World’s first 3D printed steel bridge installed in Amsterdam
Printed over six months using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAC), four robots welded 1,100 kilometres of stainless steel wire layer by later into a 4.5 ton, 12 metre bridge.
The robotic metal welding startup MX3D that did the project has a great overview of the design and manufacturing process on their site. I can’t find a direct source, but this article on the project indicates that ‘3D-printing large metal objects can lead to cost savings of up to 80 percent’ which is pretty impressive.
Maybe this deserves its own post, but you may be surprised to know that the CSIR in Pretoria is home to the largest metal 3D printer in the world (well, at least in 2019!) that is used to 3D print lightweight parts out of powdered titanium mainly for the aerospace industry where the low weight but high strength of intricately designed titanium parts are key properties.
We are now printing the world
WOW
wow
Wow
awesome
wow
soon life will be easy
wow.
#4IR
FANTASTIC
Fascinating