FAQ 3D concrete printing for your project

3D concrete printing for your project

• What are the main benefits of 3D concrete printing?
  3D concrete printing is all about offering a cheaper, quicker, and more sustainable alternative to traditional construction. By automating the construction process, we can provide fast engineering as well as preparation. Additionally, certain steps of the traditional building process can be skipped. These faster timelines reduce your labor hours, significantly lowering your costs. You can also save money on indirect costs, skipped production steps, and material savings. Depending on the project scope, projects can be reduced in cost by up to 70%! 3D printing is also more sustainable than regular construction. Our material, CyBe Mortar, has 30% fewer emissions and can be produced locally. We also use less material and are able to incorporate nature into our prints. Lastly, 3DCP also offers unique design possibilities. Through parametric designing, you can build things that would not have been possible with traditional construction.
• What are the advantages of 3D concrete printing in comparison to traditional construction methods?
  Your project is done quicker: Traditional construction processes take up a lot of time and labor costs. Due to engineering and preparation time, the construction takes a longer time span than with 3D Concrete printing. Since we are able to automatize this process, the time preparing a print is reduced a lot. You save money: The final costs of 3D concrete printing are lower than with conventional construction. These savings can be up to 70%, depending on the product you want to print. This cost reduction is the result of factors like low labor costs and material costs. More sustainable: 3D printing, with durable material sustainable technology, is far more sustainable than traditional (concrete) construction Greater possibilities: 3Dconcrete printing enables new and other design possibilities, giving architects more freedom in their design.
• How can concrete 3d printing help the environment?
  3D concrete printing is more environmentally friendly than traditional construction methods. The material used is often more sustainable than regular concrete, and the technique allows for less overall material usage. There is also less waste material, and there are options for local material development. 3DCP also relies on energy as opposed to fossil fuels, and the low print times make the technique energy-efficient. Additionally, by combining Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) with 3DCP, you’re able to construct modular, net-zero housing units.
• How does 3D concrete printing work?
  The first step is designing a 3D-model. This can be done with many CAD tools, but we prefer Rhino. We can then convert this model with our own software tool, CyBe CHYSEL, into a digital 3D-model. This digital model, the Gcode, can be read by our printer, so it know where to move. When everything is prepared, we start the print. The print is a two-man-and-a-printer job, where the printer does most of the work. We supply material and control the printing conditions, while the printer makes sure to print your model.
• 3D printing concrete is becoming more popular, how are these structures reinforced?
  3D printed structures are reinforced with rebar. The rebar can be placed during the printing process, for maximum adhesiveness and speed.
• Which software does CyBe Construction use and what are the benefits?
  CyBe Construction uses Rhinoceros 3.0 to design models and CyBe CHYSEL to convert this model into a digital file. Rhino gives you all the freedom you need to design your perfect model. Our own software, CHYSEL, makes it easy to see whether this model is printable, and lets the printer know what to do.
• Is my product or project suitable for 3D concrete printing?
  At the moment there is a vast amount of possibilities for using CyBe’s 3D Concrete printing technology. 3DCP enables free-form design, which makes it possible to build complex forms. We can do a printability analysis to see whether your project is suited for 3D printing. To check if your product or projects is suited all we need is a 3D-model or design. We will verify whether your plans are printable for us.
• What is the print time per cubic meter?
  Our printers operate up to 500 mm / second, which is currently the fastest print speed on the market! The print time per cubic meter can depend on the design of the object: if the model has lots of small curves, we tend to decrease the speed for a better result.
• What is the approximate cost of a structure?
  Our Lyve label buildings are specifically designed for 3D concrete printing and start at €800 per square meter. For a detailed cost breakdown of one of our projects, the Robust Villa, please check out the cost indication under downloads, at the bottom of this page.
• How can I get more information about CyBe’s projects?
  We are proud of all the amazing projects we did around the world, and like to showcase them! We feature our most interesting projects on our website. Please consult the menu at the top to see them!
• What kind of additional elements and factory preparation is needed for 3D printing?
  In our pre-print checklist, you can find everything necesarry for a print. It outlines the necessary spare parts and all facility requirements. We also help our customers to prepare their facilities, so that the printers are operational shortly after delivery.
• What is the production capacity of a printer?
  The production capacity depends on the level of difficulty of the element. We recommend printing with a minimum of 2 certified operators to manage 1) the Mix Pump System, 2) the printing process and the overview. In a day, you can do multiple prints, depending on how big the prints are and how fast the preparation process goes. The more often you print, and also the more you repeat a model, the easier the preparation process becomes. With nonstop printing of 2x2m walls, you would be able to print at least 8 wall elements in a day. Of course, if you gain more experience, this number increases dramatically