COBOD International, joined hands with QUIKRETE, a materials provider, and We Print Homes, an Arizona 3D builder & developer, to 3D print concrete structures in front of large live crowds for 3 days in a row from 18th to 20th January, 2022 at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the World of Concrete convention.
The aim of this demonstration was to highlight the market readiness of the technology and its widescale applicability in the US. COBOD’s printing system is capable of printing with mortars as well as being the only printer in the world to print real concrete.
COBOD 3D Print Concrete Structures
At the World of Concrete, the COBOD used its BOD2 printer to 3D print concrete structures with a mortar mix from QUIKRETE and demonstrated continuous 3D printing of a wall structure over 3 days in a row increasing the height daily and during printing the crowd had the opportunity to ask questions and get explanations to various aspects of the printing process.
The live printing attracted a crowd of more than 1,000+ people and was very popular. World of Concrete even labelled the live printing as a “must-see” exhibition, further underlining the increased interest and attraction of the 3D printing technology.
3D Concrete Printing
Construction 3D printing is a rapidly growing application of 3D printing that is seeing an exponential growth in recent years. The reason is owing to the development of construction 3D printing technologies, the construction materials and supporting software. By combining all these three things, the technology is able to build strong structures like building, brides, outdoor furniture, and even sculptures.
According to a 2019 MarketsAndMarkets report, the construction 3D printing industry is set to grow at a CAGR of 245% till 2024. This makes us stop and take notice of the new application in 3D printing and how it will play out in the coming future.
3D concrete printing, or 3DCP, holds the key to disrupting the construction industry by automating core building processes, making construction faster, cheaper, more sustainable, while providing added design freedom. COBOD has spearheaded the development and since 2019, COBOD has on 6 continents sold 35+ 3D construction printers, which have been used for among other the first 1-, 2- and 3-story 3D printed buildings in Europe, the first 3D printed house and school in Africa, and the first wind turbine tower base made in cooperation with GE Renewable Energy. In the US, COBOD’s printers have been used to make houses in 3 different US states so far.
Martin Cardoine, Manager of Precise Contracting, Tennessee, voiced his excitement of the live 3D printing demos, “It was thrilling to see COBOD’s BOD2 printer live in action and being able to have conversations face to face with the technology provider, a materials expert, and an existing customer from the US. We are looking very much forward to getting started with our own 3D construction printing projects in a few months, pioneering COBOD’s technology in our state.
On the success of the educational events, Alma Bangsgaard, Architect and Project Manager, COBOD said, “From COBOD’s side we were happy to share with the attendees all our accumulated knowledge from working with our 32+ customers across the globe. We especially enjoyed the discussions on how new developers and builders go from planning to printing, which attendees could then experience live outside shortly after. We also noticed that some of our so-called competitors were signing up for our course in large numbers, emphasizing our leading position in this industry.”
“Our goal to 3D print concrete structures in front of a live audience at World of Concrete was to demonstrate the advantages of our technology in US as our main market, at the same time demonstrating that our technology is reliable and ready to be used in the US. We wanted to show that 3D concrete printing is not just a lab idea, but a viable and competitive alternative to traditional construction methods. The massive number of inquiries during and after show tells me that we succeeded with our goals.”
Philip Lund-Nielsen, Co-founder & Head of Americas at COBOD
As a further sign of the increasing popularity of COBOD’s technology, the educational event which COBOD also hosted during the World of Concrete had more than 150+ attendees and the lecture room had to be upgraded twice to accommodate everybody.
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