Amsterdam 3D-printed bridge: Would you drive over this bridge?
Picture this: Robotic arms craft an ornate steel bridge, strong enough to stand for decades, almost out of thin air.
It鈥檚 not a scene from a sci-fi flick. In the first enterprise of its kind, a Dutch startup is set to build a very real pedestrian bridge over a canal in Amsterdam using its own 3D-printing robots.
The project, set to be completed over two months in 2017, is a test for , a research and development firm whose specialized, multi-axis robots are built to 鈥渄raw鈥� metal and resin structures in 3D. The technology would allow infrastructure and other large objects to be printed in place, a possibility that could have pivotal implications for construction and design.
More broadly, the project marks a crucial step forward in the union of art, industry, and technology.
鈥淭his bridge will show how 3D printing finally enters the world of large-scale, functional objects and sustainable materials while allowing unprecedented freedom of form,鈥� Joris Laarman, a Dutch artist and entrepreneur who will be designing the bridge, said on .
鈥淭he symbolism of the bridge is a beautiful metaphor to connect the technology of the future with the old city, in a way that brings out the best of both worlds,鈥� he added.
MX3D鈥檚 robots, like other 3D printers, use additive manufacturing technology, which involves the printing of small increments of raw material 鈥� resin, plastic, or in this case, molten metal 鈥� that are welded to form lines. To build the bridge, two robots each starting from opposite banks of the canal would print multiple, intersecting lines, meeting in the middle as they create 鈥渁 strong, complex structure that would span the canal,鈥� CNET News .
Each robot will also be printing its own supports along the way, allowing it to work autonomously.
Already Mr. Laarman and MX3D have proven that the concept works: In June 2014, Laarman showed off the technology鈥檚 potential in at the Friedman Benda Gallery in New York City.
Still, the team faces considerable challenges, including , such as misplaced layers. To help work those out, Laarman and the MX3D team partnered with architecture and engineering software firm Autodesk.
鈥淩obots tend to assume that the universe is made of absolutes, even though that鈥檚 not true,鈥� Maurice Conti, head of Autodesk鈥檚 applied research lab, innovation magazine Fast Company. 鈥淪o we need to program them to have real-time feedback loops, and adapt in real-time, without even being told to.鈥�
It鈥檚 a project at a grand scale, and Fast Company noted that even the MX3D team won鈥檛 know for certain if the plan will work until they do it.
But Laarman appears confident in the technology鈥檚 potential. In last year, he compared this generation to the modernists of the industrial age, whom he said faced parallel challenges and successes in their bid to change the way objects were built and sold.
鈥淭hey worked with industrial machines and the potential of standardization, while we grew up with digital machines,鈥� he told the magazine. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a similar period. You see the same sort of optimism.鈥�
