Circular Formwork: Recycling of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Formwork for Concrete


Date

2023

Publication Type

Journal Article

ETH Bibliography

yes

Citations

Altmetric

Data

Abstract

Concrete construction is one of the largest producers of CO2 emissions and waste from discarded formwork. 3D printing of formwork using polymer extrusion 3D printing can increase the sustainability of concrete construction by allowing the fabrication of optimized geometry. However, polymer extrusion printed formwork must be discarded after being used several times. Therefore, this paper explores the potential of recycling 3D printed formwork. We describe a workflow in which a formwork is 3D printed, filled with concrete, removed, recycled, and reprinted into a new formwork. Two case studies are presented: filament-printed PET-G formwork for a concrete column, and pellet-printed PIPG formwork for a series of columns. The results indicate that the printing material can be fully recycled for at least one cycle.

Publication status

published

Editor

Book title

Volume

7 (2)

Pages / Article No.

204 - 215

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Event

Edition / version

Methods

Software

Geographic location

Date collected

Date created

Subject

3D Printing; Formwork; Recycling; Polymer Extrusion; Digital Concrete

Organisational unit

03708 - Gramazio, Fabio / Gramazio, Fabio check_circle
03709 - Kohler, Matthias / Kohler, Matthias check_circle
02284 - NFS Digitale Fabrikation / NCCR Digital Fabrication

Notes

Funding

141853 - Digital Fabrication - Advanced Building Processes in Architecture (SNF)

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