A critical review of 3D printing and digital

manufacturing in construction engineering

Item Type Article

Authors Ali, Md Hazrat;Issayev, Gani;Shehab, Essam;Sarfraz, Shoaib

Citation Ali, Md. H., Issayev, G., Shehab, E., & Sarfraz, S. (2022). A critical
review of 3D printing and digital manufacturing in construction
engineering. Rapid Prototyping Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/
rpj-07-2021-0160

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DOI 10.1108/RPJ-07-2021-0160

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Journal Rapid Prototyping Journal

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 A critical review of 3D printing and digital
manufacturing in construction engineering
Md. Hazrat Ali1*, Gani Issayev2, Essam Shehab1 and Shoaib Sharfraz3
1
Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, SEDS, Nazaraveyv University, Kazakhstan.
2
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology,
Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
3
Dept.of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
*Email: md.ali@nu.edu.kz

Abstract
Purpose: In recent years, 3D printing technologies have been widely used in the construction
industry. 3D printing in construction is very attractive due to its capability of process automation
and the possibility of saving labor, waste materials, construction time, and hazardous procedures
for humans. Significant researches were conducted to identify the performance of the materials,
while some researches focused on the development of novel techniques and methods, such as
building information modelling (BIM). This paper provides a detailed overview of the state-of-
the-art of currently employed 3D printing technologies in the construction areas and global
acceptance in its applications.
Design/methodology/approach: The working principle of Additive Manufacturing (AM) in
Construction Engineering (CE) is presented in terms of structural design, materials used, and
theoretical background of the leading technologies that are used to construct buildings and
structures as well as their distinctive features.
Findings: The trends of 3D printing processes in CE are very promising, as well as the
development of novel materials, will gain further momentum. The findings also indicate that the
digital twin in construction technology would bring the industry a step forward towards achieving
the goal of industry 5.0.
Originality/value: This review highlights the prospects of digital manufacturing and the digital
twin in construction engineering. It also indicates the future research direction of 3D printing in
various constriction sectors.

Keywords: Additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, 3D printing, additive construction,

concrete printing
Paper type: General review
AM = additive manufacturing;
Nomenclature/abbreviation
AMIE = Additive Manufacturing Integrated
ABS = acrylonitrile butadiene styrene;
Energy;
AC = additive construction;
BAAM = Big Area Additive Manufacturing;
BIM = building information modeling; AM is becoming attractive in the
construction industry, owing to a narrow
CC = Contour Crafting; range of building automation systems in situ
DED = directed energy deposition; in materials and technological procedures
(Duballet et al., 2017, Sakin, and Kiroglu,
DMLS = direct metal laser sintering; 2017). Additive manufacturing or 3D
DM = Digital manufacturing; printing technologies used in constructing
buildings are also known as additive
DT = Digital twin; construction (AC) (Labonnote et al., 2016).
AC also provides possibilities for building
EBM = electron beam melting;
extraordinarily complex geometries, giving
GMAW = gas metal arc welding; designers and architects opportunities to
think freely without putting themselves into
ORNL = Oak Ridge National Laboratory; specifically limited frames (Lloret et al.,
PDF = powder bed fusion; 2015).

SBA = selective binder activation; Generally, the first attempts of automated

construction were conducted by a team of
SOM = Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill LLP; researchers and robot manufacturers
SLM = selective laser melting; sponsored by the Japan Industrial Robot
Association in 1978 (Taylor et al., 2003). In
SPI = selective paste intrusion; the next 20 years, the group had developed
more than 550 autonomous construction
SSS = selective separation sintering;
systems. In these systems, robots were
3D = three dimensional; applied successfully for various construction
works such as concrete floor flushing, spray
1. Introduction painting, materials handling, and tile
Additive manufacturing (AM) technology inspection. Nevertheless, in the late 1990s,
(also known as 3D printing) produces the first proposed studies of 3D printing in
objects in a layer-by-layer method directly construction were appeared (Pegna, 1997).
from the 3D model. It has been rapidly As a result, 3D printing has been started to
evolving since it was first invented. It has expand its applications as an automated
already been utilized in various industries system in many industries, including
such as aerospace, automotive, energy, and construction engineering, which is
biomedicine industries facilitating the considered one of the largest consumers of
fabrication process from a digital model to non-renewable resources and natural
ready-to-use final products (Vaezi and Chua, materials worldwide (Ibrahim, 2016).
2011, Hager et al., 2016). In addition, AM Traditional construction engineering has
creates 3D geometries and structures from many challenges, such as work in harsh
digital files. Computer-Aided Design is the environments, shortage of a skilled
main tool to design digital prototypes, which workforce, safety, waste of materials, and
will be printed layer by layer of remarkably transportation of materials (Delgado
thin cross-sectional areas. This process Camacho et al., 2018). Importantly, safety in
enables to manufacture of complex the construction area is one of the main
geometries and surfaces that are challenges because construction sites are
comprehensive to achieve by conventional extremely hazardous (Zhu et al., 2016).
tools (Jandyal, 2021).
Therefore, the opportunity to implement step, layers should not be degraded or
automated additive construction systems in collapsed when the following layer is being
situ will allow us to solve these problems in deposited. And in the last step, a proper bond
the shortest possible time, increasing interest between layers should be assured (Panda et
in such technologies. al., 2017a, Kazemian et al., 2017).
The progress of additive manufacturing Detailed analysis and review of the 3D
possesses a promising direction in the civil printing in construction are challenging
engineering industry. AC minimizes human because of commercial reasons competitors
participation, resulting in eliminating many do not publicly share the details of their
construction hazards (Ibrahim, 2016). printing systems, materials compositions,
Additionally, the reduction in labor that AC and other information (Bos et al., 2016).
provides would also decrease the cost (Holt Nevertheless, this paper presents an up-to-
et al., 2019). Moreover, additive date overview of additive construction based
manufacturing technology decreases on publicly available works published from
environmental harm during construction, 1997 to 2020. The rest of the paper is
such as waste and noise pollution, to reduce organized as follows; section 2 describes
the need for formwork usage (Tay et al., various types of materials used in
2017, Kothman and Faber, 2016). According construction engineering, section 3
to Lawson, the construction industry highlights the available types of 3D printers
generates 53.5 Mt of construction and used in CE, section 4 explains the theories
demolition wastes (Lawson et al., 2001). and technologies in CE, section 5 discusses
The previous studies showed that additive Digital Twin (DT) and Digital
manufacturing could decrease 30-60% of Manufacturing (DM) in CE, section 6
construction wastes, 50-80% of labor costs, highlights the obstacles in utilizing 3D
and 50-70% of production time (Doris, printers in CE, section 7 foresees the future
2016). For instance, WinSun Company used of AM in CE, section 8 briefly concludes the
construction and industrial wastes and overall findings.
dumps instead of new building materials for
their 3D printed houses (Busta, 2016). With 2. Types of construction materials
the help of computer simulations in the in 3D printing
construction of these houses, it was able to Different materials can be used in
lay connectors for insulation, electrical construction 3D printers, but the most
wiring, and windows. All these items could widespread types are concrete materials
be installed after the completion of printing. followed by polymers and metallic
The development of 3D printing using materials.
cementitious materials in construction has 2.1 Concrete materials
been stimulated by prints using polymeric Concrete is the most widely used material in
materials and the high cost of shuttering, building construction due to its mechanical
which affects the final building construction strength, low production cost (Bos et al.,
costs (Rubio et al., 2017). Three steps need 2016), local availability, mouldability into
to be followed to prevent printed materials different shapes, high thermal resistance,
from being dashed or self-compacted. The and excellent durability (Paul et al., 2018,
material should be extruded through the Buchanan and Gardner, 2019). The mixture
extruder heads in the first one, maintaining used for concrete 3D printing should possess
its form after being deposited. In the next less viscosity and has large yield stress
(Panda et al., 2018b, Le et al., 2015). In including Portland cement, fine sand,
addition, it is highly reliable in compression, chopped glass fibers, and chemical
fire-resistant, and highly durable (Bos et al., admixtures. They found that the mechanical
2016), and possess lesser environmental strengths of the printed specimens were
effect (Alhumayani et al., 2020). The widely reduced due to the voids and pores, which
used materials as concrete are cement-based can be appeared as a result of printing
(Geneidy et al., 2019, Shakor et al., 2019). methods and printing parameters. Hence,
Concrete printing is a more widely used and further development of printing methods and
more advanced technique in additive parameters is required to decrease voids and
construction than printing with other pores in the printed materials.
materials (Buchanan and Gardner, 2019).
Le et al. (2012) studied the mix design and
Concrete materials are used as the "ink" or new properties of high-performance
"filament" of a 3D printer, in which concrete reinforced printing concrete. They found the
material can easily be extruded via the optimal material fraction selection of each
extruder system. The workability of the ingredient with validations. The optimal
system is dependent on the mix proportion result was achieved when the nozzle
and materials selection. Adequate adhesion diameter was 9 mm, the sand-binder ratio
and rigidity are essential to get successful was 3:2, the water-binder ratio was 0.26, and
printing results without any failure. Besides, the superplasticizer and retarder were 1%
in concrete AC, the setting time of the first and 0.5%, respectively.
layers affects the mechanical strength of the
structure (Zhang et al., 2019, Perrot et al., The stone sludge has been aggregated to
2016). produce Eco-Bricks concrete to decrease the
waste produced during stone cutting and
Some researchers attempted to print concrete polishing processes (Rajgor and Pitroda,
with fiber reinforcement to reduce steel 2013). 3D printing using stone slurry has
materials used in 3D printed buildings. been used to create architectural structures in
Hambach et al. (2019) proposed a novel Italy by Desamanera Company (Stone-ideas,
composite of Portland cement paste and 2017). In another project Novi 3D print
aligned glass, basalt, or carbon fibers. They mechanism has been developed, which uses
tested the mechanical properties of 3D- limestone wastes as the material for
printed parts. According to their obtained construction purposes to reduce the waste
results, adding a 1.0 volume % fraction of produced during construction (Biltcliffe,
carbon fibers to the cement can further 2016). Application of stone sludge for 3D
increase the cement pastes' flexural strength. printing material purposes can bring lots of
However, reinforcement did not benefits in terms of waste reduction,
considerably alter the compressive strength reduction of shuttering, time and cost
of the objects. Soltan and Li (2018) employed in construction, and the overall
investigated the new state rheological promotion of automatic construction
properties of self-reinforced cementitious (Annappa et al., 2021).
composite materials. They reported the
effects of compositional elements and Xia and Sanjayan (2016) proposed a novel
process parameters on early-stage method for formulating geopolymer-based
properties. Shakor et al. (2020) studied the materials for the commercially available
effects of deposition nozzle’s velocity on the powder-based 3D printers' requirements. As
printed mortar’s width and slurry properties, the result of this study, it was shown that the
prepared material is applicable in 3D
printing, and printed objects had good 3D printing materials using a movable robot.
geometrical accuracy and sufficient The technology consists of printing two
strengths. Furthermore, the authors polyurethane foam walls placed onto both
concluded that this type of 3D printing sides of a concrete wall. These polymer
approach could be perfectly suitable for walls provide excellent insulation without
construction applications, providing using thermal bridges.
additional enhancements in strength.
In Amsterdam, a canal house was
2.2 Polymers constructed by joining 3D printed plastic
Polymers are the most popular materials blocks initiated by DUS architects. The
used in conventional 3D printers because of company developed its 3D printer with a
the low price and equipment availability printing size of 2.2×2.2×3.5 m to print
(Furet et al., 2019). However, polymers polymer block, weighing 180 kg (Wu et al.,
usage in AC is characteristically limited in 2016).
applications to facades, mechanical and
2.3 Metallic materials
electrical systems. Therefore, there are only
a few examples of construction projects that 3D printing with metal materials has already
used AC for polymer printing. been used in many industries, such as
aerospace, oil and gas, automotive, and
Generally, due to the highly flammable energy industries (Duda and Raghavan,
properties of polymers, the application of the 2016). Additive manufacturing with metals
material in AC is restricted. Therefore, can be divided into two groups: (i) powder
Vahabi et al. (Vahabi et al., 2021) studied the bed fusion (PBF) technologies and (ii)
application of flame retardant polymers in directed energy deposition (DED). The
AC. They found that creating some pores leading technologies of PBF are selective
inside the material can improve thermal laser melting (SLM), direct metal laser
conductivity and diffusivity. Moreover, sintering (DMLS), and electron beam
since 3D printing can generate layers with melting (EBM) (Duda and Raghavan, 2016).
different properties, the addition of flame These technologies work based on laser
retardant materials to the layers reduces the scanning of metallic powders that are
flammability of the material. The University sintered and bonded together using high
of Tennessee, collaborating with Skidmore, laser power. After each layer scanning, the
Owings, & Merrill LLP (SOM), used the powder bed is lowered down by one layer
BAAM system to work on the Additive thickness, and a new layer is added on top by
Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE) a roller. On the other hand, DED also uses
demonstration project (Biswas et al., 2016). high laser power to bond metal powders, but
AMIE was prepared to show as an example its powder adding system is different from
of the capabilities of 3D printing in PBF technologies. It has a deposition head
construction engineering that the system can where the powder is supplied, and a laser is
manufacture energy-efficient buildings with mounted on it(Ali et al., 2019).
less material waste. Moreover, this particular
project demonstrated the need and benefits When the scale of a printing object gets
of interdisciplinary research and greater, 3D printing with metals suffers from
collaboration with industry (Biswas et al., limitations in terms of time and cost
2016). (Delgado Camacho et al., 2018).
Nevertheless, there are some 3D printing
Furet et al. (Furet et al., 2019) proposed a implemented projects. For instance, the Joris
novel process of creating complex walls by Laarman Lab and Arup developed the
MX3D technology, which uses a robot arm
with gas metal arc welding (GMAW) to
weld small stainless steel segments (Mrazovi
et al., 2017). They designed and printed a 3D
printed fully functional stainless steel 8 m
footbridge with complex and unique
geometries by using MX3D to cross one of
the oldest canals in Amsterdam, the
Oudezijdz Achterburgwal (see Fig. 1)

Figure 2. Node models: traditional way

(left), 3D printing method (right) (Galjaard
et al., 2015a).
Buchanan et al. (Buchanan et al., 2017)
investigated the behavior of 3D printed stub
columns and coupons (for compression and
tensile tests) from stainless steel PH1 and
316L. They used the powder bed fusion
technique to print their test specimens. They
showed that 3D printed metals could be used
Figure 1. MX3D bridge (Liwanag, 2020). as structural elements in construction
engineering in the future.
Arup developed another example of using
metal 3D printing for the design of tensegrity Khoshnevis and Zhang (2016) developed a
structures. The company studied different new powder-based 3D printing called
geometries and manufacturing processes for selective separation sintering (SSS), which
a structural net of cables in The Hague, the can fabricate parts in ceramics and metals,
Netherlands, used for street lighting which is much faster and relatively
(Galjaard et al., 2015b). Arup designed inexpensive than all other powder-based
several structures using conventional and 3D printers. In another study (Khoshnevis and
printing techniques to show the possible Zhang, 2015), SSS was shown to be a
savings obtained using topology suitable technique for large-scale fabrication
optimization and 3D printing (Fig. 2). The due to its advantages over other techniques.
estimation by Arup showed that topology Moreover, the method is feasible in the
optimization and the use of 3D printing are construction industry and aerospace
capable of decreasing the weight of a single construction on planetary surfaces.
node by 75% compared to the use of
conventional methods. As a result, the All these material types for construction 3D
estimated reduction was more than 40% of printers allow AC to be applied in many civil
the weight of the whole structure (Galjaard engineering instances. Hence, the following
et al., 2015b). section will present some application
examples of AC.
 3. Applications of 3D printing in
construction
Several applications of 3D printing in civil
engineering have been demonstrated
successfully. The Eindhoven University of
Technology designed a new type of 3D
printer, which can print constructions with
high accuracy in 2015 (Zhang et al., 2019).
In 2016 the first multi-story building was
printed using the same method, and it has
been already used as the Museum of the
Future in Dubai (Starr, 2016). It was printed
in Shanghai by WinSun Company in 17
days. The building was shipped to Dubai and
assembled in two days (Gregerson, 2016).
The cost of the building was approximately
140 000 USD, and the area was 242m2. 3D
printing reduced labor costs by 50-80% and
reduced waste by 30-60% (Busta, 2016).
WinSun showed that AC could be
implemented to the tall building
constructions by building a 5-story building Figure 3. 3D printed buildings by WinSun
(Starr, 2015). The company also printed an (Starr, 2015).
1100 m2 villa (Fig. 3). The company stated
that it had used ground construction and Some researchers argue that WinSun is not
industrial waste around a base of quick- 3D printing their buildings since they use
drying concrete mixed with a special other construction methods during assembly
hardening agent. The company is aiming to in situ (Scott, 2016) (Fig. 4). It causes
build large-scale structures in the future, difficulties and requires more production
such as bridges and skyscrapers. areas and more labor for the construction
than many other AC systems (Wang, 2015).

Figure 4. Assembly process of houses

printed by WinSun (Deckert, 2015)
Hua Shang Tengda is another competitor
construction company in China that built a
400 m2 two-story house (Fig. 5) in one and a
half months by AC (Scott, 2016). The
building can withstand earthquakes with a
magnitude of 8.0 (Stella, 2016).

Figure 5. 3D printed house by HuaShang Figure 6. APIS COR 3D printer (Vatin et

Tengda al., 2017) and its application (Yin et al.,
2018)
Russian engineers have also worked on AC.
Similarly, APIS COR company has APIS COR/PIK built a 38 m2 home using
developed a mobile construction 3D printer their 3D printer in 2016 (Fig. 6). The system
(Fig. 6). APIS COR printer can build a does not require any additional equipment
construction structure from inside due to its setup as gantry-based printer systems do.
unique design. It can remain in one spot and The printing area is 132 m2 with a fully
fabricate concrete walls layer-by-layer rotating manipulating arm that can be
(Vatin et al., 2017). extended from 4 to 8.5 m (Yin et al., 2018).
Even though many applications exist,
additive construction is still in its infancy
stage (Paul et al., 2018).
Each AC application utilizes different
building techniques. Generally, the AC
building techniques can be grouped into
contour crafting, concrete printing, D-shape
printing, rock printing, and many others. A
detailed description of these building
techniques will be given below.

4. Building techniques
The widely known additive building
methods are contour crafting (Khoshnevis et
al., 2006), concrete printing (Lu et al.,
2019), and D-shape printing (Zhang et al.,
2019). Some new techniques were also
designed, such as selective binder activation
(SBA), selective paste intrusion (SPI), and extruder) temperature, sulfur proportion, and
rock printing (Lowke et al., 2018). Initial AC extrusion rate. It was found that the sulfur
prototypes of concrete printing worked with proportion and temperature of the mix
the same principles to FDM on a large scale significantly influenced the extrudate
with a deposition head system mounted on a surface. The experimental results were found
gantry (Gibbons et al., 2010). FDM-based in close agreement with the FEA analysis
AC uses the cheapest materials, among other performed for comparison. Sulfur concrete is
AC systems (Holt et al., 2019). reported as an ideal construction material for
planetary applications.
Additive construction is a special type of 3D
printing used for construction on a larger Zhang and Khoshnevis (Zhang and
scale than traditional 3D printing. The Khoshnevis, 2013) suggested a systematic
primary material of additive construction is method for planning and optimizing CC
concrete materials. Printing with concrete printing to build complicated large-scale
works with the same principles as inkjet buildings effectively. The authors have
printing, working with a pipe-pump-nozzle investigated the possibilities of constructing
system. domes and developed them without using
external supports or molds (Hwang and
4.1 Contour crafting Khoshnevis, 2005a, Khoshnevis, 2004,
Contour Crafting (CC) is an additive Zhang and Khoshnevis, 2013, Zhang and
manufacturing process that extrudes cement- Khoshnevis, 2009). For the CC process, the
based paste materials (Lim et al., 2012). CC bonding strength between layers was studied
has higher surface quality than other AC by Zareiyan and Khoshnevis (2017). The
types. CC is considered a pioneering project impacts of cementitious material, water to
in AC that was proposed in 1998 by cement ratio, fiber content quantity, and
Khoshnevis et al. at the University of chemical admixture on interlayer adhesion
Southern California (Khoshnevis and were investigated. Significant variation in
Dutton, 1998). It uses a gantry enabling a 3D interlayer adhesion was observed which
printer to move along Cartesian coordinate shows that it is important to select proper
X, Y, and Z axes. In similar researches mixture ingredients for improved interlayer
(Khoshnevis et al., 2001, Khoshnevis, adhesion.
2004), authors have developed an extrusion
system for ceramic materials, such as 4.2 Concrete Printing
spackling compounds and clay. The system Since 2007, researchers from Loughborough
consists of a piston, a cylinder that carries University in the UK and a construction
raw material, and a threaded feed rod that company called Skanska have collaborated
pushes the material through the nozzle. The to build a 3D concrete printing system with
technology's key feature is the high a robot arm and a gantry and facilitate AC's
smoothness of printed surfaces obtained due transition to the commercially feasible form
to trowels mounted on the extrusion system of construction (Loughborough University,
(Hwang and Khoshnevis, 2005b). The 2014). This is developing technology and
resolution of the printer is around 13 mm. In therefore has limited inking materials
another study, Khoshnevis et al., 2016 used available. At present, cementitious materials
sulfur concrete as the construction material such as clay, Portland cement, special
and performed an experimental study to gypsum materials, dry mortar, and other dry
observe the contour crafting process based materials like fly ash and sand are being used
on the variation in (sulfur concrete and as an inking material for 3D concrete
printing. Researchers are continuously
putting efforts in determining the most
appropriate inking materials along with their
optimum proportion values for 3D concrete
printing at both academic and industrial
levels. Ding et al., 2018 prepared a cement-
based material by incorporating
hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)
into sulphoaluminate cement (SAC). A
remarkable improvement in the compressive
strength values was reported for the extruded Figure 7. Material extrusion system (Paolini
mortar. et al., 2019).
The printing process is called Freeform
Another case study of a design and
Construction, also known as Concrete
construction process for a self-supporting
Printing. It is also based on the extrusion
curvilinear multipurpose pavilion is
system of the concrete; however, it has a
presented (Lapyote et al., 2021). The case
smaller resolution and better control of
study methods included computer-aided
geometries than the CC type of AC. It uses a
design, structural analysis, joint assembly,
second material to support the printing
and site construction techniques. The paper
object, similar to the Fused Deposition
presented the current limitations and benefits
Modelling (FDM) printing. However, it
of the existing technology for 3DP design
requires more maintenance and post-
and construction.
processing, such as removal of the support
A polymer concrete-based large-scale
structure. The printer's resolution is 4 to 6
printing for construction was studied and the
mm.
influence of process parameters on the
The material extrusion system is very similar material was evaluated (Krčma et al., 2021).
to FDM or inkjet printing, which has a The mechanical properties of the
nozzle that extrudes heated materials on a longitudinal samples were close to the
predefined path that solidifies later. The casting one. However, a difference was
extrusion system uses a pump to generate observed in the failure mode between the
pressure inside the extruder and supply pipe states, with casting parts showing a tougher
(Fig. 7). The size of the aggregate particle is behavior. Whereas, the 3D-printed samples
very important as a very large particle size exhibited high degrees of porosity. The
may clog the nozzle. On the other hand, very results suggest that the novel material is
small particle size can lead to an increase in suitable for 3D printing, with minor
the hydration heat of the cement. Therefore, degradation observed in the process. It was
selecting an appropriate aggregate particle found excellent layer adhesion with
size is important and depends on the size of negligible effect on the finished part for the
the nozzle used. longitudinal orientation. It indicates, if the
large-scale buildability is successful, the
material is very suitable for 3D printed
building components and other large-scale
building structures (Krčma et al., 2021).
A recent work reveals nine potential factors 4.3 D-Shape printing
and thirty-two of their measurements that D-shape printing is one of the well-known
determine the decision to adopt 3D printing AC techniques that provide an alternative
technology for construction projects. A method for concrete printing, and the
structural equation modeling technique was technology uses powder-based materials and
employed to quantify the influence of the binder jetting systems (Monolite UK
relevant factors and measurements. The (Dinitech SpA), 2016). It deposits
findings indicate the three most significant selectively liquid adhesives on top of the
factors in ensuring the success of 3D printing cement powder layer. The cycle repeats until
technology in construction, namely; the whole object is printed. The spots of
“technology compatibility,” “supply-side powder where the binder is applied, solidify
benefits,” and “complexity.” (Svetlana et al., creating high bonding between powder
2021) particles (Fig. 8). In the end, it is necessary
to clean the powder support. The accuracy of
Another research presented the fabrication the printer is 10 – 20 mm. There are two
of specimens used to assess geometric and input materials needed to be supplied: a
mechanical properties of the 3D printed liquid binder and dry powder. Magnesium
parts. Two separate water-based binder oxide and magnesium chloride are used as
formulations were used that are compatible binder materials (Delgado Camacho et al.,
with OPC chemistry and piezoelectric 2018).
jetting. This study determines the effect of
binder flow rate on dimensional accuracy. In
addition, the changes in the mechanical
properties over time with hydration have
been explained (Ur-Rehman et al., 2021).

A similar study addressed the influence of

concrete mixers in additive construction.
The conventional concrete mixtures show
that a high percentage of coarse aggregate is
unsuitable for additive construction due to
the effect of clogging the extruder. However, Figure 8. D-Shape printing technology
reducing the amount of coarse aggregate (Monolite UK (Dinitech SpA), 2016).
provides promising mixtures for additive
construction. This work shows that a A research team (Giovanni et al., 2014)
concrete mixture using conventional employed D-shape printing and successfully
materials can be suitable for material developed full-scale building components
extrusion in additive construction. The use using lunar soil. It is stated that D-shape
of conventional materials will reduce costs printing will permit the military to develop
and allow for additive construction to be infrastructures like bases, bunkers, and
used worldwide (Rushing et al., 2017 ). hospitals considerably faster compared to
other traditional methods.
The main exceptional feature of the system
is that it does not require printing support
structures since the powder that is not glued
performs as support to the printing structure
(Perkins and Skitmore, 2015). Another ETH Zurich, 2011). The installation
advantage of D-shape printing is that it has consisted of 1500 modules placed by drones
an extensive material selection range. It can programmed and moved with mathematical
use any sand-like materials, and there is no algorithms that converted digital data into
waste left after printing since leftovers can drones' behaviors.
be reused for the next construction. In
addition, the printed structures naturally look 4.5 Accelerated chemical and mineral
like stone due to fewer preprocessing additives for extrusion control
materials at the beginning of the process Nozzle or extrusion control is the primary
(Tibaut et al., 2016). On the other hand, focus to achieve successful printing. In the
powder printing brings difficulties with extrusion process, additive chemicals and
cleaning and printing in situ (Hussein, minerals play an important role.
2021).
Chemical additives are used in concrete
4.4 Robots designed for extrusion and buildability
Robot manipulators are another way of purposes. It was observed that the setting
additive construction that can perform time of printing concrete can be controlled
complex tasks on a large scale. They are with chemical additives such as potassium
designed to be stable at any point during carbonate (K2CO3), sodium carbonate
operation. Batiprint3DTM company (Na2CO3), calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2), and
(Batiprint3D) developed eco-friendly triethanolamine (TEA) (Dorn et al.). A
mobile robot 3D printer systems that can comparison between nano-and micro-sized
reduce working conditions for labor, admixtures such as nano-silica, graphene-
decrease environmental costs, and increase based materials, and clay nanoparticles and
execution quality. They produce a layer of the chemical admixtures such as viscosity-
insulation on both sides of the concrete with modifying admixtures and superplasticizers
polymer materials. However, the printed are critically discussed (Sikora et al., 2021).
layers are not smooth, and the layers require
protection from external effects. An organic foam-based 3D printing has its
flammability and tendency to spread fires in
Another robotic system called the
buildings. Due to this, chemical additives
ATHLETE platform was proposed by Howe
such as flame retardant and smoke
et al. (2015), a six-limbed wheel-on-limb
suppressive are added to the foam (Patric et
robotic platform capable of doing various
al., 2021).
tasks, including AC free from human hands.
The authors believe that the proposed
Using additives such as polycarboxylate
construction system can be useful in remote
plasticizers helps to regulate the mobility of
places and hazardous environments such as
cement systems at a constant W/C ratio.
disaster areas, radiation, and war zones.
Additionally, it increases mechanical
Gramazio Kohler collaborating with ETH strength with the addition of active additives
Zurich University, carried out a project such as micro-silica, fly ash, and shell rock
where flying drones assembled the first flour (Aleksandr et al, 2018). Some
architectural installation without human important additives such as; eco-friendly
intervention. The construction of a large- binders (silica fume, metakaolin, fly ashes),
scale art was demonstrated at the FRAC in nanoparticles (nano-silica,nano-attapulgite
Orleans, France (Gramazio & Kohler and clay), and chemical additives are very useful
Raffaello D`Andrea in cooperation with for tuning the rheology of concrete which
controls the materials flow in a nozzle. instance through straightforward utilization
(Rehman et al., 2021). of the design modifications in construction
3D printing (Ding et al., 2019). In addition,
Some other important factors also influence the ability of BIM to store and arrange
the recent development of smart material delivery data, printer control data,
manufacturing technology. Among them, and post finishing operations data can be
digital manufacturing plays an important applied to fully automate the AC process
role in determining product development (Tay et al., 2017, Teizer et al., 2018).
costs. Before analyzing the product
Nowadays, DT and BIM terms are merged
development cost, it is very risky to start
building products. Another technological and can be used to refer to the same thing.
advancement namely the digital twin; helps Nevertheless, there is a difference.
to integrate digital data in real-time Specifically, BIM is mainly used to
applications. Both have potential characterize static models while DT
applications in construction engineering. represents dynamic models of the building.
The next section elaborates more on it. Even though DT is being widely researched
and found to be helpful in many industries, it
5. Application of digital is still less considered in the construction
manufacturing (DM) and digital industry (Opoku et al., 2021).
twin (DT) methods in AC
Khajavi et al. (2019) and Sacks et al. (2020)
One example of digital manufacturing (DM)
defined and described the current issues of
and digital twin (DT) in the construction
DT application in the construction industry.
industry is so-called building information
To be specific, Khajavi et al. (2019)
modelling (BIM) (Kubicki et al., 2019).
recognized that there is no possibility of
BIM is a sophisticated type of management
using sensor networks for smart building
in building construction involving all the
development with the Internet of Things
construction lifecycle stages from planning
(IoT). In addition, Sacks et al. (2020)
to post-construction facility management
concluded that an agreement has not been
(Eastman et al., 2011).
reached between researchers about the
It includes crucial data such as geometric particular benefits of DT in designing and
data, materials management, equipment constructing buildings.
utilization, resource and manufacturing data
Overall, 3D printing based on the BIM
(Wu et al., 2016). These data enable not only
process can be beneficial in terms of cost and
smoother collaboration between different
labor savings. However, the industry
teams but also the integration of automation
application is still in the infancy stage, and
techniques like 3D printing and robotics in
more research is required in order to bridge
construction. Moreover, a higher degree of
the gaps between 3D printing and BIM.
automation of many planning procedures
can be reached, owing to the interlinkage of The construction of 3D printing has been
these data (Borrmann et al., 2015, Paolini et developing rapidly with available expanding
al., 2018, Paolini et al., 2019). materials and different building techniques.
However, there are a number of drawbacks
An AC process based on BIM can to be overcome before the construction of
dramatically reduce the lead time, for
3D printing is used widely. The following can be in excess or insufficient) (Panda et al.,
section will present the current limitations of 2018a).
AC.
Hence, the printing process needs to be
properly controlled, and expensive surfaces
after treatments must be applied if the
6. Limitations of AC surface quality is of concern (Hack and
The main limitation is a narrow range of Kloft, 2020).
compatible materials that can be printed
Moreover, the 3D-printed buildings or their
(Holt et al., 2019). Besides, constructions
elements do not comply with standardization
and buildings are different products from
regulations and building codes in the current
other 3D printed products because they
situation. This is due to the novelty of the
cannot be produced massively (Hodson,
technique, and not all the utilized materials
2013). Moreover, the printing size is limited,
are standardized. Even though these novels
and printed buildings have lower mechanical
and not standardized materials are to be
properties than traditional buildings (Holt et
used, it requires different maintenance
al., 2019, Le et al., 2012, Strauss, 2013, Feng
approaches. In addition, the information
et al., 2015).
about the long-term durability and longevity
Feng et al. (2015) and Le et al. (2012) of the 3D printed civil engineering structures
studied the mechanical properties of the 3D is not available as the oldest structures were
printed concrete elements. They found that built a few years ago. Overall, guidelines and
voids and anisotropic material distribution standards must be formulated with profound
led to poor load-bearing performances of the investigations to construct 3D printing to
3D printed concrete structures. become an accepted approach (Buchanan
and Gardner, 2019).
Reinforcements improve the mechanical
properties and structural integrity of the 3D Even though there are challenges of
printed concrete structures. These can be application of AC, this technique possesses
achieved by a hybrid printing approach the high potential of enhancing the current
where concrete and reinforcement materials construction 3D printing by automating the
are printed simultaneously (Tay et al., 2017, process, which reduces construction defects
Sevenson, 2015). However, these kinds of by lowering human-induced errors. The
reinforcements add more complexity and future prospects of AC are discussed in the
more cost to the printed final building. next section.
One of the big issues of concrete 3D printing 7. Future prospects of additive
is the poor surface finish of the final product. construction
If the construction is large and the build
As it was mentioned before, AC offers
speed is preferable over the cost (i.e.,
overwhelming advantages and various
emergency housing), then the poor surface
possibilities by reducing construction time.
finish can be unimportant. However, ridged
This technology is now aimed at solving
textures of the consumer dwellings can be
global issues of providing cheap housing for
troublesome (Holt et al., 2019). Generally,
low-income people, local reconstruction of
this poor surface quality of 3D concrete
houses after natural disasters such as
printing is attributed to several factors such
earthquakes and floods, as well as military
as dimensional errors and improper control
operations. AC also offers lower resource
of deposited materials (deposited materials
intensity of construction, including material
consumption and labor costs and less scale constructions and more advanced
environmental damage such as waste and automation systems (Yin et al., 2018).
noise pollution.
Moreover, AC can be handy in exploring
space for human beings for two reasons. At 8. Conclusions
first, the transportation of construction To sum up, the application of 3D printing in
materials to the space is extremely high- construction engineering can be beneficial in
priced. For instance, simply transporting an automating building processes, time and
ordinary brick would require $2 million to material savings, complex shaped designs,
the Moon (Leach, 2014). The next is the elimination of worker's involvement in
safety reasons. The automated construction hazardous sites, and so on. Moreover, with
systems would not require human presence technological advancement and novel
by significantly decreasing risks on material innovation, the application of AM
construction sites. NASA has a high level of in AC will become widespread in the near
interest in AC since they want to build future. However, the extensive usage of AC
different infrastructures on other planetary is restricted due to some implementation
surfaces. NASA and the inventor of the CC facts, including the absence of a regulatory
printing system have collaborated to framework, narrow material selection range,
improve and develop the AC technology to the complexity of the systems, and limited
implement other planetary surfaces in situ applications. It will require continuous
(Mars and Moon) (Krassenstein, 2015). research and development in this field by the
experts; such as engineers, architects,
Additionally, according to Hossain et al.
designers, and builders, to think and
(2020) companies have been increasing the
innovate new methods, mechanisms, and
number of construction robots to solve the
directions. Many research works are still
deficit of skilled labor and to increase
needed to fully realize AC as an efficient and
efficiency, safety, and profit. It was
reliable option in the construction field. At
projected that total revenue on construction
present, not only research groups are
3D robots will grow up to USD 226 mln in
involved in developing this system, but also
2025. According to Market Analysis Report
large companies are investing in and
(2021), the total market size increased from
developing these methods and mechanisms.
7081.7 thousand USD in 2020 to 10943.9
The interest is apparent, and 3D printing
thousand USD in 2021. It was expected that
might change the construction market
the total revenue of AC will grow at a rate of
dramatically. Finally, with the availability of
91.5% every year till 2028 and reach USD
material selection, the process parameter
1034096.7 thousand. Becoming a useful and
optimization, and application of IoT in terms
practical alternative for conventional
of digital twin will add a new dimension
construction and the widespread use of ACs
towards flexible manufacturing in industrial
are strongly related to the quality of the
automation.
printed object and variety of advanced
materials, which are structurally strong,
highly fire-resistant, and low cost. Future
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