{"id":29435,"date":"2018-11-12T19:30:25","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T00:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/"},"modified":"2018-11-12T19:31:11","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T00:31:11","slug":"additive-manufacturing-in-construction","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/","title":{"rendered":"Additive Manufacturing in Construction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

How important will additive manufacturing be in the future of construction? In a construction site, you face several challenges: lack of consistency between jobs, labor inefficiency, schedule delays, exceeding budget projections, delays on material delivery and high percentage of material waste. I have observed these issues during my experience on job sites and constantly challenged myself to realize creative ways to mitigate these problems. However, 3D printing is promising to extinguish some of these challenges.\u00a0 Over the years, additive manufacturing has been a constant topic of discussion in the industry. For the most part, the discussion revolves around trying to understand the limitations, applications and the overall impact on the cost of construction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Opportunities and Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

3D printing has the potential to revolutionize the industry. Some companies have already started working with this innovation. \u00a0Bouygues, a French company with global presence is one of those companies. In partnership with Nantes University, they built the first 3D house in Nantes. \u201cUsing 3D technology, the 95m\u00b2 home became a reality in just three days via the arm of a polyarticulated robot: two polyurethane walls with concrete poured between them. This process has a number of advantages, including free-form capabilities and speed of execution. Also, the thermal insulation is already in place at the end of the construction process.\u201d [1]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

First 3D house in Nantes [1]\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The advantages of this process do not stop there. It provides consistency between jobs, increases labor efficiency, streamlines the production, provides strength\/durability to the building or house, lowers the cost of production, reduces material waste and has the potential to add sustainable materials. [2] The implementation of the additive manufacturing will also change the working environment, reducing the amount of accidents and safety hazards, due to the automation of the process. [3]<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the implementation of 3D printing in the industry also has its disadvantages: high cost of a large-scale printer, the need for a specialist to operate the printer and rough finishes are some of the issues. [2] But most importantly, is the need to further explore and research developments to improve the technology focused in construction. Even though additive manufacturing is being widely used in other industries, the process needs refinement before it really transforms the construction industry. \u00a0\u201cThis field is still in its infancy, without standardized testing and quality control to compare or benchmark these recent advancements. Furthermore, many of these early projects and AM technologies are proprietary, lacking publically available, detailed information on the methodology and final part quality, making comparison or evaluation of new AM technologies more challenging. While much work is needed to fully realize AM as a cost-effective and reliable option in the construction industry, the potential benefits it can provide are worthy of further research and development.\u201d [4]<\/p>\n

In 2015, an expansion of The Lewis Grand Hotel in the Philippines was under construction using the new technology. The structure was the first fully permitted structure that would actually be put to use. Yakich, a material science engineer, alongside with Andrey Rudenko, castle 3D printer developer, were responsible for the project. \u201cThe Philippines is actually a great place for concrete printing because of the weather. Currently everything is made out of concrete, and it\u2019s a third world country so it can do a lot of good in disaster zones, etc.,\u201d Yakich told 3DPrint.com. The project has about 1,500 square feet and it took approximately 100 hours of print time. [5]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Expansion of The Lewis Grand Hotel in the Philippines [5]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Evolution of the technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are a lot of companies today involved with 3D printing. However, since several contractors are still not making use of this technology, most of these companies are active in the construction phase of the value chain; in the short term, it\u2019s more likely that companies will look for integrated solutions \u2013 in which they will use inhouse resources for the design, engineering, equipment, software, material, and construction. [3]<\/p>\n

In the medium\/longer term, as the technology develops and matures, it\u2019s expected that subcontractors specialize in 3D printing and turn the additive manufacturing into a construction technique such as prefab. This would allow more companies to take advantage of the technology, since it would require less capital and local knowledge, expanding the use of 3D printing in construction sites. \u00a0[3]<\/p>\n

Some questions are still unanswered regarding the implications of 3D printing in construction. Will regulations be an obstacle for the advancement of the technology? Will the use of this technology substitute construction workers?<\/p>\n

(Word Count: 746)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1] Bouygues Construction, \u201cInnovations\u201d,\u00a0 https:\/\/www.bouygues-construction.com\/en\/innovation\/all-innovations\/3d-printing<\/a>, accessed November, 2018<\/p>\n

[2] Seyed Hamidreza Ghaffar; Jorge Corker; Mizi Fan, \u201cAdditive manufacturing technology and its implementation in construction as an eco-innovative solution\u201d \u00a0https:\/\/www-sciencedirect-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu\/science\/article\/pii\/S0926580517309731<\/a>, accessed November, 2018<\/p>\n

[3] BCG, \u201cPublications\u201d https:\/\/www.bcg.com\/en-us\/publications\/2018\/will-3d-printing-remodel-construction-industry.aspx<\/a>, accessed November, 2018<\/p>\n

[4] Daniel Delgado Camacho; Patricia Clayton; William J. O’Brien; Carolyn Seepersad; Maria Juenger; Raissa Ferron; Salvatore Salamone, \u201cApplications of additive manufacturing in the construction industry \u2013 A forward-looking review\u201dhttps:\/\/www-sciencedirect-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu\/science\/article\/pii\/S0926580517307847<\/a>, accessed November, 2018<\/p>\n

[5] 3D Print, \u201cLewis Grand Hotel Erects World\u2019s First 3D Printed Hotel, Plans to Print Thousands of Homes in the Philippines Next\u201d, \u00a0https:\/\/3dprint.com\/94558\/3d-printed-hotel-lewis-grand\/<\/a>, accessed November, 2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How important will additive manufacturing be in the future of construction? Over the years, additive manufacturing has been a constant topic of discussion in the industry. For the most part, the discussion revolves around trying to understand the limitations, applications and the overall impact on the cost of construction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11620,"featured_media":29436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[4102,3340,428],"class_list":["post-29435","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3dprinting","category-additive-manufacturing","category-construction","hck-taxonomy-organization-bouygues-construction","hck-taxonomy-industry-construction","hck-taxonomy-country-france"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2018\/","yoast_head":"\nAdditive Manufacturing in Construction - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Additive Manufacturing in Construction - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How important will additive manufacturing be in the future of construction? Over the years, additive manufacturing has been a constant topic of discussion in the industry. For the most part, the discussion revolves around trying to understand the limitations, applications and the overall impact on the cost of construction.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-11-13T00:31:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/245864_credit_vjoncheray_14_-1.jpg_3-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"820\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\\\/\",\"name\":\"Additive Manufacturing in Construction - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/245864_credit_vjoncheray_14_-1.jpg_3-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-13T00:30:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-13T00:31:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/245864_credit_vjoncheray_14_-1.jpg_3-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/245864_credit_vjoncheray_14_-1.jpg_3-1.jpg\",\"width\":820,\"height\":440},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Additive Manufacturing in Construction\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Additive Manufacturing in Construction - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Additive Manufacturing in Construction - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"How important will additive manufacturing be in the future of construction? Over the years, additive manufacturing has been a constant topic of discussion in the industry. For the most part, the discussion revolves around trying to understand the limitations, applications and the overall impact on the cost of construction.","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","article_modified_time":"2018-11-13T00:31:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":820,"height":440,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/245864_credit_vjoncheray_14_-1.jpg_3-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/","name":"Additive Manufacturing in Construction - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/245864_credit_vjoncheray_14_-1.jpg_3-1.jpg","datePublished":"2018-11-13T00:30:25+00:00","dateModified":"2018-11-13T00:31:11+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/245864_credit_vjoncheray_14_-1.jpg_3-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/245864_credit_vjoncheray_14_-1.jpg_3-1.jpg","width":820,"height":440},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-in-construction\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Additive Manufacturing in Construction"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/29435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11620"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/29435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}