04 along with sustainable practices can play in our attempt to rebuild our infrastructure. So what we are trying to do can we use the 3d printing to make this more efficient, less cost, more automated so it can be quicker so we reduce the time and cost of construction. We can integrate it into different courses to help with say manufacturing engineering assembly we could attach a welding head to it

00:01:40 which is a different process and test them right there in the Bovay lab.