World’s first 3D printed stainless steel bridge completed

Researchers have taken 3D printing to a new level by creating an entire stainless steel 3D printed bridge for Amsterdam’s pedestrians.

A Dutch robotics firm called MX3D successfully printed the world’s first functional 3D stainless steel bridge for pedestrians in Amsterdam’s red light district, the Oudezijds Achterburgwal. However, it will still go through numerous tests before finally being installed in 2019.

As CNBC reports, the bridge was printed by four robots in six months. The 41-foot-long bridge contains 9,920 pounds of stainless steel and 1,100km of wire. A combination of typical industrial robots, purpose-built tools and software was needed to make up the 3D printers. The company also aims to add sensors to the bridge in the future for monitoring changes in its health over time.

Video Courtesy: MX3D Bridge

First ever 3D-printed bridge is now open and it’s quite impressive

The bridge was expected to be printed on the set location but, since it was not practical because of the area being too busy, the bridge will be placed on the location after tests. Company’s Oleg Vishniakou informed, “The Oudezijds Achterburgwal where the bridge will be placed is just a too busy place to print. There are a lot of pedestrians walking by every day so it would be hard to get a permit for it. Also you’ll need 24/7 surveillance at the printing site to protect the robots.”

While talking to Gizmodo, co-founder Gijs van der Velden informed that they have already conducted one of the tests successfully that included 30 people. Designed by Joris Laarman Lab, Laarman said, “It’s a little bit like being in a science fiction story because it looks so different than everything else around. We work in a highly industrial shipyard where everything is geometric in shape, but this bridge doesn’t have a single straight line.”

As per MX3D, the main goal of the ‘MX3D Bridge’ project is to ‘showcase the potential applications of our multi-axis 3D printing technology’. The organization also dreams to build lightweight constructions such as bridges or entire buildings, optimized custom ships or even ‘Mars colonies in full autonomy’.