This book explores the latest achievements and design possibilities that 3D printing for construction (DPC) can offer, the alternative materials to natural aggregates or cement and even the 4th dimension that is already starting in this area. DPC materiality is starting to be explored in architecture as a new design language to reach not only outrageous forms but also to leverage the building process and its performance. Like Corbusier explored the concrete potentiality of concrete to release the façade and the plan, 3DPC is allowing to straighten design freedom with building performance. Industry and Scientific research are offering design professionals possibilities to start a new design movement. New paths are also starting to be tracked to reduce even more this building system footprint, stalking alternatives to Portland cement (PC). Today is already possible to build with the soil from the buildings’ ground. Leftovers from various industries are opening possibilities to decrease the PC and natural aggregates rate in printable mortars. From the industry, salt is becoming a possibility to be used in 3DPC. Sugar can ashes are improving the mortar performance reducing adjuvants. Construction and demolition waste can substitute natural aggregates and even offer new textures and color possibilities. Finally, to close this edition, the latest steps on the use of Phase Change Materials in additive manufacturing are collected to raise awareness to the next step of AM, the 4D printing.

Although 3D printing promises a revolution in many industries, primarily industrial manufacturing, nowhere are the possibilities greater than in the field of product design and modular architecture. Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, of the cutting-edge San Francisco–based design firm Emerging Objects, have developed remarkable techniques for "printing" from a wide variety of powders, including sawdust, clay, cement, rubber, concrete, salt, and even coffee grounds, opening an entire realm of material, phenomenological, and ecological possibilities to designers. In addition to case studies and illustrations of their own work, Rael and San Fratello offer guidance for sourcing alternative materials, specific recipes for mixing compounds, and step-by-step instructions for conducting bench tests and setting parameters for material testing, to help readers to understand the process of developing powder-based materials and their unique qualities.

This book gathers peer-reviewed contributions presented at the 2nd RILEM International Conference on Concrete and Digital Fabrication (Digital Concrete), held online and hosted by the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands from 6-9 July 2020. Focusing on additive and automated manufacturing technologies for the fabrication of cementitious construction materials, such as 3D concrete printing, powder bed printing, and shotcrete 3D printing, the papers highlight the latest findings in this fast-growing field, addressing topics like mixture design, admixtures, rheology and fresh-state behavior, alternative materials, microstructure, cold joints & interfaces, mechanical performance, reinforcement, structural engineering, durability and sustainability, automation and industrialization.

The introduction of digital manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing applied to concrete material, opens up new perspectives on the way in which buildings are designed. Research on this theme is thriving and there is a high rate of innovation related to concrete. At the same time, the first life-size constructions made from printed concrete are emerging from the ground. This book presents state-of-the-art knowledge on the different printing processes as well as on the concrete material that must adapt to these new manufacturing techniques, such as new hardware and new printers for concrete. The possibilities in terms of architectural design are discussed as well as the pathways that remain to be uncovered. The book also explores the challenges that researchers and companies expect to overcome as they get closer to democratizing this potential revolution that is the digital manufacturing of concrete.

3D Concrete Printing Technology provides valuable insights into the new manufacturing techniques and technologies needed to produce concrete materials. In this book, the editors explain the concrete printing process for mix design and the fresh properties for the high-performance printing of concrete, along with commentary regarding their extrudability, workability and buildability. This is followed by a discussion of three large-scale 3D printings of ultra-high performance concretes, including their processing setup, computational design, printing process and materials characterization. Properties of 3D-printed fiber-reinforced Portland cement paste and its flexural and compressive strength, density and porosity and the 3D-printing of hierarchical materials is also covered. - Explores the factors influencing the mechanical properties of 3D printed products out of magnesium potassium phosphate cement material - Includes methods for developing Concrete Polymer Building Components for 3D Printing - Provides methods for formulating geopolymers for 3D printing for construction applications

As concrete revolutionised construction in the 20th century, digitalisation is transforming the building industry (BI). Process automation and 3D printing (3DP) are commonplace in the industry and our homes. However, due to BI’s scale and complexity, Additive Manufacturing (AM) is in its native stage. Ongoing scientific research has been providing knowledge that will simplify the integration of 3DCP in the market, exploring its materiality, technologies, and design methodologies. This book provides an overview of the latest research achievements of the design possibilities that 3DP for construction (3DC) can offer in the various fields of construction, particularly architecture and engineering.