After 3D-printing houses and buildings, the future tech might next enable us to 3D-knit entire buildings, as demonstrated by researchers.
A team from ETH Zurich has created a method that enables them to 3D-knit textiles that can then form the scaffolds for huge concrete structures. The team demonstrated their method by creating a 13-foot-tall structure.
The curvy knitted concrete structure named KnitCandela, was created using ‘KnitCrete’, a novel 3D-knitted textile technology for creating curving concrete structures, without requiring expensive and time-consuming moulds.
In a first, French family moves into 3D-printed house
An industrial knitting machine was used for producing the textile that will serve at the structure’s basis. The process took around 36 hours to complete, producing four long strips of fabric, reported Futurism.
The fabric was then fitted over a steel cable-net and a temporary frame, inserting 1,000 balloons into the fabric pockets for giving it the desired shape. The structure was then sprayed with a specially prepared concrete mixture. After the shape hardened, the team applied fiber-reinforced concrete.
The textile and the net weighed only almost 55kg, but were able to support 5.5 tons of concrete. The structure is currently at display in Mexico City, wrote Dezeen.
The team claims that this new KnitCrete systems simplify and modernize the process of creating complex double-curved concrete shapes with an easily transportable system that keeps the costs low.
“Knitting offers a key advantage that we no longer need to create 3D shapes by assembling various parts,” said developer Mariana Popescu. “With the right knitting pattern, we can produce a flexible formwork for any and all kinds of shell structures, pockets, and channels just by pressing a button.”