Construction 3D printing
Construction 3D Printing or 3D construction Printing refers to various technologies that use 3D printing as a core method to fabricate buildings or construction components. Alternative terms for this process include "additive construction." "3D Concrete" refers to concrete extrusion technologies whereas Autonomous Robotic Construction System, large-scale additive manufacturing, and freeform construction refer to other sub-groups.
At construction scale, the main 3D-printing methods are extrusion, powder bonding, and additive welding.
A number of different approaches have been demonstrated to date, which include on-site and off-site fabrication of buildings and construction components, using industrial robots, gantry systems, and tethered autonomous vehicles. Demonstrations of construction 3D printing technologies have included fabrication of housing, construction components, bridges and civil infrastructure, artificial reefs, follies, and sculptures.
3D concrete printing is an emerging technology with the potential to transform building and infrastructure construction by reducing time, material usage, labor requirements, and overall costs, while also enhancing sustainability and minimizing environmental impact. Despite its promise, the technology faces several challenges, including the development and optimization of material mixes, ensuring process consistency and quality control, maintaining structural integrity and durability, and addressing gaps in industry regulation and standardization.
History
William Urschel
In 1939 William Urschel created the world's first 3D concrete printed building in Valparaiso, Indiana. Urschel patented many of his construction inventions and even had 3D printing that utilized tongue and groove structural designs.Seeding technologies 1950–1995
Robotic bricklaying was conceptualized at explored in the 1950s and related technology development around automated construction began in the 1960s, with pumped concrete and isocyanate foams. Development of automated fabrication of entire buildings using slip forming techniques and robotic assembly of components, akin to 3D printing, were pioneered in Japan to address the dangers of building high rise buildings by Shimizu and Hitachi in the 1980s and 1990s. Many of these early approaches to on-site automation foundered because of the construction 'bubble', their inability to respond to novel architectures and the problems of feeding and preparing materials to the site in built up areas.Early developments 1995–2000
Early construction 3D printing development and research have been under way since 1995. Two methods were invented, one by Joseph Pegna which was focused on a sand/cement forming technique which utilized steam to selectively bond the material in layers or solid parts, though this technique was never demonstrated.The second technique, Contour Crafting by Behrohk Khoshnevis, initially began as a novel ceramic extrusion and shaping method, as an alternative to the emerging polymer and metal 3D printing techniques, and was patented in 1995. Khoshnevis realized that this technique could exceed these techniques where "current methods are limited to fabrication of part dimensions that are generally less than one meter in each dimension". Around 2000, Khoshnevis's team at USC Vertibi began to focus on construction scale 3D printing of cementitious and ceramic pastes, encompassing and exploring automated integration of modular reinforcement, built-in plumbing and electrical services, within one continuous build process. This technology has only been tested at lab scale to date and controversially and allegedly formed the basis for recent efforts in China.
First generation 2000–2010
In 2003, Rupert Soar secured funding and formed the freeform construction group at Loughborough University, UK, to explore the potential for up-scaling existing 3D printing techniques for construction applications. In 2005, the group secured funding to build a large-scale construction 3D printing machine using 'off the shelf' components to explore how complex such components could be and realistically meet the demands for construction.In 2005, Enrico Dini, Italy, patented the D-Shape technology, employing a massively scaled powder jetting/bonding technique over an area approximately 6m x 6m x 3m. This technique although originally developed with epoxy resin bonding system was later adapted to use inorganic bonding agents. This technology has been used commercially for a range of projects in construction and other sectors including for .
In 2008 3D Concrete Printing began at Loughborough University, UK, headed by Richard Buswell and colleagues to extend the groups prior research and look to commercial applications moving from a gantry based technology to an industrial robot.
Second generation 2010–present
Buswell's group succeeded in licensing that robotic technology to Skanska in 2014. On January 18, 2015, the company drew press coverage with its unveiling of two buildings that integrated 3D-printed components: a mansion-style villa and a five-story tower. In May 2016, a new office building opened in Dubai, a 250-square-meter space, touted by Dubai's Museum of the Future as the world's first 3D-printed office building.In 2017, a project to build a 3D-printed skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates was announced. Cazza construction would help to build the structure. At present there are no specific details, such as the buildings height or exact location.
FreeFAB Wax, invented by James B Gardiner and Steven Janssen at Laing O'Rourke, has been in development since March 2013. The technique uses construction scale 3D-printing to produce high volumes of engineered wax to fabricate a 'fast and dirty' 3D-printed mould for precast concrete, glass fibre-reinforced concrete, and other sprayable/cast-able materials. The casting surface is then five-axis milled, removing approximately 5mm of wax, to create a high-quality mold. After curing, the mold is then either crushed or melted, with the wax filtered and reused, significantly reducing waste, as compared with conventional mold technologies. The benefits of the technology are its fast mold fabrication, increased production efficiencies, reduced labor, and virtual elimination of waste through material reuse for bespoke molds. The system was originally demonstrated in 2014, using an industrial robot. The system was later adapted to integrate with a five-axis, high-speed gantry to achieve the rapid surface-milling tolerances, required for the system.
The US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research Development Center, led by the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, in Champaign, IL USA, began research in deployable construction 3D-printer technology starting in September 2015. The pilot project, Automated Construction for Expeditionary Structures, focused on concrete 3D printing and covered a broad range of research areas, including printing systems, printable concrete materials, structural design and testing, and construction methods. The ACES project resulted in three demonstrations: An Entry Control Point, the first Reinforced Additively Constructed Concrete Barracks, and the printing of civil and military infrastructure at the US Army Maneuver Support, Sustainment, and protection Experiments.
In 2017 ERDC CERL began working with the US Marine Corps, resulting in the first demonstration of concrete 3D printing by military personnel, a structurally enhanced reinforced 3D printed concrete Barracks Hut, the first 3D printed bridge in the Americas, and the first demonstration of printing with a three-inch nozzle. Through this work, ERDC and the Marines were able to test structural performance of reinforced 3D printed concrete wall assemblies and bridge beams, print system resilience and maintenance cycles, extended printing operations, the publicized 24 hour building claim, and develop viable reinforcement and construction methods using conventionally accepted practices.
MX3D Metal founded by Loris Jaarman and team has developed two 6 axis robotic 3D printing systems, the first uses a thermoplastic which is extruded, notably this system allows the fabrication of freeform non-planar beads. The second is a system that relies on additive welding the additive welding technology has been developed by various groups in the past. MX3D worked on the fabrication and installation of the metal bridge in Amsterdam for six years. The completed pedestrian and bicycle bridge was opened in July 2021. The bridge has a span of and a final mass of of stainless steel.
BetAbram is a simple gantry based concrete extrusion 3D printer developed in Slovenia. This system is available commercially, offering 3 models to consumers since 2013. The largest P1 can print objects up to 16m x 9m x 2.5m.
Total Custom concrete 3D printer developed by Rudenko is a concrete deposition technology mounted in a gantry configuration, the system has a similar output to Winsun and other concrete 3D printing technologies, however it uses a lightweight truss type gantry. The technology has been used to fabricate a backyard scale version of a castle and a hotel room in the Philippines.
Serial production of construction printers was launched by SPECAVIA company, based in Yaroslavl. In May 2015, the company introduced the first model of a construction 3D printer and announced the start of sales.
XtreeE, a French firm co‑founded in 2015 by a multidisciplinary team following the DEMOCRITE university research project linking ENSA Paris‑Malaquais, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, ENSCI‑Les Ateliers and Inria, has developed a multi‑component concrete printing system mounted on a 6‑axis industrial robot.
Since 2015 XtreeE has partnered with major construction groups. VINCI Construction formed a partnership and took an equity stake, and in 2021 LafargeHolcim France became a reference shareholder; Saint‑Gobain, via Point.P Travaux Publics, collaborated on pilot public‑works such as a 5‑ton stormwater overflow in the Lille area and bespoke sewer access structures.
3DPrinthuset, a Danish 3DPrinting startup, has also branched into construction with its sister company COBOD International, which made its own gantry-based printer in October 2017.
S-Squared 3D Printers Inc is a 3D printer manufacturing and retail company based in Long Island, New York. The company was co-founded by Robert Smith and Mario Szczepanski in 2014 and has 13 employees and makes 3D printers for hobbyists, libraries and STEM programs. In 2017, the company launched a new division, S-Squared 4D Commercial, to construct homes and commercial buildings with their 3D printing rig called Autonomous Robotic Construction System . The system can build homes, commercial buildings, roads and bridges. ARCS can complete projects from 500 square feet to more than one million square feet.
In 2021, Mario Cucinella Architects and 3D printing specialists WASP demonstrated the first 3D printing of a house made out of a clay-mixture, Tecla.
In 2022, engineers reported the development of swarms of autonomous 3D-printing drones for additive manufacturing and repair.
In 2022, Lennar and ICON constructed Wolf Ranch, a community of 3D printed homes and the largest in the US.
In November 2022, researchers at the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center completed a home composed of modular sections printed from wood byproducts.
3D printing of the building envelope alone does not resolve time- and cost-intensive construction elements such as reinforcement, utilities, and interior finishes, which limits the overall competitiveness of the process compared to conventional methods in many scenarios. In response to these limitations, a second generation of construction 3D printing platforms is emerging. These systems combine additive manufacturing with complementary operations such as manipulation, cutting/drilling, placement, or inspection, using robotic automation, sensors, and artificial intelligence. In 2024–2025, pilot projects were demonstrated in Spain, including the inauguration of a building constructed using 3D printing, robotics, and artificial intelligence, with automated finishing and full regulatory certification.