The Immense Potential of the Concrete 3D Printing Market: China Communications First Highway Institute Combines "Soft and Hard" Strategies, from Equipment Development to System Integration

PanDen 2024-11-17 12:14 Events

Panda3dp.com Guide: According to a research report, the architectural 3D printing market is projected to reach $100 billion by 2032 (see "Will the Architectural 3D Printing Market Scale to $100 Billio ...

Panda3dp.com Guide: According to a research report, the architectural 3D printing market is projected to reach $100 billion by 2032 (see "Will the Architectural 3D Printing Market Scale to $100 Billion? A Major Reduction in Manual Labor"). Currently, over a dozen companies within China have ventured into this field, with some powerful enterprises making notable advancements. Recently, Panda3dp.com has launched a special series on architectural 3D printing to unveil the latest developments in this domain.

Panda3dp.com has observed that China Communications First Highway Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd. (referred to as First Highway Institute)（中交一公院）, since establishing a dedicated research center for intelligent construction with concrete 3D printing in 2016, has pursued innovation across the entire industry chain. Panda3dp.com will present a series of reports on First Highway Institute’s achievements in concrete 3D printing.

As a crucial segment of the concrete 3D printing technology chain, equipment defines the applicability of materials, scale of printing, and feasibility of complex designs. Therefore, First Highway Institute has developed a comprehensive technical system starting with equipment. For prefabricated factory use, they developed both robotic arm and gantry-style concrete 3D printers, including adaptable extrusion and tool heads; for on-site concrete printing, they have pioneered in-situ printing equipment. In software, they crafted an efficient and robust control system for concrete 3D printing, which was recognized in 2022 as internationally advanced.

What has enabled First Highway Institute to attain such international leadership in both software and hardware advancements?

1. Concrete 3D Printing Equipment Based on Industrial Robotics*

First Highway Institute developed robotic arm-based 3D printing equipment, using KUKA industrial robots and an extended 8-meter axis, achieving a single-direction 6-meter printing range with a 2.7-meter maximum reach. The extended axis moves at 0.5m/s, with a printing speed of 0.3m/s, a repeatable precision of ±0.06mm, and a rated load capacity of 120kg.

△Concrete 3D Printing Equipment Based on Industrial Robots

This system primarily addresses the following challenges:

- Achieving six-axis synchronized control, particularly suited for complex shapes such as spatial surfaces, thin walls, and twisted cantilevers in concrete designs;

- Meeting high coupling requirements between printing, pumping, and extrusion for material parameters;

- Enabling stable, continuous 24-hour printing;

- Precision control with multi-tool compatibility for a variety of extruder outlets.

△What Is Shown in the Figure Is the Printing of Special-Shaped Torsion Cantilever Columns. The Height Is 2.2 Meters and the Printing Time for a Single Column Is 25 Minutes.

2. A 10-Meter Large-Scale, Five-Axis Gantry Concrete 3D Printer

Additionally, First Highway Institute developed a modular, scalable gantry-style 3D printer, breaking the barriers in large-scale concrete component printing. It operates within a 10m×6m×3.6m range, achieving a single-direction speed of 0.5m/s, with a repeatable precision of ±0.2mm and a load capacity of 100kg. This equipment effectively addresses challenges in large-span, large-scale concrete structures, allowing for uninterrupted, high-precision printing and expanding the possibilities in concrete 3D printed construction.

△Large Moving-Column Type 5-Axis Gantry Concrete 3D Printing Equipment

△Printing of Divided Components for House Number Stones, with Dimensions of 2.6×1.6×1.8m

3. Versatile Multi-Function Concrete 3D Printing Tool Heads

Building on the initial equipment development, First Highway Institute has continuously upgraded its 3D printing tool heads to handle diverse printing demands and overcome practical challenges.

They have developed over ten different types of extrusion heads, each with optimized extrusion speed, pump pressure, and robotic arm movement speed, enhancing the variety and complexity of concrete structures that 3D printing can achieve.

△Universal Multifunctional Concrete 3D Printing Tool End

Tool head innovations have gone through five generations, supporting both robotic arm and gantry systems. Iterative improvements have increased efficiency, precision, and quality, leading to four patented innovations.

-Direct-outlet Tool End for Pump Trucks: It features a simple structure and stable performance, and is applicable to the printing conditions of fixed circular outlets and experimental printing tests. Problems Solved: When the printing path is discontinuous, the printing quality at the breakpoints is poor.

-Coaxial Rotatable Tool End: It enables the printing of rectangular extrusion ends with a simple structure, offering high printing accuracy and convenient cleaning. Problems Solved: The printing quality is greatly affected by the working stability of the pump truck, resulting in poor surface quality of the components.

-Screw Booster Tool End: It pressurizes the printing material for a second time, making the extruded material denser and the component strength higher. Problems Solved: The contact area between layers of components printed by the extrusion forming head with a circular outlet is small, leading to low component strength, and large cantilever and torsion printing are prone to collapse.

-Hollow Shaft Rotatable Tool End: It can achieve the printing of rectangular extrusion ends of multiple specifications, and the equipment has a compact structure. Problems Solved: The printing head is large in volume, and it is prone to interfere with the forearm of the mechanical arm during the printing process.

- Telescopic and Rotatable Tool End: It integrates the telescopic compensation function and rotation function to realize the printing of rectangular cross-section components on a larger scale. Problems Solved: The driving and rotating mechanism built in the storage barrel is prone to material accumulation, leaving cleaning dead corners; the rotation accuracy is low after long-term use; due to the limitation of the working space of the mechanical arm, it is unable to print components with a relatively high height.

△The Fifth Generation Innovation of Concrete 3D Printing Tool End

4. Integrated Intelligent Control System for Concrete 3D Printing

In 2022, recognizing the market’s limitations, First Highway Institute embarked on developing an integrated, intelligent control system for concrete 3D printing. The system seamlessly coordinates equipment, controls, and monitors the entire process, including material handling, robot operations, and tool head dynamics, ensuring real-time synchronization and comprehensive monitoring.

This system includes setting configurations, motion control, process management, operational monitoring, and data acquisition, providing precise, large-scale control and monitoring of concrete 3D printing.

△The Architecture of the Integrated Intelligent Control System for Concrete 3D Printing Software and Hardware

The 3D printing control system of the entire process flow is engineered based on the fieldbus architecture. It incorporates state - of - the - art technologies such as robotic motion control, sensing, contemporary communication, and industrial Ethernet, and smartly integrates all relevant software and hardware, encompassing the concrete mixing system, material pumping system, industrial robot software - hardware systems, and 3D printing tool - end system. It achieves the control, monitoring, and pre - warning of the entire process and all equipment within a single system, and resolves crucial technical issues like the real - time synergy of materials, environment, equipment, and parameters, as well as working - condition monitoring, human - machine interaction, and security protection.

△The Control System Intelligently Integrates All the Related Software and Hardware.

The control system specifically includes five major functions, namely system setup, motion control, process flow control, working condition monitoring, and data monitoring and collection. It realizes the safety monitoring, real - time feedback, data collection, batch collection and analysis of printing data in the whole concrete 3D printing process, achieving the precise coordination of multiple - equipment systems in the factory - based core technology of 3D printing.

△The Control and Monitoring Interface of the Printing System

Among them, the multi-index systematic real-time monitoring module includes functions such as material remaining monitoring, pump speed monitoring, printing process monitoring, and environmental monitoring. It significantly improves the collaboration efficiency of each equipment system, obviously reduces the reliance on the number of core technical personnel, greatly enhances the printing efficiency, and realizes the replicability of system application and core technology application.

△Safety Monitoring System

The integrated intelligent control system for concrete 3D printing software and hardware has tremendously improved the production and project management efficiency of concrete 3D printing projects. Currently, the number of operators has been reduced from 4 to 1, fully decreasing the complexity of the working procedures. The numerical control rate of key equipment has reached 100%. The real-time monitoring module of the intelligent control system effectively reduces the safety risks of operations. The coordinated control of various equipment significantly improves the construction efficiency and simultaneously enhances the printing quality of products, with the quality loss rate dropping by approximately 20%. The response time of the whole system is within 100 ms, ensuring the high-speed operation of the concrete 3D printing production process.

Currently, the system software has obtained 4 software copyrights, won the First Prize of Shaanxi Province Excellent Engineering Survey and Design in 2022 (Computer Software Category), and has been rated as being at the "Internationally Leading" level, leading the forefront of the industry.

△The First Prize of Shaanxi Province Excellent Survey and Design Computer Software Award in 2022

5. Path Fitting Control Technology for Planar and Spatial Paths

First Highway Institute also pioneered planar and spatial path-fitting control technology, addressing traditional printing's limited overhang capability and material density issues, thus allowing freeform 3D printing of inclined and cantilevered structures with high fidelity. This method has been granted three patents and achieved a high level of technical excellence domestically.

Based on the independently developed telescopic and rotatable tool end, which is used in conjunction with the rectangular extrusion end, and by virtue of the planar path fitting technology, high-precision concrete printing control has been achieved, with the technical strength reaching the leading level in the country.

△Planar Path Fitting Technology (Left) Schematic Diagram of Rectangular Extrusion End Printing (Right)

△High-Precision Printing with Rotating Rectangular Print Head

Based on the spatial path fitting technology, complex structures such as oblique spaces, curved surface slices, and cantilever shapes can be easily achieved with excellent results.

△Realizing the Printing of Curved Slice Components Based on the Spatial Path Fitting Technology

Conclusion

After years of dedicated research, First Highway Institute has achieved a complete industry-chain innovation in concrete 3D printing, from equipment to system integration, including:

- Robotic arm and gantry equipment addressing complex printing challenges;

- Multi-functional tool heads for diverse printing needs;

- An integrated control system enabling comprehensive monitoring and enhanced printing quality;

- Advanced path-fitting technology for precision in complex geometric structures.

Going forward, First Highway Institute will continue to lead the field through technological innovation, injecting fresh vigor into sectors like transportation and smart city development.

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