3D Printed Formwork for Concrete: State-of-the-Art, Opportunities, Challenges, and Applications
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Date
2022-04
Publication Type
Review Article
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
Concrete is the most used human-made material in the world, and it is responsible for around 8% of the total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Hence, efficient concrete construction methods are one of the main foci of research in architecture, civil engineering, and material science. One recent development that promises to achieve this goal is the use of digital fabrication for building components. Most investigations focus on direct extrusion 3D printing with concrete, which has already been covered in several review articles. Conversely, this article reviews a different approach, which focuses on the indirect digital fabrication of concrete through 3D printed formworks. This approach is under investigation for structural and nonstructural, as well as for onand off-site applications, with a number of projects having already been built, but a comprehensive review of 3D printed formworks has not yet been compiled to synthesize the findings. This article provides a comprehensive map of the state-of-the-art of five different 3D printing technologies used for the fabrication of formworks so far. The aim is to serve as a fundamental reference for future fesearch, provide a basis for consistent language in this field, and support the development of construction standards. The article further discusses the new geometric possibilities with 3D printed formworks and their potential for making concrete construction more sustainable. In addition, the opportunities and challenges of 3D printed formworks are evaluated in the context of other traditional and digital fabrication tools. A synthetic classification in five functional typologies is proposed and illustrated with 30 representative case studies. Finally, the article concludes with a brief reflection on the role of 3D printing in the broader context of formwork innovation and a possible outlook for this technology.
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Publication status
published
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Editor
Book title
Journal / series
Volume
9 (2)
Pages / Article No.
85 - 107
Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
3D printing; formwork; concrete; digital concrete; digital fabrication; Advanced manufacturing; construction; Advanced manufacturing
Organisational unit
09566 - Dillenburger, Benjamin / Dillenburger, Benjamin
02284 - NFS Digitale Fabrikation / NCCR Digital Fabrication
Notes
Funding
141853 - Digital Fabrication - Advanced Building Processes in Architecture (SNF)