Citizens in Jiading will soon be able to stroll across a large 3D printed (3DP) bridge at the Central Park of Taopu Smart City. [Photo/jiading.gov.cn] |
Citizens in Jiading will soon be able to stroll across a large 3D printed (3DP) bridge at the Central Park of Taopu Smart City.
The S-shaped curved bridge, with a total length of 15.25 meters and a width of 3.8 meters, was built by Shanghai Mechanized Construction Group. It has passed tests of pressure and loading and been approved for public use.
Widely used in both rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing, 3D printing is any of various processes in which material is joined or solidified under computer control to create a three-dimensional object.
After several comparisons and tests, ASA, one kind of engineering plastics, added to a certain proportion of glass fiber was selected as the material of the bridge to ensure it would be strong enough.
3DP is not only a brand new way of building, but also a subversion of traditional architectural patterns. In addition to the reduction of labor costs and improvement of civilized construction, the bridged was completed in fewer than 40 days.