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Feasibility study

Formwork-free, continuous, monolithic construction using Concrete 3D Printing

Figure: Contour Crafting

→ 1 3D-printed structural elements by (left) Contour Crafting [1] and (right) D-Shape technology [3]

Figure: Contour Crafting

Figure: D-Shape

Figure: D-Shape

Figure: TU Dresden

→ 2 Illustration of the Concrete 3D Printing approach (courtesy of TU Dresden, Professur für Baumaschinen- und Fördertechnik)

Figure: TU Dresden

Concrete is the world’s most widely used construction material; currently more than half of it is ready-mix concrete (46 mio. m³ in Germany). Formwork is needed for placing most types of concrete, especially ready-mix concrete. The use of formwork often leads to high material, labor and machinery costs in addition to considerable time delays and negative environmental impact. Thus, formwork-free construction methods have great economic and technical potential in concrete construction. Another significant advantage of formwork-free construction is its great geometrical flexibility. This article...

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