L&T Construction, the construction arm of the $ 21 billion technology, engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, has 3D printed a reinforced G + 1 (Ground plus One) building for the first time in India.
With the country aggressively pursuing a goal of 60 million homes under the Housing For All program by 2022, this accomplishment is sure to give the mass housing segment a huge boost, the company said.
“3D concrete printing is one of the technological disruptors with the potential to radically redefine construction methods, and I am delighted that with evidence of our growing expertise in 3D printing, we are well positioned to push the boundaries of automated robotics Said MV Satish, full time director and senior executive vice president (building).
He added that 3D printing will not only speed up the construction pace, but also significantly improve the build quality.
The 3D-printed building with a constructed area of 700 square meters is located in the Kanchipuram plant of L&T Construction and was built with a special, in-house developed concrete mix made from local building materials. The building has been printed with both vertical rebars and horizontal welded mesh manifolds that comply with Indian regulations and optimize construction costs. Apart from the horizontal panel elements, the entire building structure was 3D printed “cast in situ” with a fully automatic 3D printer on the construction site in an open-sky environment within 106 printing hours.
3D printing is a process where the material is printed under computer control to create a three-dimensional product, typically layer by layer. It is mainly used in the manufacturing industry for printing rapid prototypes, complex shapes and small series
The use of special polymers, metal alloys, etc. 3D printing with concrete is still largely in the works worldwide.
At the beginning of November 2019, the team had a 1-BHK apartment with an area of 240 square meters printed in 3D to investigate the feasibility of this innovative technology.
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