Dutch company Twente Additive Manufacturing B.V. is working to change the home building industry for the better, by challenging traditional construction methods through the use of automation and additive manufacturing. The company hasn’t been around that long, but had a big goal for its inaugural year in business – to create a large-scale 3D printer using an ABB 9-axis robot that is placed on a gantry-like structure for a large build footprint.

I’d say that Twente AM definitely succeeded in its mission. The structure supporting the conventional robot is able to move around enough so that it can build structures that are five meters high and ten meters long, which gives it a pretty impressive footprint of 391 m³….for comparison, a 6-axis robot can only complete a job with a 42 m³ footprint, but the rotational 9th axis that Twente AM added takes it the extra distance.

The release goes on to explain that the extremely detailed prints its robotic AM system is capable of creating are made with a mortar material, which can rapidly cure within minutes to create artistic features and complex shapes that conventional methods of manufacturing just can’t complete. According to a video that the company released, parametric CAD/CAM software is directly connected to the large-scale printer, and makes these shapes through the use of algorithms.

Keep reading and watch the video on 3DPrint.com

Find more news here

Find events calendar here

Find media kit here

Join Construction Links Network

Submit your FREE Business Directory listing